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| Media Contact: Office of Institutional Advancement (602) 787-7774 |
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PHOENIX September 2, 2009 –
The growing problem of child sex slavery in Phoenix is the topic of the North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce’s open-to-the-public meeting 8 to 9:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11 at the Paradise Valley Community College Center for Performing Arts, 18401 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix. The chamber and Paradise Valley Community College are co-sponsoring the free event to raise public awareness about the city’s more than 50 child prostitutes as young as 13, many of whom were abducted and forced into prostitution. Peggy Bilsten, former Phoenix City Councilmember and vice president of StreetLight, will discuss the scope of the problem and how to keep our children safe. StreetLight, a program of the nonprofit organization Stop Child Rape For Profit Inc., is raising funds to open the first safe house in the Southwest for young girls fleeing sexual exploitation.
In Phoenix, the average age of entry into prostitution is 13 and the city is known to be one of the worst in the nation for sheer number of victims.
“These children are picked up from malls, not of their free will, and they are introduced to hell,” says Bilsten.
For further details about the public forum, contact chamber Executive Director Jean Lukens, Jean@northphoenixchamber.com or 602-482-3344.
