California protects child prostitutes.

Adults who hire juvenile prostitutes will be treated as sex offenders under a tough new law in California.

"Under the current system, children who engage in this type of activity are hit with the heavy hand of the law, while the adults who solicit them are given a slap on the wrist," says California Speaker Pro Tem Leland Y. Yee, who sponsored the law.

Yee hopes to reduce child sexual exploitation by punishing the abuser through enhanced penalties for adults who use child prostitutes. The measure adds an additional year in prison to the sentence of adults convicted of any crime committed with a minor involving the exchange of money for "services."

Additionally, the law provides aid to the child victims from the Victims of Crime Compensation Fund and health and human services.

California's ground-breaking legislation (AB 3042) was signed into law in September.

Between 200,000 and 300,000 children nationwide are involved in prostitution and an estimated 10 million worldwide, according to the organization Standing Against Global Exploitation.