Comparing the Characteristics of Child and Adult Prostitutes in Tehran

In this article, we compare some of the personal, familial and social characteristics of two groups of prostitutes in Tehran: 1) women who began their work as prostitutes before they turned 18; and women who became involved in prostitution after the age of 18. In the study, the average ages at which child and adult prostitutes started working were found to be 16.09 and 24.53 years respectively. Child prostitutes had received around 8 years of education on the average. The most factors pushing children toward prostitution were being sexually abused in childhood, running away from home, acquainting and befriending a prostitute, having addicted parents, having financial responsibility for other people, and history of arrest before engagement in prostitution. The results of this study confirm previous findings on the characteristics of abused children and risk factors associated with child prostitution.