Child Prostitution - South Africa's Young Street Walkers

Innocence for Sale (2001): At the busy street corner in downtown Pretoria, Elize looks for her clients, men from all walks of life looking for sex with a child. She says she is 16, but sells herself to men as a 14 year old.

For downloads and more information visit http://journeyman.tv/9637/short-films...

At the busy street corner in downtown Pretoria, Elize looks for her clients, men from all walks of life looking for sex with a child. She says she is 16, but sells herself to men as a 14 year old. "I know it is a sin but what else can I do? I am doing it for a living." Elize and her 14 yr old sister are drug addicts and have unprotected sex with customers every day. For virtually all the children, drugs and prostitution go hand in hand. We use drugs to forget about the past, says Elize. Lots of mothers let their daughters go out and do this so they can get money for drugs says another. Organisations like the Teddybear clinic try and find a Place of safety for girls such as Elize, but the problem is the girls do not stay. Luke Lampbrecht from the Teddybear foundation believes the government is failing to address the heart of the problem: They come from situations of severe abuse and their only way out is to sell their bodies. What does that say about our society?

SABC - Ref. 1291

Journeyman Pictures is your independent source for the world's most powerful films, exploring the burning issues of today. We represent stories from the world's top producers, with brand new content coming in all the time. On our channel you'll find outstanding and controversial journalism covering any global subject you can imagine wanting to know about.