Her fight to save her daughter, Assia, 14, from the clutches of her pimping boyfriend has challenged children's institutions and professionals. After denouncing the inaction of the authorities in the face of underage prostitution, a phenomenon affecting 7,000 to 10,000 adolescent girls in France, according to a recent government report, Jennifer Pailhé, a 33-year-old Toulouse woman, will meet Adrien Taquet, Secretary of State in charge of children and families, this Tuesday. A recognition for this mother of a family who, for two years, moved heaven and earth to find and get out of hell her daughter, then under the influence of her pimp, only 17 years old. The prostitution of minors is to be the subject of a national fight plan in October.
The government report published in June on this subject indicates that “the ministerial statistical service for internal security identified 400 minors who were victims of procuring in 2020, against 116 in 2016. In five years, the progression
(of cases penalized and having given rise to of complaints)
is + 70% ”.
By creating the association Nos Ados Oubliés in June to help disadvantaged parents face this phenomenon, Jennifer Pailhé wants to change the approach of institutions and offer concrete solutions.
"A problem of competence"
“At the beginning, my fight was for my daughter, but today, I want to help all these teenagers suffering from this scourge, says this thirty-something determined to be heard. After having read the report devoted to this issue, I recognized my story and noted the same shortcomings: first a problem at the level of the investigators, who do not hear what their parents tell them. It is suggested that the children are consenting, whereas at their age, it is obviously prostitution. This does not happen in brothels but on social networks. Investigators must be trained in this phenomenon to better understand the journey and state of mind of these young girls. Then, there is a problem of competence of the Social Aid for Children (ASE), which depends on the departmental councils.There is a lack of follow-up of these cases which remain in the matrix of suffering and which pushes them to advance in prostitution, believing to be master of their body. "
To read also Prostitution of minors: "The national pimping is in resurgence"
To concretely help these young victims, Jennifer Pailhé will notably plead with Adrien Taquet in favor of the creation of living spaces capable of accommodating between 15 and 20 teenage girls, who could rebuild there thanks to support groups.
The Toulouse mother is also calling for the establishment of a conciliator or a person at the prosecution to follow underage prostitutes.
"You have to understand the hold under which these young girls are, so you need a person, maybe a lawyer, who follows these cases of indoctrination to isolate them from others and protect them," says Jennifer. In the homes, they find themselves with little activity and think only of finding their pimp. They need to regain their self-esteem, perhaps by participating in sports such as defense lessons or dancing. Jennifer Pailhé must also be heard on September 23 by the parliamentary group author of the report on the prostitution of minors.
