Press Svenska

The facts

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is also known as paid child sexual abuse. This is when children are subjected to sexual acts in exchange for some form of remuneration. The compensation can be given in money or gifts to the child or other people.

For example, another young person or an older adult may have paid for a nude photo, a live broadcast or may have physically met the victim to commit paid abuse.

Victims of commercial sexual exploitation are at a much higher risk of further violence and abuse, and as with all forms of sexual violence, it is girls who are most affected.

Sometimes “sex for money” is also used, but as commercial sexual exploitation is about violence, power and abuse and not about sex, which requires consent and reciprocity, we do not use the term “sex” for money. For the same reason, we do not use terms such as child sex trafficking or child prostitution.

 

Why is there commercial exploitation of children?

Commercial sexual exploitation of children is not about sex, but fundamentally about power, violence and domination. Violence also creates and maintains power relations in society, as the perpetrators, men, consider themselves entitled to another person’s body and use coercion to create a sexual act that the child would otherwise never have consented to.

It is therefore important to understand that commercial sexual exploitation of children is also a gender issue, a result of an unequal society, and a consequence of norms on sex and sexuality based on men’s views of women and children’s bodies. This is also reflected in the SIFO survey conducted by ChildX and Realstars, which shows that one in seven men has a positive attitude towards people paying for sexual acts from another person.

Because although both girls and boys and transgender children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, in the vast majority of cases the perpetrator is a man. It is these perpetrators who are the root cause of child exploitation and it is these perpetrators who need to change – not the children.

 

How many are vulnerable?

In each year 9 class and in upper secondary school, the equivalent of 1-2 children have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation. At national level, this corresponds to 36,000 children and young people.

Every year, ChildX conducts a national SIFO survey looking at the prevalence of commercial sexual exploitation.

Siphon from 2023 shows that:

“I met the men during breaks and then also during lessons. The men often picked me up in the school parking lot. I also met them after school and in the evenings and nights when my parents thought I was sleeping over at friends’ houses.

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Read more and access more studies on the number of children at risk in the report “Everyone was watching but no one saw“.

 

Who are the victims?

Any child can be exposed to commercial sexual exploitation but there are some factors that increase the risk. Identifying these and putting in place measures for earlier detection and support is one way to prevent commercial sexual exploitation.

Previous research has identified various factors that can increase the risk of being victimized, some of the most common are

It is not uncommon for several vulnerability factors to interact, creating additional vulnerability, such as high school absenteeism or being placed outside the home. It is a combination of severe events over a long period of time that creates a vulnerability in children that perpetrators exploit.

“I felt bad regardless so… it didn’t matter.

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In addition to the vulnerability factors mentioned above, there are other risk groups that are generally at a higher risk of being victimized. The majority of victims of commercial sexual exploitation are girls. In addition to this group, children, both boys and girls, within the LGBTI community are also at increased risk of being exploited.

That being said, it is not vulnerability that makes children vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation. The only thing that makes children vulnerable is that there are men who want to pay for and exploit children’s bodies. Without demand – no abuse.

 

Who are the perpetrators?

Although both girls and boys and transgender children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, in the vast majority of cases the perpetrator is a man. It is these perpetrators who are the root cause of child exploitation and it is these perpetrators who need to change – not the children.

The Allmänna Barnahuset Foundation has conducted regular studies among high school students regarding experiences of sexual abuse. The latest study shows that more than eight out of ten perpetrators (84%) were male. However, the picture was slightly different depending on whether the child victim was a boy or a girl. In cases where the victim was a girl, 96% of perpetrators were male and in cases where a boy had been victimized, 60% of perpetrators were male and 20% female.

In the report Exploitation of children through the purchase of a sexual act – a follow-up of the application of the law from Brå (2022), a case study was conducted on 69 reported cases of exploitation of children through the purchase of a sexual act. In 61 of the 69 cases, there was an identified perpetrator and in all cases the suspected perpetrator was a man.

It is also important to understand that for the perpetrator it is not just about the sexual assault, but about gaining access to, and control over, another person’s body through payment. The drive to feel power over another person, and without regard to that person’s well-being before and during the abuse or the consequences of the abuse afterwards, is often characteristic of perpetrators.

 

What needs to happen to stop the abuse?

At a societal level, the problem is fundamentally about men’s demand to buy children’s bodies. If there was no demand, there would be no paid child abuse. This means that extensive efforts are needed to counteract the demand and men’s view of women and children’s bodies as something for sale.

However, the problem is complex and many different efforts are needed to stop the commercial sexual exploitation of children, support the children who are exposed and convict perpetrators who commit the crime. For example, there is also a need to raise awareness of the problem among both adults and children, as well as among professionals who work with children who are or are at risk of being exploited. ChildX is also working hard to ensure that legislation is strengthened so that all children receive strong, equal protection.

On the Policy Demands page, we have gathered some of the policy action proposals we are pushing.