DOCSLIB.ORG

The Commonalities and Shared Experiences of Female Prostitutes Who Were Sexually Exploited As Children: the Perspectives of Clinical Social Workers

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Commonalities and Shared Experiences of Female Prostitutes Who Were Sexually Exploited As Children: the Perspectives of Clinical Social Workers St. Catherine University SOPHIA Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers School of Social Work 5-2015 The Commonalities and Shared Experiences of Female Prostitutes Who Were Sexually Exploited as Children: The Perspectives of Clinical Social Workers Heather Wilmes St. Catherine University Follow this and additional works at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers Part of the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Wilmes, Heather. (2015). The Commonalities and Shared Experiences of Female Prostitutes Who Were Sexually Exploited as Children: The Perspectives of Clinical Social Workers. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers/545 This Clinical research paper is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Social Work at SOPHIA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers by an authorized administrator of SOPHIA. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Commonalities and Shared Experiences of Female Prostitutes Who Were Sexually Exploited as Children: The Perspectives of Clinical Social Workers by Heather Wilmes MSW Clinical Research Paper Presented to the Faculty of the School of Social Work St. Catherine University and the University of St. Thomas St. Paul, Minnesota In Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Social Work Committee Members: Rosella Collins-Puoch, Ed. D., MSW, LICSW (Chair) George V. Baboila, MSW, LICSW Nikki Knudson-Dalal, MA, LAMFT, LADC The Clinical Research Project is a graduation requirement for MSW students at St. Catherine University/University of St. Thomas School of Social Work in St. Paul, Minnesota and is conducted within a nine-month time frame to demonstrate facility with basic social research methods. Students must independently conceptualize a research problem, formulate a research design that is approved by a research committee and the university Institutional Review Board, implement the project, and publicly present the findings of the study. This project is neither a Master’s thesis nor a dissertation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Rosella Collins-Puoch for her feedback and support throughout this process. Thank you, Lisa Richardson, for your continued support. Thank you to my Committee members. Thank you to my classmates for offering a shoulder to lean on. Thank you to my son for refusing to give up on me. Thank you, Graham, for helping me through the darkest hours. Thank you Mom and Dad for keeping me motivated. Thank you to the family and friends that helped me throughout this process, and for keeping me motivated, and for understanding why I was absent from activities. 4 ABSTRACT Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LICSW) provide services to vulnerable populations. As the number of sexually exploited women in Minnesota and the United States grows, so does the number of women needing services from social workers. It is important that LICSWs understand the population of women who have engaged in prostitution that were victims of sexual exploitation as children. If LICSWs are knowledgeable about the commonalities and shared experiences of the women they serve, they may be able to identify common risk factors and provide appropriate services. This research study sought to identify the commonalities and shared experiences of female prostitutes that were sexually exploited as children. The major themes that emerged from this data were: 1) females who engage in prostitution are often victims of child sexual exploitation; 2) common risk factors exist; 3) family dysfunction leads to survival sex; 4) poor self-esteem; 5) barriers to receiving service exist; 6) technology has increased the invisibility of victims; 7) the definition of sexual exploitation is too broad and hard to understand; 8) mentors are important, and 9) group therapy can be effective in helping victims to heal. Implications for social worker practice and future research are discussed. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 4 Prevalence of Child Sexual Exploitation in the United States .............................................. 4 Prevalence of Sexual Exploitation in Minnesota .................................................................... 5 An Increase in the Demand for Child Pornography .............................................................. 6 Various Forms Child Sexual Exploitation .............................................................................. 6 Sexual Abuse of a Child ..................................................................................................... 6 Child Sex Tourism and Child Sex Trafficking ................................................................... 7 Survival Sex ........................................................................................................................ 8 Child Pornography and Child Sexual Exploitation on the Internet .................................... 8 Risk Factors that Increase a Female Child’s Vulnerability to Sexual Exploitation ........... 9 Missing and Runaway Children .......................................................................................... 9 Gender ............................................................................................................................... 10 Children Living in Poverty ............................................................................................... 11 Children with Substance Abuse Disorder ......................................................................... 11 Children in Foster Care ..................................................................................................... 13 Children Who Identify as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, or Questioning ............ 14 Sexually Exploited Female Children Who Engage in Prostitution as Adults .................... 15 Consequences of Engaging In Prostitution as Adults .......................................................... 17 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 17 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................. 19 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 21 Research Design....................................................................................................................... 21 Sample ...................................................................................................................................... 21 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................ 22 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 22 Protection of Human Participants ......................................................................................... 23 FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................... 24 Sample ...................................................................................................................................... 24 Themes...................................................................................................................................... 24 Females who engage in prostitution are often victims of child sexual exploitation. ........ 25 Common risk factors exist ................................................................................................ 26 Family dysfunction leads to survival sex .......................................................................... 27 Poor self-esteem ................................................................................................................ 28 Barriers to receiving services exist ................................................................................... 29 i Technology has increased invisibility of victims.............................................................. 29 The definition of sexual is too broad and hard to understand .......... Error! Bookmark not defined. 31 Mentors are important ....................................................................................................... 32 Group therapy can be effective in helping victims to heal ............................................... 33 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................. 34 Sample ...................................................................................................................................... 34 Themes...................................................................................................................................... 34 Researcher Reactions .............................................................................................................. 38 Limitations and recommendations for future research ....................................................... 38 Implications for social work practice ...................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Vulnerabilities Relevant for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
    TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 1-13 ª The Author(s) 2019 Vulnerabilities Relevant for Commercial Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions Sexual Exploitation of Children/Domestic DOI: 10.1177/1524838018821956 Minor Sex Trafficking: A Systematic Review journals.sagepub.com/home/tva of Risk Factors Hannabeth Franchino-Olsen1 Abstract The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) occur across the United States, violating the rights and health of far too many children and youth. Adequate prevention efforts should seek to understand the factors that make minors vulnerable to sexual exploitation in order to properly design programs to prevent victimization. This review presents the identified risk factors collected via a systematic literature review. Following full-text review, 15 studies were selected for inclusion by meeting the following criteria: original quantitative or qualitative research studies published in English from January 2010 to September 2017 with titles or abstracts that indicated a focus on the risk factors, vulnerabilities, or statistics of CSEC/DMST and a domestic focus on CSEC/DMST (for U.S.-based journals) with findings that did not combine associations between minors and adults in the study. Relevant risk factors and vulnerabilities found in this review include child abuse and maltreatment, caregiver strain, running away or being thrown away, substance use, peer influence, witnessing family violence or criminality, poverty or material need, difficulty in school, conflict with parents, poor mental health or view of self, involvement in child protective services, involvement in juvenile detention or delinquency, early substance use, and prior rape or adolescent sexual victimization. Keywords domestic minor sex trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children, gender-based violence, risk factors, vulnerabilities, prevention Purpose of This Review exploitation (Gerassi, 2015).
    [Show full text]
  • Homelessness, Survival Sex and Human Trafficking: As Experienced by the Youth of Covenant House New York
    Homelessness, Survival Sex and Human Trafficking: As Experienced by the Youth of Covenant House New York May 2013 Jayne Bigelsen, Director Anti-Human Trafficking Initiatives, Covenant House New York*: Stefanie Vuotto, Fordham University: Tool Development and Validation Project Coordinators: Kimberly Addison, Sara Trongone and Kate Tully Research Assistants/Legal Advisors: Tiffany Anderson, Jacquelyn Bradford, Olivia Brown, Carolyn Collantes, Sharon Dhillon, Leslie Feigenbaum, Laura Ferro, Andrea Laidman, Matthew Jamison, Laura Matthews-Jolly, Gregory Meves, Lucas Morgan, Lauren Radebaugh, Kari Rotkin, Samantha Schulman, Claire Sheehan, Jenn Strashnick, Caroline Valvardi. With a special thanks to Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates for their financial support and to the Covenant House New York staff who made this report possible. And our heartfelt thanks go to the almost 200 Covenant House New York youth who shared their stories with us. *For questions on the use of the trafficking screening tool discussed in this report or anything else related to the substance of the study, please contact study author, Jayne Bigelsen at [email protected] Table of Contents: Executive Summary . 5 Introduction . 5 Key Findings . 6 Terminology . 7 Objectives/Method . 8 Results and Discussion . 10 Compelled Sex Trafficking . 10 Survival Sex . 11 Relationship between Sex Trafficking and Survival Sex . 12 Labor Trafficking . 13 Contributing Factors . 14 Average Age of Entry into Commercial Sexual Activity . 16 Transgender and Gay Youth . 16 Development and Use of the Trafficking Assessment Tool . 17 Implications for Policy and Practice . 19 Conclusion . 21 Appendix: Trafficking Screening Tool . 22 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction In recent years, the plight of human trafficking victims has received a great deal of attention among legislators, social service providers and the popular press.
    [Show full text]
  • Violence Against Sex Workers in Africa
    VIOLENCE AGAINST SEX WORKERS IN AFRICA “Every sex worker has got a story to tell about violence” This study was commissioned by the African Sex Worker Alliance (ASWA), under the KP REACH Programme, a regional programme to address HIV amongst key populations in the SADC Region, funded by the Global Fund. KP REACH was managed by Principal Recipient Hivos, and implemented by 4 networks [ASWA; African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR), Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL); and the Southern African Trans* Forum (SATF)], and 3 partner organisations [SAfAIDS, Positive Vibes, and M&C Saatchi] Suggested Citation: African Sex Worker Alliance (2019). “Every sex worker has got a story to tell about violence”: Violence against sex workers in Africa. Nairobi. Research by: Maria Stacey and Brian Kanyemba, Equal Africa DTP and artwork by Jaywalk Design, Cape Town, South Africa Cover image courtesy of Voice of our Voices, eSwatini 2 VIOLENCE AGAINST SEX WORKERS IN AFRICA CONTENTS ABOUT THIS STUDY ............................................................................................................................. 6 Background .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Key Populations Representation Evidence and Advocacy for Change in Health [KP REACH] Programme ................................................................................................................................... 6 Meaningful Representation, Dialogue and Advocacy Action
    [Show full text]
  • Prostitution Terminology (Pdf)
    Prostitution Terminology2 Prostitution: What is it? It is the use of a woman’s [or girl’s or boy’s] body for sex by a man; he pays money, he does what he wants. The minute you move away from what it really is, you move away from prostitution into the world of ideas ... Prostitution is not an idea. It is the mouth, the vagina, the rectum, penetrated usually by a penis, sometimes hands, sometimes objects, by one man and then another and then another and then another and then another. That’s what it is. A prostituted woman (cited in Dworkin, 1997) Child/Juvenile Prostitution The act of engaging in sexual intercourse or performing other sex acts with a child in exchange for money or other considerations (e.g., food, clothing, shelter, affection, etc.). Child Sexual Abuse Sexual activity involving persons younger than 18 years of age. Most often perpetrated by an adult, such activities include rape and molestation, pornography, and exposure of children to the sexual acts of others. Child Sexual Assault Any sexual act directed against a person younger than 18 years of age, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity Child Sexual Exploitation A practice by which a person, usually an adult, achieves sexual gratification, financial gain or advancement through the abuse or exploitation of a child’s sexuality by abrogating that child’s human right to dignity, equality, autonomy, and physical and mental well-being, i.e., trafficking, prostitution, prostitution tourism, mail-order-bride trade, pornography, stripping, battering, incest, rape and sexual harassment.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding the Experience of Transactional Sex Among Young Women in Winnipeg and Its
    Understanding the experience of transactional sex among young women in Winnipeg and its implications for health policy By Dianne Cheng A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Masters of Science Family Social Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba Copyright © 2013 by Dianne Cheng UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCE 2 Acknowledgements I wish to thank the following people for their knowledge, guidance, and support in the development and completion of this thesis: The young women who allowed me to interact with them one-on-one and shared a part of their lives by telling me their stories. Without them this research would have been impossible The staff at various agencies servicing young women who so kindly and willingly helped to recruit young women My thesis committee including Dr. Javier Mignone, Dr. Kerstin Roger, Dr. Susan Frohlick, and Paula Migliardi for sharing their knowledge and insight. They gave their time and encouraged me throughout this process My friends and family for standing by me and supporting me throughout the past year UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCE 3 Abstract While there is evidence that young women involved in transactional sex face economical, emotional and health disadvantages, few studies have examined young women’s understanding and knowledge of risky behaviours (e.g., substance abuse, acquiring sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, etc.) and how these influence their health and well-being. The debate on the definitions, relevance, and causes of transactional sex, as well as on the approaches to address it, is ongoing.
    [Show full text]
  • Decriminalizing Survival
    PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS ACLU Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, LGBTQ Caucus Black Alliance for Just Immigration Black and Pink Black Youth Project 100 Center for Constitutional Rights Collective Action for Safe Spaces DECRIMNOW DC Decrim NY Harm Reduction Coalition HIPS Human Rights Campaign DATA FOR PROGRESS If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice Immigrant Defense Project DECRIMINALIZING Mijente National Black Justice Coalition SURVIVAL: National Center for Lesbian Rights POLICY PLATFORM AND POLLING ON National Center for THE DECRIMINALIZATION OF SEX WORK Transgender Equality National Lawyers Guild National LGBTQ Task Force Reframe Health and Justice The Center for HIV Law and Policy TRANScending Barriers Transgender Law Center URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity Nina Luo, Data for Progress, Fellow Witness to Mass Incarceration Women’s March TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Executive Summary 4 What is the sex trade? 6 What is US government policy on the sex trade? 9 Why should we decriminalize sex work? 14 What about trafficking? 17 Criminal legal models of the sex trade 19 Policy platform for decriminalization 21 National polling on decriminalization and vice policing 27 Conclusion 28 Endnotes ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nina Luo is a fellow at Data for Progress, organizer, media strategist, and writer. Previously at VOCAL-NY, she led prosecutor accountability and sex workers' rights campaigns. Nina is a founding member of both Decrim NY and Survivors Against SESTA. She has also organized with Sex Workers Outreach Project-Boston and Massachusetts Sex Worker Ally Network. COVER PHOTO BY COREY TORPIE DECRIMINALIZING SURVIVAL 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For the first time in presidential primary history, 2020 candidates have competed for a progressive position on the sex trade.
    [Show full text]
  • Gay Rights, Religious Liberty, and the Misleading Racism Analogy
    BYU Law Review Volume 2020 Issue 1 Article 5 Fall 9-30-2020 Gay Rights, Religious Liberty, and the Misleading Racism Analogy Andrew Koppelman Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Andrew Koppelman, Gay Rights, Religious Liberty, and the Misleading Racism Analogy, 2020 BYU L. Rev. 1 (2020). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol2020/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Brigham Young University Law Review at BYU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Law Review by an authorized editor of BYU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 001.KOPPELMAN_FIN.DOCX (DO NOT DELETE) 9/25/20 11:57 AM Gay Rights, Religious Liberty, and the Misleading Racism Analogy Andrew Koppelman* CONTENTS I. AS EVIL AS RACISM ............................................................................................ 3 II. SEVEN ANALOGIES ........................................................................................... 7 A. Destructive Effects ............................................................................................. 7 B. Falsehood...... ....................................................................................................... 7 C. Evil ........................................................................................................................9 D. Disgust................................................................................................................17
    [Show full text]
  • Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children/Sex Trafficking.“ Literature Review
    Last updated: August 2014 www.ojjdp.gov/mpg Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Sex Trafficking Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) refers to a “range of crimes and activities involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child for the financial benefit of any person or in exchange for anything of value (including monetary and non-monetary benefits) given or received by any person.” (OJJDP n.d.). There are no Federal, national estimates of the extent and prevalence of CSEC in the United States due to a variety of issues including general underreporting of the crime and the difficulties associated with identifying and measuring victims and perpetrators. Academic efforts to quantify the extent of the problem have included estimates that range from a few thousand to millions (IOM and NRC 2013; Bryan 2014; The Polaris Project 2012). When estimates are presented, they often come with numerous qualifiers and caveats (IOM and NRC 2013). Commercial sexual exploitation manifests in numerous forms, such as sex trafficking, prostitution, sex tourism, pornography, early marriage, performance in sexual venues, and online or electronic transmission of children engaged in sexual activities (OJJDP n.d.). Sex trafficking is also a form of human trafficking (President’s Interagency Taskforce to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2014, 5). Human trafficking can appear in several other forms, including forced labor, bonded labor, involuntary domestic servitude, child soldier recruitment, and debt bondage among migrant laborers (U.S. Department of State 2011). Recent estimates by global organizations suggest that around 27 million people worldwide are current victims of human trafficking (Williamson 2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Labelling Migrants Who Sell Sex: a Case Study of Brazilians in Spain and Portugal
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Ghent University Academic Bibliography LABELLING MIGRANTS WHO SELL SEX: A CASE STUDY OF BRAZILIANS IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL Julie Lima de Pérez Dissertation submitted in order to obtain the degree of Doctor in Criminological Sciences Promotor Professor Dr. Gert Vermeulen Members of the guidance committee Professor Dr. Conny Rijken Professor Dr. Lieven Pauwels Ghent University, Faculty of Law Academic Year 2014-2015 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A number of people were invaluable to the development of this thesis. Foremost among them was my supervisor, Professor Gert Vermeulen. Since I first approached him with the idea of pursuing a Doctoral degree at Ghent University in the fall of 2010 he has sought to steer me into the right direction. His knowledge, patience and encouragement were priceless to me during this entire process. I would also like to express my appreciation towards Professors Lieven Pauwels and Conny Rijken, the other members of my thesis supervisory committee. From first to last they have helped shape this dissertation into a coherent and presentable body of scholarship and I am indebted to them for their comments, recommendations and insights. I am also much obliged to all the anonymous reviewers who commented on the core articles of this thesis during their submission for publication process. Their questions, concerns and suggestions vastly improved the work which is presented in this thesis. This thesis could not have been completed without the help of my parents who from first to last were my biggest source of support and encouragement.
    [Show full text]
  • Children and Survival Sex: a Social Work Agenda Natalie Thorburn and Irene De Haan
    Children and survival sex: A social work agenda Natalie Thorburn and Irene de Haan Natalie Thorburn is a social worker working in the sexual violence sector and is currently studying towards her Masters in social work, focusing on child involvement in transactional sexual activity. Dr Irene de Haan is a lecturer with the School of Counselling, Human Services and Social Work at the University of Auckland. Her research interests include prevention of child maltreatment and family violence and she chairs regional Family Violence Death Review Panels. Abstract The purchasing of sexual services by adults from children and adolescents affects an un- known proportion of New Zealand youth, and is present in both rural and urban settings. International research shows that on average girls begin using sex for survival between the ages of 12 and 15. It can be argued that the terms used to denote adolescent transactional sex indicate the researchers’ moral position of the subject; the terms ‘prostitution’ and ‘client’ suggesting equal bargaining power and the terms ‘criminality’ and ‘delinquency’ implying victim responsibility. Recent articles are consistent in their comparison of transactional sex to child sexual abuse. Patriarchal ideals relating to gender roles and female sexuality may perpetuate the selling of sexual services by young people. Three primary pathways into survival sex have been identified: through intermediaries, through child sexual abuse and through inadequate protective systems. Children and young people engaged in transactional sex experience a range of adverse effects related to physical, sexual and mental health, and relationships. In New Zealand the use of children under 18 for sexual services is explicitly prohibited, but there are no comprehensive, nation-wide services for victims of transaction- al sex.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Trafficking November 2017 in This Issue Volume 65 Number 6
    Human Trafficking November 2017 In This Issue Volume 65 Number 6 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 United States Department of Justice By Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General of the United States Executive Office for United States Attorneys Washington, DC 20530 Human Trafficking: The Fundamentals ................................................................. 3 By Hilary Axam and Jennifer Toritto Leonardo Monty Wilkinson Director The Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit Contributors’ opinions and statements (HTPU) and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity should not be considered an endorsement by EOUSA for any Section (CEOS): An Overview ............................................................................... 17 policy, program, or service. By Hilary Axam and Steven J. Grocki The United States Attorneys’ Bulletin is published pursuant to Proactive Case Identification Strategies and the Challenges of Initiating 28 C.F.R. § 0.22(b). Labor Trafficking Cases ........................................................................................ 25 The United States Attorneys’ Bulletin By Nirav K. Desai and Sean Tepfer is published by the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, Domestic Child Sex Trafficking and Children Missing from Care .................... 33 Office of Legal Education, 1620 Pendleton Street, By Staca Shehan and Angela Aufmuth Columbia, South Carolina 29201 The Survivor-Centered,
    [Show full text]
  • Curbing Prostitution by Arresting Streetwalkers: the Unequal Treatment of Sex Workers in Crime Enforcement
    Seton Hall University eRepository @ Seton Hall Law School Student Scholarship Seton Hall Law 2013 Curbing Prostitution by Arresting Streetwalkers: The nequalU Treatment of Sex Workers in Crime Enforcement Cara Parmigiani Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.shu.edu/student_scholarship Recommended Citation Parmigiani, Cara, "Curbing Prostitution by Arresting Streetwalkers: The neU qual Treatment of Sex Workers in Crime Enforcement" (2013). Law School Student Scholarship. 384. https://scholarship.shu.edu/student_scholarship/384 CURBING PROSTITUTION BY ARRESTING STREETWALKERS: TilE UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF SEX WORKERS IN CRIME ENFORCEMENT BY: CARA PARMIGIANI I. INTRODUCTION Prostitution is a significant problem in the United States.1 There are an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 child sex workers in the United States2 and the prevalence of adult sex workers is 22.1 per 100,000.3 To reduce prostitution, lawmakers have criminalized the activity in all but one of the fifty states ofthe United States.4 Even when, in most jurisdictions, the statutes prohibiting prostitution prescribe similar punishments for customers and sex workers,5 in practice, the laws are frequently unequally applied.6 Sex Workers are often punished much more harshly and are prosecuted more frequently than customers. 7 Their behavior is criminalized, and they are socially stigmatized, which often prevents them from obtaining other work and therefore perpetuates prostitution.s This paper argues that because prostitution laws are unequally enforced . 1 "The act or practice of engaging in sexual activity for money or its equivalent; commen:ialized sex." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 1342 (9th ed. 2009). 2 RONALD B. FLOWERS, THE PROSTinmON OF WOMEN AND GIRLS, 80 ( 1998).
    [Show full text]