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Netflix accused of glamorizing child sex trafficking with 'Baby' drama

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Emma Batha, Reuters

LONDON - Survivors of sex trafficking urged Netflix on Thursday to can a new show called &quot;Baby&quot; - inspired by an Italian teen sex scandal - accusing the streaming service of normalizing child abuse.In a letter to executives, they accused Netflix of double standards for glamorizing sexual exploitation, weeks after it dumped actor Kevin Spacey, star of its flagship &quot;House of Cards&quot; drama, following allegations of sexual misconduct.&quot;Baby&quot;, which goes into production this year, is inspired by a scandal in Rome in which teenage students from the city&#x27;s wealthy Parioli district were said to have sold sex to buy designer clothes and mobile phones.The racket, involving the exploitation of 14- and 15-year-old girls, was dubbed the baby squillo scandal - a term meaning underage prostitute. The letter said 8 traffickers were arrested and the ringleader was jailed for 10 years.&quot;Netflix recently fired Kevin Spacey... To turn around and produce a show that glorifies the sex trafficking of minors and dub it &#x27;edgy entertainment&#x27; is the height of hypocrisy,&quot; said Lisa Thompson, vice president of the US-based National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE).Netflix was not immediately available for comment.Its site says Baby is &quot;loosely inspired&quot; by the baby squillo scandal, describing the 8-parter as &quot;a coming-of-age story that explores the unseen lives of Roman high schoolers.&quot;The letter sent to Netflix executives on Thursday - National Human Trafficking Awareness Day - was signed by 56 campaigners, social service providers and survivors of sex trafficking, including some who were exploited as teenagers.&quot;There are no &#x27;baby prostitutes&#x27; - only sexually abused, exploited and raped children,&quot; the letter said.The NCOSE, which has also launched an online petition calling for the series to be axed, said any minor engaged in commercial sex was by definition a sex trafficking victim.The letter accused the show of perpetuating a myth that prostitution was a glamorous, entrepreneurial adventure.&quot;If Netflix executives care more about ending sexual exploitation in this #MeToo moment than about profiting from sexually exploitive themes, they will cancel production of this show immediately,&quot; Thompson said.Millions of women have taken to social media to share stories of sexual harassment using the #MeToo hashtag after a slew of assault allegations felled movie mogul Harvey Weinstein last year.Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.

Survivors of sex trafficking urged Netflix on Thursday to can a new show called "Baby" - inspired by an Italian teen sex scandal - accusing the streaming service of normalizing child abuse.

Survivors of sex trafficking urged Netflix on Thursday to can a new show called "Baby" - inspired by an Italian teen sex scandal - accusing the streaming service of normalizing child abuse.

Netflix accused of glamorizing child sex trafficking with 'Baby' drama

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Netflix accused of glamorizing child sex trafficking with 'Baby' drama

Emma Batha,

Reuters

Published Jan 12, 2018 01:05 PM PHT

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Netflix

Baby

child sex trafficking

prostitution

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