A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES TRANSITIONING FROM THE SEX TRADE TO LEGAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES A Dissertation by SHANNON KNIGHT DEER Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Lisa M. Baumgartner Committee Members, Jill Zarestky Valerie Hudson Nancy Plankey-Videla Head of Department, Fredrick M. Nafukho May 2017 Major Subject: Education Human Resource Development Copyright 2017 Shannon Deer ABSTRACT Law enforcement, the media, and the public have given recent attention to the sex trade in conjunction with an increased focus on combatting sex trafficking. However, little is known about women’s experiences transitioning out of the sex trade, especially related to learning and finding economically sustainable employment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of women transitioning out of the sex trade, especially related to finding legal employment. Transitional learning theory, experiential learning theory, and a general transition model formed the conceptual framework which guided this study. Participants included 10 adult English speaking women who engaged in the sex trade in Texas for at least 1 year, and who exited the sex trade at least 3 months before being interviewed. Data collection involved two semi-structured interviews composed of open-ended questions and probing questions. I used the constant comparative coding method for data analysis. Respondents described the challenges, supports, and types of learnings used throughout their experience transitioning from the sex trade. The participants’ experiences were categorized into (a) employment related challenges, (b) managing mental health and emotions, (c) navigating basic life skills, and (d) building, rebuilding, and managing relationships. Themes related to women’s supports include (a) how women found support, (b) the importance of support providers conducting a needs assessment with women, (c) the supportive relationships women experienced, (d) the ii necessity of holistic support, and (e) the support women felt was missing while they transitioned. Finally, themes related to women’s types of learning included (a) experiential learning, (b) social learning, (c) the role of survivor leaders in power and policy, and (d) the need to treat survivor leaders as experts and teachers. I organized the findings into a model to describe women’s transition process. The findings have implications for practice—by organizations, employers, and law enforcement—as well as policy and future research. iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to those individuals who are currently in or were formerly in the sex trade, especially the participants in this study. You are the most resourceful, genuine, and caring women I have ever met. Your journeys inspire me daily. Thank you for taking the time to share your stories. I especially want to encourage the survivor leaders who are working as adult educators, helping others with the wisdom they have learned through the years. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Lisa M. Baumgartner, and my committee members, Dr. Jill Zarestky, Dr. Nancy Plankey-Videla, and Dr. Valerie Hudson, for their guidance and support throughout the research process. I cannot measure the impact your insight and challenge had on this study and on my future as a scholar. I could not imagine a more balanced committee to ensure the participants’ voices were heard. Thank you for sharing your incredibly valuable time with me, even all the way from Australia. Thank you to my family, especially my husband, who walked this journey with me, as my editor-in-chief, research partner, often counselor, and best friend. The journey would not have been nearly as fun and rewarding had I not shared it with you. Thank you to my Grandad who is my biggest fan as I am his. We did this together. You talked me through many drives to and from interviews and you were always part of the research. To my parents and sister, I acknowledge the privilege I experience by being born into a family that loves me fiercely and unconditionally. Mom, I am grateful you brainwashed us into going to college and made our mantra “I am woman hear me roar.” Dad, thank you for encouraging us to be strong women. Your legacy will live forever in future generations. I owe a special thank you to Dr. Jill Zarestky and Dr. Cathy Cherrstrom who served as my step-ahead mentors throughout the program. They provided light for my path through the program as well as sanity. Words will never be enough to say thank v you for what you have done for me throughout this journey. The best I can do to say thank you is to pay it forward to those coming behind me and to the students who I mentor as a faculty member. vi CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES Contributors This work was supervised by a dissertation committee consisting of Professors Lisa Baumgartner [advisor] and Jill Zarestky of the Department of Education and Human Resource Development [Home Department], now at Colorado State University, and Professors Valerie Hudson of the Bush School of Government and Public Service and Nancy Plankey-Videla of the Department of Sociology [Outside Department]. All work for the dissertation was completed independently by the student. Funding Sources This work was made possible in part by a Graduate Student Research Grant from the Department of Education and Human Resource Development at Texas A&M University. There are no other outside funding contributions to acknowledge related to the research and compilation of this document. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... v CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES ............................................................ vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................... 7 Purpose ................................................................................................................... 8 Research Questions ................................................................................................ 8 Significance of the Study ....................................................................................... 9 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................ 10 Transitional Learning Theory ......................................................................... 11 Bridges’s General Transition Theory ............................................................. 12 Experiential Learning Theory ........................................................................ 13 Social Cognitive Theory ................................................................................. 14 Definitions ............................................................................................................ 15 Limitations and Delimitations .............................................................................. 20 Summary .............................................................................................................. 21 CHAPTER II INTEGRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................. 23 Overview of the Sex Trade ................................................................................... 23 Prohibition, Abolition, and Legalization Frameworks ................................... 25 The U.S. Legal Framework .................................................................................. 27 Integrative Literature Review Methodology ........................................................ 32 Databases and Search Terms .......................................................................... 33 viii Inclusion Criteria ............................................................................................ 34 Analysis .......................................................................................................... 34 Findings .......................................................................................................... 35 Transition Theory ................................................................................................. 36 Background for General Transition Theories ................................................. 36 Findings from Integrative Literature Review ................................................. 39 Learning Theories ................................................................................................ 49 Background for Social Cognitive Theory ...................................................... 49 Findings from Integrative