SEX WORK TOOLKIT

Talking with your children about sex work is uncomfortable yet necessary. Many of our young people are being recruited into this lifestyle because we are fearful of sharing with them the realities of the sex industry and that it does exist.

• Be available to your children and youth.
• Make sure your house is open to your children bringing their friends home.
• Know where your kids are. Be familiar with their friends and daily activities. Be reasonable as your children get older.
• Be aware of your children’s use of the Internet and use software to preempt access to adult content websites.
• Be sensitive to changes in your kids’ behaviour that signal that you should talk to them about what caused the changes.
• Be alert to a person who is paying an unusual amount of attention to your kids or giving them inappropriate or expensive gifts.
• Teach your kids to trust their own feelings and assure them that they have the right to say NO to what they sense is wrong.
• Listen carefully to your kids’ fears and be supportive in all your discussions with them.
• Teach your kids that no one should approach them or touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. If someone does, they should tell their parents immediately.
• Be careful about babysitters and any other individuals who have custody and care of your children.
• Listen to any concerns that children might have about teachers, volunteers or anyone else they interact with at school.
• Ask your school to bring in experts and schedule educational workshops to talk to parents, students and teachers about recruiting tactics and sexual exploitation.