In some countries, extreme poverty triggers parents into pushing their children into prostitution. Trafficking networks use children in vulnerable situations to enrich themselves, and other people take advantage of this misery to turn these children into sex slaves.
In some parts of the world it is believed that having sex with a child can cure certain diseases. Actually, the opposite is true: it is in fact sexual relations with children that are most likely to cause infection and transmit diseases such as AIDS. Very often, minors who are involved in prostitution are not aware of the means of prevention and protection from sexually transmitted diseases.
Whatever the country, cultures, traditions or religious beliefs, a child is never asking for sex.