Prostitution in Los Angeles: Court gives girls in sex trade a second chance
Los Angeles Daily News
By Christina Villacorte
Photo by John McCoy/Los Angeles Daily News
May 18, 2014
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… Sara Elander, a child advocate with Saving Innocence, a Los Angeles nonprofit that fights sexual exploitation of children, visits the girls once a week and helps them with everything from enrolling in school and setting up doctor’s appointments, to applying for internships, dressing for a job interview, creating a budget.
“These girls have experienced trauma that I’ll never know but what I can do is tell them, ‘Let’s work on college, housing, et cetera, so that your previous life is no longer an option’,” she said. “We want to allow them to feel empowered about who they are, and not feel defeated because of who they’ve been.”
Alliance for Children’s Rights lawyer Allison Newcombe enables the girls to secure benefits through extended foster care and prepares them for the transition into independence. She appreciates the juvenile justice system realizing, finally, that they are victims who need help. …
