Canada's largest study into the sexual exploitation of street kids and runaways has shattered some myths about who the abusers might be --with the most surprising finding being that many are women seeking sex with young males.
"Some youth in each gender were exploited by women with more than three out of four (79%) sexually exploited males reporting exchanging sex for money or goods with a female," said Elizabeth Saewyc, associate professor of nursing at the University of B.C. and principal investigator for the study conducted by Vancouver's McCreary Centre Society.
"I must admit it wasn't something we were expecting."
The results were drawn from interviews with 1,845 youth -- some as young as 12 -- in surveys taken across the province between 2000 and 2006.
The stereotypical model of the child being abused -- a teenage female being sexually abused by a male -- was wrong, said Saewyc.
Sexual exploitation is defined as youth under 19 trading sexual activities for money, drugs, gifts, food, services, shelter, transportation or anything similar.
The study found 94% of females reported they had been sexually exploited by men.
But the study found that young males were being preyed upon by sexual predators of both sexes.