{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T06:18:58Z","timestamp":1776665938748,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,31]],"date-time":"2021-05-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1622419200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000024","name":"Canadian Institutes of Health Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["TE3-138302"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TE3-138302"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000024","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000024","name":"Canadian Institutes of Health Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MOP-119472"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MOP-119472"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000024","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Research about the sexual exploitation of homeless and street-involved boys is limited and often combined with that of girls. As aggregation can distort unique issues among genders which are exploited, this study provides information about the context of exploitation for homeless boys. Boys participated in the anonymous, multi-city British Columbia (BC), Canada Homeless and Street-Involved Youth Health paper surveys of 2006 and 2014. Measures included questions about trading sex for money, shelter, or other consideration; age first exploited; for whom; where they were living when first traded sex; gender of exploiters; and demographics. Analyses, separately for younger\/older boys, explored the prevalence, timing of exploitation vs. homelessness, and ANOVAs to evaluate the patterns of the age of first exploitation by the genders of exploiters. Just over one in four boys reported exploitation (n = 132), with a median age of 14\u201315 in most groups. Most were runaway or homeless before their first exploitation, but 25.5% (2006) and 41% (2014) were living with family. Most boys were exploited by women (78%\u201385%), with 62%\u201365% were exclusively exploited by women.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18115898","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,31]],"date-time":"2021-05-31T21:42:06Z","timestamp":1622497326000},"page":"5898","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Challenging the Stereotypes: Unexpected Features of Sexual Exploitation among Homeless and Street-Involved Boys in Western Canada"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1625-9506","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elizabeth M.","family":"Saewyc","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Stigma and Resilience among Vulnerable Youth Centre, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, T201-2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada"},{"name":"McCreary Centre Society, 3552 E. Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V5K 2A7, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sneha","family":"Shankar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stigma and Resilience among Vulnerable Youth Centre, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, T201-2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lindsay A.","family":"Pearce","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stigma and Resilience among Vulnerable Youth Centre, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, T201-2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Annie","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"McCreary Centre Society, 3552 E. Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V5K 2A7, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1747","DOI":"10.1177\/0886260513511535","article-title":"Age-graded risks for commercial sexual exploitation of male and female youth","volume":"29","author":"Reid","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Interpers. Violence"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"142","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2017.01.019","article-title":"Rethinking research on sexual exploitation of boys: Methodological challenges and recommendations to optimize future knowledge generation","volume":"66","author":"Mitchell","year":"2017","journal-title":"Child. Abus. Neglect."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"440","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2017.12.003","article-title":"A systematic review of the state of the literature on sexually exploited boys internationally","volume":"76","author":"Moynihan","year":"2018","journal-title":"Child. Abus. Neglect."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"188","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2019.01.005","article-title":"A review and critique of the U.S. responses to the commercial sexual exploitation of children","volume":"98","author":"Hounmenou","year":"2019","journal-title":"Child. Youth Serv. Rev."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"(2000). Article 2. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [OHCHR]."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"245","article-title":"Commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of children in the United States","volume":"44","author":"Greenbaum","year":"2014","journal-title":"Curr. Probl. Pediatric Adolesc. Health Care"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"341","DOI":"10.1002\/car.953","article-title":"Broadening the discussion on \u201csexual exploitation\u201d: Ethnicity, sexual exploitation and young people","volume":"15","author":"Ward","year":"2006","journal-title":"Child. Abus. Rev."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Gaetz, S., and Karabanow, J. (2013). Which comes first: Sexual exploitation or other risk exposures among street-involved youth. Youth Homeless in Canada: Implications for Policy and Practice, Canadian Homelessness Research."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.3138\/cjhs.2013.2041","article-title":"Competing discourses about youth sexual exploitation in Canadian news media","volume":"22","author":"Saewyc","year":"2013","journal-title":"Can. J. Hum. Sex."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Cockbain, E., Brayley, H., and Ashby, M. (2014). Not Just a Girl Thing: A Large-Scale Comparison of Male and Female Users of Child Sexual Exploitation Services in the UK, University College London."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104291","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2019.104291","article-title":"Gender, rights and responsibilities: The need for a global analysis of the sexual exploitation of boys","volume":"110","author":"Josenhans","year":"2020","journal-title":"Child. Abus. Neglect."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"354","DOI":"10.1136\/sti.2006.020693","article-title":"Prevalence and correlates of exchanging sex for drugs or money among adolescents in the United States","volume":"82","author":"Edwards","year":"2006","journal-title":"Sex. Transm. Infect."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"312","DOI":"10.1080\/10538712.2013.743950","article-title":"Adolescents\u2019 lifetime experience of selling sex: Development over five years","volume":"22","author":"Fredlund","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Child. Sex. Abus."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"29","article-title":"Profile of high school students exchanging sex for substances in rural Canada","volume":"21","author":"Homma","year":"2012","journal-title":"Can. J. Hum. Sex."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"314","DOI":"10.1007\/s11121-011-0268-8","article-title":"Selling and buying sex: A longitudinal study of risk and protective factors in adolescence","volume":"13","author":"Kaestle","year":"2012","journal-title":"Prev. Sci."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.1016\/S0277-9536(02)00015-1","article-title":"Children and adolescents who sell sex: A community study","volume":"56","author":"Pedersen","year":"2003","journal-title":"Soc. Sci. Med."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1007\/s10508-006-9083-x","article-title":"Selling sex in a population-based study of high school seniors in Sweden: Demographic and psychosocial correlates","volume":"36","author":"Svedin","year":"2007","journal-title":"Arch. Sex. Behav."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1406","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.89.9.1406","article-title":"Prevalence and correlates of survival sex among runaway and homeless youth","volume":"89","author":"Greene","year":"1999","journal-title":"Am. J. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1027338514930","article-title":"Prevalence and predictors of sexual risks among homeless youth","volume":"33","author":"Lifson","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Youth Adolesc."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1258\/0956462001915778","article-title":"Prevalence of HIV infection and risk behaviours among Montreal street youth","volume":"11","author":"Roy","year":"2000","journal-title":"Int. J. STD AIDS"},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Saewyc, E.M., MacKay, L.J., Anderson, J., and Drozda, C. (2008). It\u2019s Not What You Think: Sexually Exploited youth in BC; The Stigma and Resilience among Vulnerable Youth Centre, University of British Columbia."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"423","DOI":"10.1080\/00224499.2010.501916","article-title":"Correlates of engaging in survival sex among homeless youth and young adults","volume":"48","author":"Walls","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Sex. Res."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2008.09.003","article-title":"Street life and drug risk behaviors associated with exchanging sex among male street children in Lahore, Pakistan","volume":"44","author":"Towe","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Adolesc. Health"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"278","DOI":"10.1080\/14623730.2015.1088739","article-title":"Exploring age and gender differences in health risk behaviours and psychological functioning among homeless children and adolescents","volume":"17","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Ment. Health Promot."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.1016\/j.avb.2012.02.005","article-title":"Exploratory review of route-specific, gendered, and age-graded dynamics of exploitation: Applying life course theory to victimization in sex trafficking in North America","volume":"17","author":"Reid","year":"2012","journal-title":"Aggress. Violent Behav."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.1080\/10538712.2018.1477220","article-title":"Interventions that foster healing among sexually exploited children and adolescents: A systematic review","volume":"27","author":"Moynihan","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Child. Sex. Abus."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2015.04.016","article-title":"Assessing exploitation experiences of girls and boys seen at a Child Advocacy Center","volume":"46","author":"Edinburgh","year":"2015","journal-title":"Child. Abus. Negl."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1300\/J485v09n03_05","article-title":"Ethical, legal, and psychosocial issues in care of transgender adolescents","volume":"9","author":"Goldberg","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Transgend."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Tonkin, R.S., Murphy, A., and Sidhu, A. (1999). Our Kids Too\u2014Sexually Exploited Youth in BC: An Adolescent Health Survey, The McCreary Centre Society."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"Tonkin, R.S., Peters, L., and Murphy, A. (1994). Adolescent Health Survey: Street Youth in Vancouver, The McCreary Centre Society."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"Murphy, A., Poon, C., and Weigel, M. (2001). The McCreary Centre Society. No Place to Call Home: A Profile of Street Youth in British Columbia, The McCreary Centre Society."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"414","DOI":"10.1080\/0735648X.2014.1000560","article-title":"Gender stereotyping and sex trafficking: Comparative review of research on male and female sex tourism","volume":"38","author":"Richards","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Crime Justice"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/18\/11\/5898\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T06:09:22Z","timestamp":1760162962000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/18\/11\/5898"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,31]]},"references-count":32,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph18115898"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph18115898","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,31]]}}}