The Youth Enhancement Services today re-launched its campaign against commercial sexual exploitation of children. Since that wasn’t quite hard enough to say, it is now called “inter-generational transactional sex” – which really just rolls off the tongue. But for short it’s called ITS and primarily focuses on men who have sexual relations with young girls in exchange for money. It is more prevalent than you think which is why YES with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank – today launched “the my future is not for sale” mass media blitz with a new spokesperson, new television ad and posters, and a song competition. The spokeswoman is former queen of the bay Karima Card. We spoke to her along with YES Executive Director Karen Cain.
Karen Cain, YES Director
“ITS is the inter-generational transactional sex. It is simply saying that young people or people from one generation which is normally a young generation like young girls are having sex with older men from a different generation which is sometimes like a ten year gap or more and we know that for a fact that has been happening for quite some time. We have been calling it Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents and what happen is the ITS is just a new term but it is the same thing.”
Karima Card, ITS Spokesperson
“The campaign actually started earlier this year and they were looking for someone who they believe will be a good role model towards the targeted audience which is adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 so they just chose me. I am always ready to play an active role in society and I want to help in whichever way I can and this is a very positive thing and getting and putting an end to ITS and I will just try my best to work whichever way possible with YES to put an end to this.”
Karen Cain,
“This campaign basically is for young high school students who are involved in ITS and we are hoping the commercial will be so hard hitting that they are going to realize that it is something that they must stop.”
The “my future is not for sale” song competition takes place on October 17th.
