UNDER-AGE PROSTITUTION : THE ALARMING PHENOMENON | M6 | 66 minutes

In France, the prostitution of minors is exploding, up 70% in 5 years and affecting the whole country. According to the French Ministry of the Interior, between 7,000 and 10,000 young girls are selling their bodies. Most of them are between 15 and 17 years old, and half of them started prostituting when they were around 14.

To help these destitute mothers and minors who sell their bodies, Jennifer Pailhé has set up an association called “Nos ados oubliés” (“Our forgotten teenagers”). She herself went through hell when she discovered that her daughter Asia was prostituting herself. In addition to Jocelyne, Jenifer now supports dozens of mothers, including Kheira. Her daughter has disappeared, and she hopes to find her.

For these young girls, it’s not the street, but the web. On certain classified ad sites, their publications are easily accessible and unequivocal. The business is lucrative, earning up to 1,500 euros a day. Vulnerable or attracted by the seemingly easy money, they pretend to be volunteers and over 18. Today, pregnant with her 2nd child, the fruit of prostitution, she is trying to leave this environment.

Often under the thumb of former petty criminals who have become pimps, few dare to stop and lodge a complaint, especially as the justice system has difficulty in punishing these dealers in women. Eva knows all about it. After 2 years of fighting, her pimp only got 9 months in prison last month.

Helping these women to take legal action is the work of an association that provides free lawyers to defend them. We’ll be following a case with them.

How did these young girls get to this point? What is their daily life like? How is this new form of human trafficking organized? Investigation into the worrying phenomenon of under-age prostitution.