1741-1771
The normalization of Child exploitation and prostitution in paris can be seen at least as far back as 1741.
Procuring mothers, Sacrificed daughters, and "Helpful" Policement
Nina Kushner of Columbia University wrote an important piece about eighteenth-century prostitutes as the breadwinners of their families. In this piece, Kushner discusses the typical entrances into the life of prostitution for young girls.
-
Directly prostituting the child
-
Professional brokers
-
Forcing the girls into the Opera
​
The sacrifice of young daughters in impoverished families at the Opera was so common that there was a nickname for the mothers who participated in it, Meres L'Opera. Often, this was the most expensive route for getting a child into prostitution, but those who did it had the biggest payout.
​
Kusher examines 25 dossiers out of 225 compiled by two Parisian police officers, discussing the "increase" in sexual capital that girls who went into prostitution through the Opera as well as how girls would later escape this life.
Once girls entered the opera...
Their parents essentially forfeited all rights to their daughters, as they were now under the protection of the king. Thus, many of these young girls did not have to experience what must have been a tremendous amount of trauma. Unfortunately, as Kushner points out, a combination of fear and youthful naivety likely contributed to these young girls often not utilizing rights that could have saved them.
​
Source(s):
Kushner, Nina. "Procuring Mothers, Sacrificed Daughters, and "Helpful" Policemen: The Elite Prostitute as Family Breadwinner in Eighteenth Century Paris." Proceedings of the ... Annual Meeting of the Western Society for French History, vol. 29, 1974, pp.11-20.
​