Gang members use a number of different strategies to convince girls to prostitute themselves:
Many girls agree to become prostitutes without much hesitation because of their love for and dependency on one of the gang members. But if they object to getting involved in the sex trade or refuse the demands of the gang members, they may be intimidated, threatened or beaten until they see no other option but to submit.
What should I do if my daughter is hanging around a street gang?
"Prostitution juvénile par les gangs" brochure
(Street gangs and juvenile prostitution - in French only)
"Break the Silence!" brochure
Gang members hang out in many places where young people gather: schools, arcades, parks, public transit and so on. The gang members who recruit young girls for prostitution approach them by first seducing them.
At the beginning, these girls are showered with all kinds of care and attention, both emotionally and materially:
As the gang member is busy laying the path that inevitably leads the girl to prostitution, the girl is falling in love with him. Before long, she is blinded by her feelings and doesn't realize how much her "boyfriend" is controlling her. Nor does she believe she will be sexually exploited.
After a few weeks or months of the dream life with the gang member she’s in love with, the girl is gradually drawn into prostitution to become a source of income for the gang.