Age 14 now most common starting point for commercial child sexual exploitation, survey finds

Fourteen-year-olds accounted for the largest share of child victims who first experienced commercial sexual exploitation, with many exposed to exploitative situations through social media, according to a government survey.

Among 201 youth ages 12 to 18 who experienced commercial sexual exploitation, 30.5 percent said they were first exploited at age 14, according to a survey announced by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Thursday. The survey was conducted from April to December last year by the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice and Hansei University's industry-academia cooperation foundation.

Those aged 15 followed with 20.5 percent, 13-year-olds at 18.5 percent and 12-year-olds at 7.3 percent.

The findings suggest children are being exploited at younger ages than in previous surveys. Victims aged 16 and older accounted for the largest share in the same survey conducted in 2019 and 2022 at 49.4 percent and 41.7 percent, respectively.

Social media via smartphones was the most common route into exploitation at 67.6 percent, followed by messaging applications at 19.9 percent.

The most common reason respondents gave for becoming involved in sexual exploitation was that they could make a lot of money quickly, at 23.2 percent. That was followed by "curiosity" at 17.2 percent, and "to buy things I needed" at 13.9 percent.

The most frequently reported additional harm experienced during exploitation was rape, cited by 35.4 percent of respondents. Verbal abuse or threats and receiving less than the promised payment or no payment at all were reported by 29.3 percent each.

Among respondents ages 16 and younger who experienced additional harm, 68 percent said they had never sought help.

The most common reason was that they were afraid of being punished, at 25.6 percent. Another 20.5 percent said they did not want others to find out, while 12.8 percent said they did not know where to seek help.

The survey also found signs of unwanted online sexual solicitation among the general youth population. Among 4,203 middle and high school students surveyed, 4.8 percent said they had been asked within the past three years to engage in unwanted sexual conversations online or send sexually explicit photos.

The figure was down from 11.1 percent in 2019 and 5.3 percent in 2022. However, 62.9 percent of victims in the recent survey said they had not told anyone about their experience.

The share of men who had purchased sex services continued to decline, although repeated purchases remained concentrated among some buyers.

A total of 8.5 percent of 1,500 men ages 20 to 59 surveyed said they had purchased sex services within the past year. The figure compares with 20.9 percent in 2016, 14 percent in 2019 and 8.8 percent in 2022.

But the 128 respondents who reported purchasing sex services accounted for a combined 1,422 transactions, averaging 11.11 per person. While down from 12.58 purchases per person in 2022, the figure was more than double the 5.05 recorded in 2019.

The researchers said findings suggest that purchasing sex services is becoming increasingly concentrated among a small group of repeat buyers.

"Prostitution and the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents are not personal issues but serious human rights violations and crimes that must be eradicated," Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyong said. "We will strengthen our response to changes in the online environment while expanding support for victims' protection and independence."

BY RHEE ESTHER [[email protected]]