 Children are often forced by social structures and individual agents into situations in which adults take advantage of their vulnerability and sexually exploit and abuse them . Structure and agency commonly combine to force a child into commercial sex : for example , the prostitution of a child frequently follows from prior sexual abuse , often in the child 's home . Many believe that the majority of prostituted children are from Southeast Asia and the majority of their clients are Western sex tourists , but sociologist Louise Brown argues that , while Westerners contribute to the growth of the industry , most of the children 's customers are Asian locals . 
