By Linda A Smith Samantha Healy Vardaman Melissa A Snow

30Shared Hope InternationalChapter 3: Vulnerability“The average age that a pimp recruits a girl into prostitution is 12 to 14 years old, and these pimps aretraffickers. They know how to target the girls who are the most vulnerable. Her greatest vulnerability isher age. 12- to 14-year-olds are still naive about the world. So the danger is compounded for girls whohave an unstable home life and those who are already victims of sexual abuse.” 94— Linda Smith, Founder and President, Shared Hope InternationalTraffickers, like all those seeking to expand abusiness, respond to the preferences of the market— in this case, the buyers of sexual activities.Research has shown that the average age of entryinto prostitution and pornography is 12 to 14 yearsold in the United States. This startling statistic hasalso been confirmed through a survey of juvenilesarrested for prostitution in Clark County, Nevada.Below is a chart outlining the breakdown of ages ofentry into prostitution. 95First responders from across the country report thatthe average age of victims with whom they comeinto contact is 15 years. However, it is important tonote that most of these youth report having beenprostituted for some time before coming into contactwith services or juvenile justice. For example, inBaton Rouge, Louisiana, the youngest domesticallytrafficked minor receiving services from HealingPlace Church in August 2008 was eight years old. 96It is not surprising that young children andadolescents are the primary targets of traffickers/pimps, given their operational methods. Youth haveless life experience, fewer coping mechanisms, andsmaller social support mechanisms to draw from.This can work to the trafficker’s favor as he implements different recruitment and control tactics. A studyconducted by Shared Hope International at WestCare Nevada documented that the boyfriends of 20minors who reported having boyfriends were all over the age of 18, often at least double the age of the94Prostituted Children in the United States: Identifying and Responding to America’s Trafficked Youth, Seg. 2. Prod. Shared HopeInternational and Onanon Productions, 2008.95Clark County, Nevada Public Defender — Juvenile Division. Unpublished Survey of Girls Arrested for Prostitution RelatedOffenses (July 2007 — November 2008). Clark County, Nevada. Data on file with authors.96Bayhi-Gennaro, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Assessment Report — Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana, pg. 54.