Alvarez outlines new approach to fight juvenile prostitution

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez testified before Congress Wednesday on child prostitution, saying she had organized a special-prosecution initiative aimed at the root of the problem in human trafficking.

Testifying before the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, headed by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Alvarez said juvenile prostitutes are typically homeless or runaway children engaging in "survival sex" by "exchanging sex for food, clothing and a safe place to sleep."

She cited an Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority study showing that 73 percent of prostitutes in a survey said they had entered the sex trade before the age of 18, and one-third said it was "because they owed the individual who had recruited them because of the provision of food, clothing or gifts."

She said these youths made easy prey for street gangs and other forms of organized crime, which typically added drug addiction to the mix to keep them engaged in the sex trade.

"The economic gain of child prostitution or trafficking greatly outweighs the risks," Alvarez said, pointing to how one juvenile prostitute had been reluctant to testify against her pimp because he bought her Subway sandwiches whenever she wanted.

"It's clear that when vulnerable young women are equating the trade of sex for a deli sandwich," she added, "we all must realize the agonizing human toll the problem is taking on our young generation and potentially generations to come."

Alvarez said her office typically treats juvenile prostitutes as victims, not criminals, and that new tactics were called for to attack the source of the problem.

"The traditional approach we have taken with juvenile prostitution has simply not been effective," she said.

Alvarez said her office created a new initiative aimed at organized crime and human trafficking within her office's Special Prosecutions Bureau last July. Working with other law-enforcement jurisdictions, such as the Chicago Police Department, it attempts to "connect the dots" showing how juvenile prostitutes are recruited and retained by organized crime and "hold accountable the individuals and groups truly responsible for these horrific offenses."

Alvarez said at this point the major obstacle was "lack of funding" given budget constraints at various levels of government.