Portland: One of worst cities for teen sex trafficking

[roxiejules]

via KGW:

http://www.kgw.com/video/featured-videos/Portland-takes-on-teen-sex-trafficking-99018594.html


Portland’s mayor and city councilors said they were shocked to learn about the magnitude of the teen sex trade in the Northwest after a recent hearing at City Hall.

A former teen prostitute testified before the council Wednesday and said she’s living proof of why people sometimes refer to Portland as “porn-land.”

The young girl told city commissioners and Mayor Sam Adams that her pimp forced her to get drugs and earn money for him. She said the pimp nearly killed her before she turned to police for help.

The young woman, who did not want her identity revealed, said she wanted the council to know her story so they would agree to help others like her, still trapped in the Portland sex trade.

Statistics show that the average age of prostitutes is between 12 and 14. Most don’t reach out for help because they fear the police and their pimps.

Law enforcement officials also spoke at the council meeting to request funding.


see also: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-rather/pornland-oregon-child-pro_b_580035.html

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. This is news?

Even if you've never worked with street kids (which I have), the teen sex trade is pretty obvious on the streets in downtown Portland.

Runaways and throwaways go to Portland because it has milder winters than the Midwest (I met a fair number of kids who had hitched or ridden the rails from Minneapolis or Chicago.) That's easy pickin's for the pimps.