Sarah Smiles; 21/6/08
Truck drivers are buying sex from Aboriginal girls under 16 in several states, an Australian Crime Commission investigation has revealed. The use of contraceptive implants among indigenous girls – known as “slut sticks” – has also found to be widespread, particularly among 12-year-olds, “making them a target of sexual attention”. In May, an ACC taskforce visited 142 communities across Australia, including the Northern Territory as part of the federal intervention to curb child sex abuse. The taskforce found convicted child sex offenders working with children; children as young as seven experimenting with sex toys; and children trading sex for petrol and food. Prominent families and service providers were found abusing power and community leaders were implicated in abuse.
