Youth Involvement in Prostitution: A Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography

Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography (continued)

Lowman, J. (1991a). Punishing prostitutes and their customers: The legacy of the Badgley Committee, the Fraser Committee and Bill C-49. In L. Samuelson, & B. Schissel (Eds.), Criminal justice: Sentencing issues and reform. Toronto, Ontario: Garamond Press.

In 1985, the federal government introduced legislation that criminalized communicating for the purpose of prostitution (the communicating law). Then, in 1988 a new law was enacted to criminalize customers of youth and increase penalties for persons living on the avails of young prostitutes. In this paper, the author examines “patterns of enforcement of these new laws, and the response of the judiciary to offenders.” The paper focuses primarily on the communicating law; however, there is some discussion about the enforcement of legislation aimed at customers of youth (section 212(4)). The author argues that a lack of s.212(4) charges (only two charges in Vancouver during the first two years after its enactment) is an indication of societal priorities regarding youth prostitution, especially when considering the vigorous enforcement of the communicating law after it was introduced (110 youth were charged with communicating during the first two years after its introduction). The author argues: “in terms of the legal response to youth prostitution, it is the youths themselves who are the main object of law enforcement in Vancouver.”

Lowman, J., M. Jackson, T. Palys, & Gavigan, S. (Eds.). (1986). Regulating sex: An anthology of commentaries on the findings and recommendations of the Badgley and Fraser reports., Burnaby: Simon Fraser University.

Considerable public and academic scrutiny followed the Report of the Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution (the Fraser Report) and the Report of the Committee on Sexual Offences Against Children and Youth (the Badgley Report). In this collection of commentaries on the findings and recommendations of the Badgley and Fraser Reports, the editors attempt to assemble “representative, articulate and informed commentaries” to promote discussions about both reports. In addition to the Federal Government’s response to Badgley and Fraser Reports, the text includes several articles that focus specifically on the Badgley Report (and youth prostitution): 1) Norma McCormick reviews criticisms of the Badgley Report through her experience as a Badgley Committee member. 2) Barbara Appleford highlights the response of the Canadian Psychological Association to the Badgley and Fraser Reports. 3) Andy Wachtel examines the Badgley Report in terms of three major themes: the discovery of child sexual abuse as a social problem, the Report’s child centred perspective, and the Committee’s “ambivalence about children and sexuality.” 3) Lorenne Clark criticizes the Badgley Report for its paternalistic tone, and its inability to acknowledge that child sexual abuse is related to our patriarchal social structure. 4) Deborah Brock and Gary Kinsman focus on the Badgley Committee’s avoidance of patriarchal relations that contribute to sexual offences against children and youth. 5) Terry Sullivan argues the Badgley Committee ignores broader social and economic conditions that make prostitution a choice for some youth, and he documents the “professionalization of service delivery.” 6) john Lowman criticizes the Badgley Report for recommending the enactment of legislation to control juvenile prostitutes.

Lowman, J. (1986). You can do it, but don’t do it here: Some comments on proposals for the reform of Canadian prostitution law. In J. Lowman, M. Jackson, T. Palys, & S. Gavigan (Eds.), Regulating sex: An anthology of commentaries on the findings and recommendations of the Badgley and Fraser reports. Burnaby, B.C.: Simon Fraser University.

Growing concern with youth involvement in the sex trade led to the addition of prostitution to the mandate of the Committee on Sexual Offences Against Children and Youth (the Badgley Report). In this paper, Lowman criticizes the Badgley Committee for recommending the enactment of Criminal Code legislation to control juvenile prostitutes. The author problematizes the Badgley Committee’s conclusion that young prostitutes do not appear to experience more sexual abuse while growing up than other Canadians. In addition, the Report is criticized for treating problems faced by young prostitutes as “something they bring upon themselves;” in the process, the Committee individualizes the issue by ignoring the “structural context of youth prostitution.” In general, the author asserts the Badgley Committee provides an inadequate analysis of how some youth become involved in prostitution after running away from an intolerable home-life (due to sexual and physical abuse), and ending up on the streets with marginal employment opportunities. The author concludes that pursuing the recommendation to criminalize young prostitutes would “serve to entrench further the identity of prostitutes as criminals, rather than altering the social structures which makes street prostitution a logical means of subsistence for defamilied youth.”

Lowman, J. (1985/86). Prostitution in Canada. Resources for Feminist Research, 13 (4) 35-37.

This paper provides a “capsule summary” of the results of the Committee on Sexual Offences Against Children and Youth (the Badgley Committee) and the Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution (the Fraser Committee, 1985). The document highlights 6 themes that emerge from both reports: styles of prostitution, characteristics of prostitutes, customers, pimps, law enforcement activities, and available social services. Among other things, the author notes that most prostitutes experience a negative childhood home life, possess few education or job-related skills, and enter the sex trade as juveniles. The author also notes how customers have been virtually immune from prostitution-related law enforcement efforts.

Lowman, J. (1987). Taking young prostitutes seriously. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 24 (1), 99-116.

In 1984, the Committee on Sexual Offences Against Children and Youth recommended the enactment of legislation criminalizing children and youth who engage in prostitution as a means of preventing them from becoming entrenched in the sex trade. This paper challenges that conclusion by criticizing the Committee’s theoretical framework and its interpretation of data on the characteristics of young prostitutes. Problems with the Committee’s assertion that juvenile prostitutes do not experience more sexual abuse as children than do other Canadian youth are outlined. The author argues the Badgley Committee pathologized young prostitutes, thereby decontextualizing the decision to become involved in prostitution. Lowman advocates short-term strategies to reduce youth prostitution, accompanied by long-term initiatives that challenge male sexual socialization and youth unemployment.

Lowman, J., & Fraser, L. (1996). Violence against persons who prostitutes: The experience in British Columbia. Department of Justice Canada.

This study is part of a series of evaluations sponsored by the Department of Justice Canada that examine the incidence of violence against prostitutes prior to and following the introduction of Bill C-49 (the communicating law). Focusing on B.C., the authors use multiple methods and sources to describe violence against “persons who prostitute,” characteristics of offenders, and initiatives to prevent violence against prostitutes. The composite data reveal 67 homicides of prostitutes in British Columbia since 1978 (60 since 1982). The newspaper analysis of homicides indicates that victims ranged from age 15 to 41 and that four youth (under 18 years of age) were murdered between 1974 and 1994. The authors note: “preliminary analysis suggests that women known to have been involved in street prostitution are murdered at a rate somewhere in the region of sixty to one hundred and twenty times the rate at which non-prostitute women are murdered.” The authors identify an indirect link between enforcement of the communicating law and violence against women involved in prostitution: prostitutes are vulnerable to “predatory misogynist violence” because they are forced to work in more secluded locations to avoid detection by authorities.

Lowman, J. (1997). Prostitution law reform in Canada. To be published in an anthology celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Institute of Comparative Law in Japan, Chuo University. Edited by T. Shiibashi, forthcoming.

This paper is a follow-up to a previous article that discussed the events preceding the enactment of the communicating law in December 1985. Considering the experience of the communicating law, and the enactment of legislation prohibiting the sexual procurement of youth, the author examines the impact of interest group activity on prostitution law reform and law enforcement practice. Lowman argues the communicating law creates a quasi-legal milieu, whereby many prostitutes are forced to ply their trade in violent and dangerous locales. In addition, laws that provide increased sentences for procuring and living on the avails of youth, and legislation that criminalize purchasing, or attempting to purchase the sexual services of someone under the age of 18 are rarely enforced. However, law enforcement officials have started to focus on the actions of male customers. The author urges the development of long term strategies that address the conditions producing prostitution, accompanied by short term policies that prevent the sexual procurement of youth, address the public nuisance associated with prostitution, and focus on harm reduction for women who prostitute.

Lowman, J., Atchison, C., & Fraser, L. (1996). Men who buy sex, Phase 1 report. B.C.: Ministry of the Attorney General.

Discussion and analysis of customers who purchase sexual services from prostitutes is a conspicuous gap in prostitution-related research. This scarcity of research on the demand aspect of the trade is related to a lack of institutional records providing information on the client, and a general belief that customers are hesitant to talk to researchers. This research uses various methods and sources to gain information on men who buy sex from prostitutes. The research components include: a literature review, questionnaires administered on the Internet and to men who buy sex, interviews with customers in Vancouver, an analysis of “bad date sheets,” and a survey of court files of men in Vancouver charged under the communicating law (s.213 of the Criminal Code). The research is divided into two phases: phase 1 (this report) includes the literature review, an analysis of “bad date sheets,” and results from the court file survey. Phase two will present the results of the questionnaires and qualitative interviews. Among other things, the court file survey reveals that the average age of clients sampled was 34 years, a majority were Canadian citizens, most worked in blue-collar occupations, and a majority was Caucasian. 150 incidents reported from “bad date sheets” (November 1994 to December 1995) are discussed.

Lowman, J. (1992). Street Prostitution. In V. Sacco (Ed.), Deviance conformity and control in canadian society (2nd ed.). Scarborough: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.

A variety of religious and moral values, coupled with “beliefs about human sexuality” have helped construct societal responses to the female prostitute. This paper examines the sociology of prostitution by reviewing the gender dynamics of the sex trade, the decision to prostitute and purchase sexual services, social reactions to prostitution, and the relationship between responses to prostitution and the organization of the street trade. Biographical information on prostitution suggests that many youth ran away (or were thrown away) from a home life they described as intolerable, and once on the streets prostitution became a viable means of subsistence. In addition, the author outlines various theoretical explanations of the gender dimensions of prostitution, ranging from biological accounts to feminist perspectives. The author argues that prostitution “arises from a gender-based power structure” that contributes to the situational poverty of youth involved in prostitution and the male demand for sexual services.

Lowman, J. (1991b). Prostitution in Canada. In M.A. Jackson, & C.T. Griffiths (Eds.), Canadian criminology: Perspectives on crime and criminality. Canada: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

This paper uses various sources, including state-sponsored research and information papers, to discuss the phenomenon of prostitution in Canada. In addition to reviewing the history of prostitution and prostitution-related legislation and law enforcement, the author profiles contemporary prostitutes and their clients. Research indicates that running away at a young age from a sexually, physically and emotionally abusive home (including state homes) environment often precedes entry into the sex trade. Research also states that men of all ages buy sex, and there are various reasons why some men visit prostitutes (ranging from curiosity, to the desire for a “brief uncomplicated sexual encounter”). A critique of the Badgley Committee’s data concerning childhood sexual abuse of prostitutes, and comments about the Badgley and Fraser Committees’ theoretical perspectives is outlined. Both Committees are criticized for failing to contend with “structural factors such as unemployment, gender inequalities, and male sexual socialization - all factors that help to generate prostitution.” Questions are raised about the lack of charges against customers who sexually exploit young prostitutes.

Lowman, J. (1991c). Street prostitutes in Canada: An evaluation of the Brannigan-Fleischman opportunity model.Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 6, 137-164.

In their article on juvenile prostitution, Brannigan and Fleischman (1987) argue that prostitution is mainly an adult endeavor motivated by financial gain, not “pathological work undertaken by the emotionally damaged and the young.” Relying on an alternative interpretation of the empirical data on youth prostitution, this article challenges Brannigan and Fleischman’s position. First, the author asserts that although most street prostitutes are adults, a majority entered the sex trade before the age of 18. Further, compared to non-prostitutes, prostitutes experienced more physical and sexual abuse as children. Finally, the author criticizes Brannigan and Fleischman for decontextualizing the decision to prostitute (i.e., ignoring the structural factors that help to generate prostitution). The author concludes by advocating a socio-legal approach that considers socio-structural analyses and the social psychology of youth involvement in prostitution.

Lundy, C., &Totten, M. (1997). “Youth on the fault line.” Social Worker, 65, (3) 98-106.

Over the past several years there has been an increase in the levels of unemployment and poverty, coupled with a reduction in social assistance and social programs. These ongoing economic and social changes have negatively impacted disadvantaged youth, “an already vulnerable and marginalized population.” This study examines the effects of unemployment, poverty, and the “reduction of social problems and social assistance” on marginalized youth and their daily lives. The authors administered questionnaires to 606 youths (ages 12-20) who were in contact with the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa-Carleton. The findings indicate that many disadvantaged youths will become involved in prostitution, panhandling, alcohol/drug abuse, and gang activities to meet their needs. In addition, many respondents experienced violence in their “day-to-day lives” (as perpetrators and victims). Most youth continued to pursue “education and employment,” despite their life circumstances. The authors argue that many respondents are at high risk (described as youth on the fault line), and without adequate social and economic support strategies “it is only a matter of time before they are beyond our reach.”