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Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, E/CN.4/2000/73, 14 January 2000: Canada

110. In 1984, the Federal Government appointed the Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Youth (the Badgley Committee) to explore legal sanctions pertaining to child sexual abuse and to make recommendations aimed at protecting children at risk. (…) The Badgley Committee also determined that many males involved in prostitution ran away from home because they were ridiculed and ostracized for their homosexual preferences. With little support from family members and a homophobic school environment, many young males turned to the streets where they believed they could meet people of the same sexual preferences and where they could escape from the hostility and derision of family and friends.

139. Many males run away to escape discrimination based on their sexual orientation. Once living on the streets, poverty and inadequate services make prostitution a viable alternative for such youth.

Link to full text of the report: Report-SR Sale of chidren-2000-eng