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"This father
was one who risked his daughters; he was playing a game with destiny,
and he put them into the stake...from all this the result was, in
the midst of human society constituted as it is, two miserable beings
who were neither children, nor girls, nor women, a species of impure
yet innocent monsters produced by misery."
Victor Hugo, Les
Misérables,
Marius Book VIII, Chapter IV
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Child prostitution was
rampant in 19th century Paris, as daughters- frequently prepubescent-
were forced into sexual encounters with bourgeouis men for as little
as a single franc. The transactions were informal, and the girls
tended to be taken to a dark alley or under a bridge; occasionally,
a room in her own home became used for the purpose. As the majority
of lower class prostitutes were not registered, no regulations concerning
age of consent were enforced. Reports were rampant of businesses
implicated in the selling of children. Police reports yield the
example of florist stands in Toulon which were merely a front: the
young girls that worked there, most between the ages of 11 and 13
years old, would be deployed to the homes of wealthy patrons for
"deliveries."
Studies done at the time
indicate that 21% of working prostitutes lost their virginity prior
to their 16th birthday, although the age of highest incidence was
17. In contrast to most perceptions, the client responsible for
this defilement was rarely middle-aged or older. 73.5% of the men
were between 18 and 28, with the age of highest incidence 22. Given
these girls' youth, it is likely that many of them were introduced
to prostitution by their impoverished family. Ironically, when a
young girl was impregnated by a client, her family would generally
throw her out on the streets for bring shame upon the family. Left
destitute and alone, with no developed skills, they resorted to
the only life they were accustomed to and joined the ranks of streetwalkers.
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