Youth Involvement in Prostitution: A Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography

Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography (continued)

Sexually Exploited Youth Committee of the Capital Regional District. (1997). Report of the Sexually Exploited Youth Committee of the Capital Regional District. Victoria, B.C.

In 1996, the Sexually Exploited Youth Committee of the Capital Regional District in Victoria, British Columbia was mandated to develop an action plan to support “high-risk” and “sexually exploited youth,” and to make “legislative and program recommendations to prevent the sexual exploitation of youth.” The Committee conducted interviews with 75 street involved/sexually exploited youth. The findings indicate that many youth became involved in prostitution as a means of subsistence (e.g., for food, shelter and money), that youth involved in the sex trade experience violence at the hands of customers and pimps, and most sexually exploited youth have “unmet educational needs.” The Committee’s action plan includes the following: safe homes, “an inter-municipal police unit to deal with specifically with the problems of sexual exploited youth;” prevention of childhood sexual abuse; changes in “policies and procedures to provide more effective prosecutions in cases of youth sexual exploitation;” raise the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 years of age; and, education programs that stress the victimization of sexually exploited youth. The Committee calls for a coordinated effort to help implement their proposed action plan.

Shaw, I., & Butler, I. (1998). Understanding young people and prostitution: A foundation for practice? British Journal of Social Work, 28, 177-196.

The authors of this paper review the child prostitution literature, with particular focus on the methodological challenges associated with researching young prostitutes and recent evidence used to explain the phenomenon. Some of the methodological and conceptual differences observed in the prostitution-related research include: 1) disagreement over the definition of youth prostitution. Various interest groups help shape the definition of youth prostitution, and service providers should therefore treat all definitions (including their own) with “circumspection.” 2) Disagreement over the relationship between abuse and prostitution. Two basic explanations have emerged to explain involvement in prostitution: a) abuse leading to loss of self-worth and “indifference to how one is treated by adults.” 2) Abuse leading to a series of events (i.e., running away from home and living on the streets) that precipitates involvement in prostitution. Regardless of the “imperfect state of our knowledge” about youth prostitution, there are serious risks associated with involvement in the sex trade (i.e., violence and abuse on the streets). Overall, the authors assert there is enough evidence to recommend a “reflective and strategic” approach to dealing with youth prostitution.

Silbert, M., & Pines, A. (1981). Sexual child abuse as an antecedent to prostitution. Child Abuse and Neglect, 5, 407-411.

This study examines the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and subsequent involvement in prostitution. Data were collected from interviews with 200 female youth and adult street prostitutes. Subjects were contacted through public service announcements, information leaflets, and word of mouth. Interviewers used the “Sexual Assault Experiences Questionnaire” to gather information on the respondents’ background, history of sexual assault and exploitation, and “plans for the future.” The results document a history of childhood sexual abuse among most participants; 60% of the subjects reported being sexually exploited by an average of 2 assailants, and the abuse continued for an average period of 20 months. “Two-thirds were sexually abused by father figures.” Participants reported negative emotional, physical and attitudinal impacts because of the abuse. 70% indicated that their decision to prostitute was related to their childhood sexual abuse. The findings contribute to our understanding of “antecedents of prostitution,” and the “long-term impact” of child sexual abuse.

Silbert, M. (1982). Prostitution and sexual assault: Summary of results. International Journal of Biosexual Research, 3, 69-71.

This paper summarizes results from a questionnaire on sexual assault experiences administered to 200 female street prostitutes. The results indicate that female street prostitutes experienced serious victimization, physical and sexual abuse, and learned helplessness. Many of these women were distressed about their lifestyle, however they felt trapped and unable to leave the sex trade. 60% of the subjects experienced childhood sexual abuse, and most subjects entered prostitution after running away from a sexually, physically and emotionally abusive home life. Most reported victimization (e.g., physical abuse, serious rape, and robbery) at the hands of pimps and customers. Many were also victimized in non-prostitution related situations (e.g., muggings). Most respondents did not report their victimization to authorities, and they did not attempt to seek help for the “negative emotional impact” of their abuse.

Silbert, M., & Pines, A. (1982a). Entrance into prostitution.Youth and Society, 13, 471-500.

Researchers invited 200 current and former female prostitutes in the San Francisco Bay area to participate in a study examining the factors contributing to involvement in prostitution. Respondents were contacted through public service announcements, information leaflets, and word of mouth. Subjects complete a Sexual Assault Experience Questionnaire that gathered information on demographics, home life experiences, social support systems, and motivation for involvement in prostitution. Approximately 60% of the respondents indicated they were victims of physical and sexual abuse during childhood. The authors suggest two patterns of entering prostitution: 1) Caucasian juveniles from above-average economic backgrounds who experienced “physical, emotional and sexual abuse at home.” These youth ended up on the streets where they became involved in prostitution. 2) Less prevalent were minorities from “low-socio-economic backgrounds in which crime, drug abuse, and prostitution predominated.” For this group, financial pressures at home led to deviant associations. Overall, most youth became involved in prostitution after running away from a difficult home life and ending up on the streets where they had no other means of support.

Silbert, M. & Pines, A. (1982b). Victimization of street prostitutes. Victimology, 7, 122-133.

This study examines the cycle of victimization experienced by street prostitutes. Data were collected from interviews with 200 female youth and adult street prostitutes. Subjects were contacted through public service announcements, information leaflets, and word of mouth. Interviewers used the “Sexual Assault Experiences Questionnaire” to gather information on the respondents’ background, history of sexual assault and exploitation, and “plans for the future.” The data reveal a cycle of victimization, both before and after the respondents entered prostitution. Most subjects ran away from abusive (sexually and physically) homes and subsequently became involved in prostitution. 60% of the respondents indicated they were victims of childhood sexual exploitation, and everyone experienced physical and emotional abuse. Once involved in prostitution, respondents were raped, beaten, robbed and abused by both customers and pimps. Respondents were victimized in non-prostitution related situations. Most did not report their victimization to authorities, and they did not attempt to seek help for the “negative emotional impact” of their abuse. The research highlights the importance of providing services to help break the cycle of victimization, and better services to prevent youth from entering prostitution.

Silbert, M., & Pines, A. (1983). Early sexual exploitation as an influence in prostitution. Social Work, 28, 285-289.

Research referring to the link between childhood sexual exploitation and prostitution has relied on subjects held in custody, or women who sought therapeutic help. These studies have not included representative samples of victims. This paper reviews findings from a study of 200 female street prostitutes, which examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and prostitution. Participants were contacted through public service announcements, information leaflets and word-of-mouth. Interviewers administered a Sexual Assault Experiences Questionnaire that focused on the respondent’s history of sexual assault and exploitation, and plans for the future. 60% of the respondents indicated they were victims of childhood sexual exploitation. 31% identified more than one person who sexually abused them as children. A majority reported negative feelings about themselves, men, sex and their mothers. 70% stated their exploitation influenced their decision to prostitute. The authors advocate special services for juvenile victims of sexual abuse, and they urge social workers to deal with the “paralysis that underlies the inability of prostitutes to leave their self-destructive lifestyle.”

Silson, P., & Arnold, J. (1986). Street Kids: Australia’s Alienated Young. Austrailia: Australian Institute of Criminology, Australian Criminology Research Council.

Interviews with 36 Australian youths reveal “underlying behaviors likely to bring the youth in contact with the juvenile justice system: Alcohol, drug abuse, prostitution, suicide and serious crime.” Many youth suggest their lifestyles result from their inability “to achieve economic and social linkages to normative Australian society.” They are pushed into prostitution to survive economically and they are pushed into drugs and alcohol, suicide and crime to survive emotionally and psychologically. Most believe that society must revise “its legal, social, educational and economic structures to accommodate the needs and coping strategies of abused juveniles.” The legal system is perceived as nothing more than a punitive response to youths’ coping mechanisms. The youth “hope for the decriminalization of prostitution and drug use and a fairer approach to unemployment compensation for independent juveniles.”

Simon, P., Morse, E., Osofsky, H., & Balson, P. (1994). HIV and young male street prostitutes: A brief report. Journal of Adolescence, 17, 193-197.

The authors of this report present HIV seroprevalence data from a sample of active young male street prostitutes in New Orleans, U.S. The authors examine the relationship between HIV and “socio-demographic characteristics, substance abuse patterns, HIV-related risk behaviours and AIDS knowledge.” The data are used as a basis for recommending HIV-related health and prevention programs for adolescent male street prostitutes.

Simons, R. & Whitbeck, L. (1991). Sexual abuse as a precursor to prostitution and victimization among adolescent and homeless women. Journal of Family Issues, 12, 361-379.

This study samples 40 teenage runaways and 95 homeless women to examine the impact of childhood sexual abuse on prostitution and victimization. The data suggest that childhood sexual abuse influence the probability of becoming involved in prostitution. Controlling for factors such as runaway behaviour, substance abuse, and involvement in other deviant activities do not challenge the association between early sexual abuse and prostitution. Childhood sexual victimization indirectly influences upon future victimization, primarily through participation in high-risk activities.

Snell, C. (1991). Help-seeking behavior among young street males. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 61, 293-305.

This study samples 70 young male prostitutes to explore and analyze their “help-seeking behaviour.” The authors conducted in-person structured interviews and direct observation of places where young street males assemble. Most respondents indicated they received high levels of emotional and physical support from family members. Friends supplied emotional support, but were not identified as offering physical support. Medical and legal services and ministerial help were identified as most accessible. The police and social and mental health services were described as less “available or useful.” The author discusses implications for social work practice in light of the findings.

Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution (S.C.P.P.) (1985). Pornography and prostitution in Canada. Ottawa: Department of Supply and Services.

The federal government inaugurated the Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution (the Fraser Committee) after a growing dissatisfaction with prostitution-related legislation and feminist concerns about pornography. The Fraser Committee was instructed to conduct sociolegal research to examine the problems associated with pornography and prostitution. When it came to research and recommendations pertaining to youth prostitution, the Committee largely deferred to the Badgley Committee. One important exception was the Fraser Committee disagreed with the Badgley Committee over the recommendation to criminalize young prostitutes as a means of preventing them from becoming entrenched in prostitution; the Fraser Committee argued that creating an age-specific offence contradicted the spirit of the Young Offenders Act. The Fraser Committee recommended the enactment of legislation that criminalized obtaining, or attempting to obtain the sexual services of a youth, as well as amendments to the procuring legislation to create a separate offence for “persuading or deceiving” someone under the age of 18 to prostitute. The Committee also provides several recommendations to improve prevention, education and social service programs. To assist the Fraser Committee with its mandate, the Department of Justice Canada commissioned a series of studies that helped provide the basis of the Fraser Report. The prostitution-related reports included:

Sullivan, E., & Simon, W. (1996). The client: A social, psychological, and behavioral look at the unseen patron of prostitution. Unpublished mannuscript, University of Houston.

Using data from the National Health and Social Life survey (NHSLS), this paper provides preliminary ideas concerning the “demographic, sexual and attitudinal attributes of men who exhibit a predisposition to exchange money for sex.” Among other things, the NHSLS used self-administered questionnaires to ask men (N=1511) if they have ever paid a woman for a sexual encounter. 267 (18%) respondents admitted to having paid a woman for sex; these men were then compared to respondents who stated they have never visited a prostitute. Variables that had no significant relationship with having paid for sex include: religious attendance, household income, area of residence, and being raised in a broken home. Attitudes toward sexuality and sexual behaviour also had no significant relationship with having visited a prostitute. Variables related to having paid a woman for sex include: being in the military, being older in age (visits with prostitutes increased with age), being African-American or Hispanic (for non-military men), and frequency of paying for sex increased at both ends of the education continuum. The authors caution their results do not provide a “singular explanation” of why men purchase sex, however it does open discussions of the numerous “reasons for the behavior.”

Sullivan, T. (1992).Sexual abuse and the rights of children: Reforming the Canadian law. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

In Canada, during the 1980s, there was an explosion of public and professional commentary concerning sexual offences against young persons. In this book, Sullivan attempts to conceptualize the Criminal Code (1988) reforms introduced to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. In specific, the author poses the question: “Who benefits from law reforms centred on the sexual abuse of adolescents.” The book reviews factors contributing to the construction of child sexual abuse as a social problem, and illustrates how responses to child sexual abuse are conceptualized within a professional and liberal welfare state. Discourse produced by the Badgley Report, and upheld by legislative reform, paved the way for “the regulation of sexual behaviour in adolescents and families within the context of professionalization of social and family relations, and the social reproduction of families to consume the service commodities produced by helping professionals in the post-industrial service economy.” After considering the limits of liberal reform, the author explores several alternative strategies for addressing youth prostitution.

Sullivan, T. (1986). The politics of juvenile prostitution. 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.

This paper examines the Badgley Report and recent legislative responses to youth prostitution from a broader social perspective. The author outlines medico-legal, sociological and psychological discourse to situate the phenomenon of juvenile prostitution within the family context. The paper Illustrates how legislation as it affects juvenile prostitution has “historically been uneven and discriminatory both in its spirit and its enforcement.” The Badgley Report is criticized for ignoring many of the broader and social economic factors that make prostitution a “significant point of entry into the labor force for some young workers.” With few education and job-related skills, many youth runaway to the streets and become involved in prostitution as a means of survival. The last section of the paper illustrates that child sexual abuse and youth prostitution are typically dealt with through a professional regulation of the family, which ignores important social and economic issues.

Sullivan, T. (1988). Juvenile prostitution: A critical perspective. In F. Hagan and M.B. Sussman (Eds.), Deviance and the family, marriage and family review, 12, (1/2), New York: The Haworth Press.

This is the same article that appears in J. Lowman, M. Jackson, T. Palys and S. Gavigan (eds.) (1986) “Regulating Sex: An Anthology of Commentaries on the Findings and Recommendations of the Badgley and Fraser Reports.” School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University.

Sullivan, T. (1996). The challenge of HIV prevention among high-risk adolescents. Health and Social Work, 21, 58-65.

This article documents findings from a study of 60 street youth concerning their HIV knowledge and HIV-related risk behaviours. Participants were chosen based on at least one of the following conditions: homeless, homosexual or bisexual, substance use, involvement in prostitution. Structured interviews (lasting 20 minutes) focused on background characteristics, current life circumstances, knowledge about HIV, and involvement in HIV-risk activities. The data reveal high-risk profiles among these socially marginalized youth. Community-based education programs may have some impact on “lower-risk behaviour among this population.” The author identifies “cofactors of risk” that must be addressed (i.e., sexuality and marginalization), and argues for practical educational programs to transform the living conditions of street involved youth.