Sexually exploited children, like all people, require nurturing relationships and belonging, yet they are vulnerable to exploitation because of their lack of secure relationships and histories of betrayal.
This paper explores how a lack of secure relationships can create a dynamic for children to become trapped in sexual exploitation, how current cultural assumptions reinforce the crisis, and where hope lies in a culture that is ready to disregard and incriminate children who do not fit the innocence mold. It was published in the Work in Progress series of the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at the Wellesley Centers for Women.