On Tuesday, February 9th, the LAUSD will vote on a resolution to address commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in Los Angeles school-communities.
Although
this resolution makes a general reference to the disproportionate number of
African American children affected by the nexus of criminalization and sexual
abuse; the resolution is lacking in its failure to identify culturally responsive prevention and intervention initiatives that would specifically address the disproportionate rates of victimization of black girls. As founder of
the Women’s Leadership Project feminist advocacy and mentoring program in South Los
Angeles I work daily with young black girls who silently cope with the
trauma and PTSD of sexual and physical violence in their school communities. Inundated with cultural messages that
demean and marginalize black girls and women, many of my students have
grown up with the pervasive message that violence against black women and
girls is normal, natural, and justifiable. According to the Department
of Justice nearly 40% of young black women have experienced sexual assault by the age of 18.
In L.A. County, black girls have the highest rates of domestic sex trafficking
victimization and are more likely to be arrested and jailed for
prostitution than non-black women and girls. Black girls accounted for 92%
of individuals arrested for prostitution in 2010. Indeed, “the decision to arrest and detain girls in these cases has been
shown often to be based in part on the perception of girls’ having violated
conventional norms and stereotypes of feminine behavior, even when that
behavior is caused by trauma”.
Targeted culturally responsive training, outreach
and youth leadership development that addresses not just the victims and
survivors of CSEC—but the educational, health and socioeconomic factors that
allow sex trafficking to thrive—are urgently needed. In order for these measures to truly impact
CSEC youth the District must make an investment in partnering with community resource
providers and advocates who are already working with vulnerable youth in the
LGBTQ and gender non-conforming, juvenile offender, undocumented,
homeless/foster and disabled communities.
These initiatives must encompass targeting social media; identifying
cultures of abuse, predation and
recruitment that exist on popular youth social media sites; incorporating boys
into CSEC prevention and intervention education; as well as reinforcing
mentoring programs, restorative and social justice leadership initiatives that
provide healthy alternatives for youth in heavily impacted school-communities
in South Los Angeles.
Finally, it’s important to recognize that sex trafficking does not arise
in a vacuum. It’s not only intimately connected with poverty in our communities
and the normalization of sexual violence against women and girls, but with the perception—deeply
ingrained in a District where black boys and
girls are disproportionately suspended and shut out of college access—that
certain youth are disposable. The District has an obligation
to do more than draft feel good platitudes but to push for equity with real teeth
and sustainability.
*Remarks to LAUSD school board
