For so many, traumatic stress and adversity don't end when childhood officially ends. Kids who age out of foster care are so vulnerable. This article is horrifying as is the fact that there is even such as thing as survival sex.
Here's an excerpt from this article written by Fernando Hurtado.
'It's a real, real dark life'
"It's not a want. It's a need."
— Justina, former foster child
Sofia, 23, was introduced to survival sex in 2014, she told us outside of a coffee shop in Los Angeles' Echo Park neighborhood. She was homeless at the time and sleeping in parks when an ex-gang member approached her.
"Basically, he said he was an ex-pimp, and he said he'd be my manager and look out after me," said Sofia.
It's not just older girls
Sofia was an adult when she was first introduced to survival sex in Los Angeles, but she says this is something younger girls are resorting to.
"It's many girls, from elementary school, to middle school, to high school, they recruit you," said Sofia.
One of Sofia's friends is 16 years old and currently doing it while she lives in a group home.
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