Promising strategies for combating the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) were the focus of a live satellite videoconference that aired on December 11, 2003, drawing participants at 190 downlinks and approximately 1,000 Internet sites nationwide. “Working Together To Stop the Prostitution of Children” was sponsored by OJJDP in association with the Juvenile Justice Telecommunications Assistance Project of Eastern Kentucky University.

OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores, characterizing CSEC as “underreported, underrecognized, and undertreated,” opened the conference with an overview of the problem and OJJDP’s initiatives to date. Joining Mr. Flores were four panelists with diverse perspectives:

	Detective Catherine de la Paz of the Dallas (TX) Police Department’s Child Exploitation Squad explained that many girls who are victims of child prostitution go through the juvenile justice system as offenders rather than victims.
	Deborah Espy, Deputy District Attorney and Senior Manager of the Crimes Against Women and Children Unit, Fulton County, GA, discussed how a variety of statutes can be used to prosecute pimps who prey on juveniles.
	Beth Jacobs offered insights from her work as Program Coordinator for Breaking Free, a St. Paul, MN, organization that provides housing and mentoring services for prostituted girls, and from her life experience as a survivor of juvenile prostitution.
	Amy Durkin, Clinical Coordinator for YANA (You Are Never Alone) in Baltimore, MD, described her program’s comprehensive approach to assisting girls involved in prostitution.

Three video segments illustrated promising approaches to implementing protection, prosecution, and prevention strategies:

	New York: Juvenile Crime Special Projects Squad, New York City. Police investigators talk with young girls on the street, build their self-esteem, gain their trust, and direct them to services. The relationships they cultivate have led to the successful prosecution of numerous pimps.
	Georgia: CEASE (Center to End Adolescent Sexual Exploitation), Atlanta. Among this advocacy organization’s accomplishments is passage of state laws that make pimping and pandering of children a felony.
	California: SAGE (Standing Against Global Exploitation), San Francisco. This nonprofit organization operates a nonresidential trauma and recovery center for prostituted girls, where peer mentors help them work through their experiences.

You can view "Working Together To Stop the Prostitution of Children" on the Web. Videotapes of the conference are available for $15 from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (call 800–851–3420).