Splintered Lives - Barnardo's

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which are likely to be connected to prostitution.
At formal federal hearings in 1977 (cited in Pierce, 1984) it was estimated that 7% of US
pornography production involved children, and 264 different child pornography titles
were recorded (this was before US legislation outlawing trade in child pornography was
passed).
German police estimate 130,000 children are forced by parents or other close
acquaintances to participate in the production of pornography and that there an
estimated 100 private dealers in Germany alone (Groner, 1993).
Recent media reports (see, for example, Hollington, 1994) have documented the
increase in prostitution in Eastern Europe, and within that the involvement of significant
numbers of girls and young women; girls as young as 10 are known to be involved in
street work at the borders, especially between Czechoslovakia and Germany where
prostitution is legal. Most of the girls are being pimped, often by relatives, and what
were road side shops have been 'developed' in small hotels. Christina Hagner (1995)
argues that the situation in many Eastern European countries illustrates the importance
of a coherent legislative framework. In a number of the countries the issues are not even
formally recognised in law. In Russia any child abuse case has to be initiated by a parent
or care holder, limiting the redress available to children and each case involves four
separate hearings. The focus of policing in much of Eastern Europe (as elsewhere) is on
children as criminals, rather than victims.
The International Catholic Child Bureau (lCCB) based in Switzerland conducted a survey
of 32 countries on children and pornography. One third were returned. Japan and Italy
were the countries reporting easiest purchase of child pornography (ICCB, 1988).
Helena Karlen (1995) reports on several recent cases in Nordic countries. The largest
Swedish case emerged in 1994. One video investigation led to boxes of magazines and
photographs, 500 films and listings of 500 customers. The spider's web of connections
is still being investigated and so far 100 people have been interviewed and 1000 films
seized. Far fewer convictions are predicted since a large scale case in 1992 involving 100
suspects eventually resulted in four men being convicted for a total of ten months in
prison and fines. A well publicised case, known in Scandinavia as 'Kiki', involved a
Danish boy who was fostered from 9-15. He was regularly abused by his foster-father
and his friends. At 11 he was taken to an Amsterdam brothel 'Boy's Paradise' and
trafficked also in Denmark. Pornographic videos were made of his abuse. Kiki himself
identified a number of men who abused him and thirteen were convicted of offenses
against him, including his foster-father. It is estimated that 150 men abused Kiki and
there were at least 1000 incidents of assault.
The following two sub-sections concentrate on American research, and the sex industry in
south East Asia.