Updated: Monday, 04 Apr 2011
GLENDALE - It's a project that's been in the works for 2 years. Project Streetlight's safe house for teenage victims of prostitution has officially opened its doors.
It's hard to believe, but child prostitution is a booming business in the valley.
"People tend to think about sex trafficking in places like India, Cambodia, they don't think about Phoenix or Scottsdale, but it's happening," says Jami Thorne from Streetlight PHX.
"Between 100,000 and 300,000 domestic children are trafficked every year in our country, and it's estimated there are only on average 100 beds available in our country for these children," says Melodee Bosna.
Streetlight's mini-neighborhood has six homes, complete with kitchens and multiple bedrooms. They can take in about 30 girls.
Before now, the victims were housed in jails.
"Up until the last four or five years, the common attitude within the system was that these girls were delinquents or criminals, there weren't any other resources available to them."
In the Phoenix area alone, police estimate more than 200 girls are forced into sexual slavery a year, and they come from all backgrounds.
The girls who come to Streetlight's campus can stay as long as they want to. They'll go through a comprehensive psychological and physical rehabilitation.
"Oftentimes when a police officer will rescue a girl, the first thing that they do is feed them. They turn 100 percent of their earnings over to their pimp. If they don't, they pay for it," says Thorne.
For security and privacy reasons, the Streetlight's location is not made public.
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