Commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents: An approach to the situation in Spain

Abstract

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a problem that is highly prevalent in children and adolescents under legal protection. However, this form of sexual victimization, which includes multiple other forms of violence, is not only present in developing countries. In Spain we only have the data obtained by the Expert Commission from Mallorca in 2020. The responses of a sample of 67 adolescents between 13 and 18 years old from residential centers in Mallorca about their knowledge and experiences regarding CSEC are presented. The results indicate that CSEC is a known problem. Also, these adolescents demand more education and protection. They allude to various reasons for engaging in this type of behavior, although all of them can be placed in the pyramid of survival sex. The use of ICT appears as an important risk factor to take into account in prevention programs.