Former compensated dater speaks out against the trend

"Compensated dating" is stronger than ever in Hong Kong, as this CNN video illustrates. The practice of teenage girls offering dating services, often involving sex, in exchange for money can be traced to Japan, where the phenomenon is called enjo kosai.

The video shows Sze, a girl who began dating for compensation because many of her classmates at an all-girls school were doing it. She says she became jealous when she saw the designer clothes, bags and cosmetics they bought with the money they earned through compensated dating. Sze wanted the same for herself, so her classmates introduced her to Internet chat forums where she met male customers.

In a report from Wen Wei-po, Chiu Tak-choi from the Yang Memorial Methodist Social Services said that, contrary to popular belief, girls who engage in compensated dating in Hong Kong are not always from poor families. Girls who become involved with compensated dating often express a desire to escape their families through financial independence and/or have negative relationships with family members.

Lam Yee-ling from Ziteng said in a huaxia.com report that compensated daters, some no more than 13 years old, won't necessarily be scared by stricter legal controls or police crackdowns -- they'll simply begin operating under the radar. She stressed the need for social workers to reach out to these young girls and communicate with them to get to the heart of their problems.