By Gwen Davis

“Most people see teenage prostitutes as willing participants in the act of prostitution. It’s not true. Children are forced to work as prostitutes by vicious, vile pimps who make them do unspeakable things with their little bodies,” said Dr. Lois Lee in a video presented to the SeaTac City Council on Aug. 14 honoring members of the police department who cracked down on sex trafficking in SeaTac.

“American people are beginning to realize child prostitution is an American problem going on in the streets of our cities. It’s not just a third world problem,” she said.

Three members of the SeaTac Police Department received a “Soldier of Social Work” award for their work in founding and supporting the Genesis Project in SeaTac – a 24-hour drop-in center for young women and girls involved in sex trafficking.

The honorees – Officer Andy Conner, Det. Joel Banks and Det. Brian Taylor were awarded by Lee in front of council members.
Lee’s work in fighting sex trafficking and helping its victims has been ground breaking.

In 1979 Lee founded Children of the Night (COTN) – a private, residential facility in California that provides refuge for young prostitutes, aged 11 to 17-years-old. Residents learn what it is like to be a kid again, according to the organization – with renting movies, recreational outings, pets and birthday parties. The girls attend school in the facility, earn high school credit and learn how to create resumes and college applications so they can successfully reenter society and achieve their goals. The program accepts girls from all over the country. It is the only program of its kind in the U.S.

“I was in Children of the Night in 1992 and 1993,” said Monica, one of the two alums who spoke before the council. “I ran away to L.A. when I was 13-years-old, after 37 placements in foster care. I was pushed into prostitution the first day I showed up.”

“I don’t know if I’d be here today to tell this story if not for Children of the Night,” she said. “There’s a safe place to pull your life together and be treated with respect and integrity. It makes me really happy to see that the SeaTac police department sees these girls as important.”

While Children of the Night and the Genesis Project change girls’ lives, they are also pivotal in getting pimps off the streets.

Estimates of juveniles involved in prostitution in the U.S. range from 100,000 to 3 million. Prostitution is illegal for all parties involved, but victims are also criminals.

Pimps target girls or women who seem naive, lonely, homeless or rebellious, according to research conducted by Dr. Melissa Farley in 1998. The attention and feigned affection typically convinces the girl to “be his woman”. Pimps ultimately keep prostituted women in their power by verbal abuse, physical coercion, beatings and threats of torture. 80 to 95 percent of all prostitution is pimp-controlled, according to research.

SeaTac was chosen to house the Genesis Project due to the large international airport and the high number of hotels and motels. In 2009, 81 minors were involved with arrests for sex trafficking in the South Seattle area. Estimates suggest there are approximately 1,000 minors involved in sex trafficking in King County.

“Each one of those girls is just as important as anyone here,” Conner said as he was given his award. “I want to give them the chance to pursue their own dreams.”