Young girls are being tempted into prostitution by watching the sex-and-money plots of films and television programmes, youth workers said last night.
Youth Outreach deputy director David Shum Tai-wai said that there was a growing trend among youngsters for them to engage in sex for material profit.
He blamed the phenomenon on movies and videos depicting scenes of prostitution.
'The influence of the media on them is powerful. They will follow suit if the information they gain suggests the technique works,' Mr Shum said.
The growing number of broken families in the territory had weakened young people's ties with home and made them vulnerable to outside influences, he said.
He was also concerned about the possibility of gang members exploiting vulnerable young girls.
