Sexual exploitation of children and adolescents: a systematic review

Abstract

The sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a diverse criminal action, based on inequality of power and the violation of the bodies of girls and boys who are widely used as commodities in the sex trade. This systematic review study aims to identify elements related to sexual exploitation of young people. The PICO search strategy was used to carry out the systematic review on the Medline, BVS, PubMed and SciElo journals. The inclusion criteria were original articles on women who have been sexually exploited, published between 2010 and 2022, in Portuguese, Spanish and English. A total of 5218 studies were found, of which 256 were read in full by two independent examiners, resulting in the selection of 27 articles for analysis. There was a need for greater monitoring of the reality of children and adolescents, with the implementation of support systems. A debate on the objectification of the female body and the empowerment of girls and their sexual and reproductive rights is suggested, and the topic could even be included on school agendas.