Child prostitution - Definition and Overview

A child prostitute is a child who sells sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for money or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. An adult who sells sexual services is a prostitute, a type of sex worker.

While some forms of prostitution are legal in certain parts of the world, child prostitution is illegal everywhere. Especially teenage prostitution is still rampant in many parts of the world, often in connection with sex tourism. Prostitution of less than 14 year olds occurs as well but is much rarer.

People who prefer sex with pre-teen children to sex with teenagers or adults are paedophiles. Adult people who prefer sex with teenagers are ephebophiles. Many customers of teenage child prostitutes are actually neither; they just like to abuse the victims because they're often cheaper to have and offer less resistance to perverted sexual practices.