Background

Sexual exploitation of children (SEC) is a widespread crime which impacts the child victim across developmental, health and well-being domains. As victims, boys have received much less clinical and research attention. While context-specific factors likely shape the SEC risk, under-recognized gender norms can deny boys' vulnerability. Professional failures to recognize and respond adequately to boys' sexual exploitation may prevent access to support.

Objective

This systematic scoping review updates and broadens a previous review of literature addressing prevalence, victim/offender/facilitator characteristics, control mechanisms, as well as the health correlates and outcomes regarding sexual exploitation of boys. This review included international peer-reviewed and gray literature from 38 countries in 14 languages.

Participants and setting

Studies from the years 2000 to 2022 that included samples of boys under age 18, or sex-disaggregated data for children under 18, were included. Case studies, systematic reviews, and those reporting on retrospective experiences by adults over 18 were excluded. A total of 254,744 boys were represented across 81 studies.

Methods

A systematic scoping review considered qualitative and quantitative peer-reviewed publications from eight, English-language databases. English and non-English non-peer reviewed publications (‘gray literature’) was identified by both ECPAT International's global network of member organizations and citation chaining.

Results

Overall, 81 peer-reviewed (n = 51) and gray literature (n = 30) documents from 38 countries were included. In total, 254,744 youth participated in peer-reviewed studies (N = 217,726) and gray literature (N = 37,018). General prevalence of sexual exploitation of boys was reported at up to 5 %, with higher rates noted in specifically vulnerable sub-populations (e.g., 10 %, trans youth; 26 %, street-connected youth). The literature indicates that sexual exploitation of boys is reported as occurring primarily between 12 and 18 years old. Multi-level factors are linked to SEC, including individual (e.g., disability status), relationship (e.g., child maltreatment, dating violence), community (e.g., community violence), and societal domains (e.g., discriminatory beliefs). SEC victimization is linked with youth mental and physical health concerns, particularly sexual health. Post-traumatic stress symptomatology or disorder was rarely evaluated. Evidence-based treatments were not available, which may be related to a lack of gender-based theoretical models for understanding SEC specifically.

Conclusion

The sexual exploitation of boys is a prevalent public health, child rights, and clinical issue. All young people experiencing sexual exploitation face sex- and gender-specific challenges, and this remains the case for boys with indications including family rejection, implicit community tolerance for abuse to service accessibility barriers. Actioning our duty to care for all children requires gender- and trauma-informed lenses. Ongoing surveillance of all forms of violence against children, with gender disaggregation, is essential for practice and policy advancement.

中文翻译：

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对男孩性剥削文献的全球系统范围审查

背景

对儿童的性剥削 (SEC) 是一种普遍存在的犯罪行为，对儿童受害者的发育、健康和福祉产生影响。作为受害者，男孩受到的临床和研究关注要少得多。虽然具体情况因素可能会影响 SEC 风险，但认识不足的性别规范可能会否认男孩的脆弱性。专业人士未能充分认识和应对男孩的性剥削可能会阻碍他们获得支持。

客观的

这项系统范围审查更新并扩大了之前对涉及男孩性剥削的流行率、受害者/犯罪者/协助者特征、控制机制以及健康相关性和结果的文献的审查。该综述包括来自 38 个国家、14 种语言的国际同行评审文献和灰色文献。

参加者及设置

2000 年至 2022 年的研究包括 18 岁以下男孩样本或 18 岁以下儿童按性别分类的数据。案例研究、系统评价以及 18 岁以上成年人回顾性经历的报告被排除在外。81 项研究共有 254,744 名男孩参与。

方法

系统范围审查考虑了来自八个英语数据库的定性和定量同行评审出版物。英语和非英语非同行评审出版物（“灰色文献”）由 ECPAT International 的全球成员组织网络和引文链识别。

结果

总体而言，纳入了来自 38 个国家的 81 份同行评审 (n = 51) 和灰色文献 (n = 30) 文件。总共有 254,744 名青少年参与了同行评审研究（N = 217,726）和灰色文献（N = 37,018）。据报告，男孩遭受性剥削的普遍发生率高达 5%，特别弱势群体中的发生率更高（例如，跨性别青年为 10%；与街头有联系的青年为 26%）。文献表明，据报道，对男孩的性剥削主要发生在 12 至 18 岁之间。SEC 与多层次因素相关，包括个人（例如，残疾状况）、关系（例如，虐待儿童、约会暴力）、社区（例如，社区暴力）和社会领域（例如，歧视性信仰）。SEC 受害与青少年的身心健康问题有关，特别是性健康。很少评估创伤后应激症状或障碍。缺乏基于证据的治疗方法，这可能与缺乏专门理解 SEC 的基于性别的理论模型有关。

结论

对男孩的性剥削是一个普遍存在的公共卫生、儿童权利和临床问题。所有遭受性剥削的年轻人都面临着性和性别方面的挑战，对于男孩来说，情况仍然如此，其迹象包括家庭拒绝、社区对虐待的隐性容忍以及服务无障碍障碍。履行我们照顾所有儿童的责任需要了解性别和创伤的视角。对一切形式的暴力侵害儿童行为进行持续监测并按性别分类，对于实践和政策的推进至关重要。