Sisters Speak Out: The Lives and Needs of Prostituted Women in Chicago, A Research Study

In July 2000, the Center for Impact Research (CIR) began investigating prostitution in the Chicago metropolitan area. The first phase of the project established an estimate of the prevalence of prostitution activities, documenting that a minimum of 16,000 women and girls in the Chicago metropolitan area are engaged regularly in the prostitution industry. Due to violence, substance abuse, homelessness, and health problems, women often are unable to safely exit prostitution. The second phase of the project more closely examined the lives of women in prostitution, in order to better understand their needs for services and support.CIR trained 12 prostitution survivors to conduct in-depth interviews with women throughout the Chicago metropolitan area who were currently, or had recently been, involved in prostitution. In all, 222 women representing various segments of the prostitution industry were interviewed. While this was not a random sample, and is not representative of all women engaged in prostitution, we believe it is large enough to provide helpful information for understanding the lives of women in prostitution, and what can be done to assist them

Sodomy and Prostitution: Laws Protecting the “Fabric of Society”

[Excerpt] “Throughout history many people have viewed sodomy and prostitution as moral evils, because sex has often been linked to sin and, therefore, to immorality and guilt. For example, in ancient Hebrew, a sodomite was known as a qadhesh, a male temple prostitute who was associated with heathen deities and impure forms of worship. The female version of qadhesh, qedheshah, is translated directly as prostitute. This archaic view of labeling prostitution and sodomy as impure has been challenged over time, and both topics are still a source of great controversy. […] This note is a comparative analysis of sodomy and prostitution. This note will examine the history of both topics in the United States and, to a limited extent, in other countries. The primary focus will be on the laws and regulations governing people who engage in either practice, as well as the moral arguments used in opposition to either practice. The note will also look at the change in sodomy laws after Lawrence, current arguments for changing prostitution laws, as well as examine the effect the reasoning of Lawrence may have on future challenges to anti-prostitution laws. This note is intended to show similarities between the moral justifications for banning sodomy and prostitution, as well as the heterosexist influence on society concerning both issues. This note does not advocate for a change in prostitution laws. This note concentrates on a limited aspect of both sodomy and prostitution. In dealing with sodomy, the note discusses only consensual sodomy. Sodomy perpetrated upon a person in the context of rape or coercion is not discussed in this note. Additionally, consensual and voluntary prostitution between adults is the only form of prostitution covered by this note. This note will not address the prostitution of underage people, forced prostitution, or human trafficking. Part II focuses on a general overview of American regulations that are based on moral arguments. Part III provides an overview of sodomy and prostitution, specifically addressing how regulations are used to address moral issues.

UPAYA PENANGGULANGAN TINDAK PIDANA PROSTITUSI ONLINE OLEH KEPOLISIAN DAERAH JAWA TIMUR (Studi di Kepolisian Daerah Jawa Timur)

Online prostitution is very rife, spreading and mushrooming in people's lives, in this case online prostitution is very easy to do with only the user's cellphone and can order a prostitute. Online prostitution activities are carried out because it is easier and safer to carry out prostitution transactions practically. The role of the community is very important and needed by the police in carrying out their duties and functions to prevent online prostitution crimes in the East Java region. The problems discussed in this study are 1) what are the factors that are constraining the East Java Regional Police in dealing with online prostitution crimes? 2) what are the efforts to deal with the East Java Regional Police against criminal acts of online prostitution? the purpose of this research is to find out and examine legal countermeasures and the obstacles to the practice of online prostitution in the East Java area. The method used in this study is sociological juridical, linking legal writing done sociologically by paying attention to social aspects. The conclusions and suggestions in this research are the East Java regional police, namely through two efforts in the form of preventive and repressive efforts

Sexual Autonomy and Violence Against Women

Our position is that the threat and experience of violence that sex workers face is a crucial issue to address and should be considered in debates concerning the legalization of prostitution because even in countries where prostitution is legalized, prostitutes continue to experience violence. Our focus is to show that violence is crucially important to address because both the experience and the fear of physical, sexual or psychological harm erodes women ’s capacity to choose and act autonomously. We shall argue, then, that despite differences between inside and outside prostitution, all women in prostitution suffer unacceptable levels of violence ; hence, we conclude that all forms of prostitution continue to be morally problemati

The challenges of Belgian prostitution markets as legal informal economies: an empirical look behind the scenes at the oldest profession in the world

An extensive body of literature exists on sex work and prostitution, covering a variety of topics. The relation between prostitution and the informal economy, however, has not been widely studied. This article aims to contribute to this under-researched domain. Furthermore, it empirically contributes to the current topical policy debate on prostitution by offering insights into the perceptions of prostitutes and other stakeholders in the prostitution business and policy towards it in Ghent, Belgium. The empirical results draw on a qualitative research design, using a combination of semi-structured interviews with prostitutes, policymakers and social workers, document analyses and dossier analyses. These methods indicate that although sexual exploitation exists, prostitution can certainly not, by definition, be equated with exploitation, coercion or male domination. Furthermore, in contradiction to the current mainstream European point of view, no support was offered by the respondents for the criminalisation of clients. However, no full consensus was found regarding legalisation and regularisation of prostitution and its related activities. As different stakeholders have varying interests and preferences, more broad empirical research is needed to identify all their needs

Forced Prostitution: Naming an International Offense

This paper presents an argument for recognizing forced prostitution as an international offense in its own right for which the procurers, brothel owners and managers, and financiers as well as the women\u27s customers can be held criminally liable. While the international debate has attempted to characterize forced prostitution as slavery, the term slavery fails to evoke the images of all the violations that encompass forced prostitution. Were the United Nations and regional organizations to acknowledge and label forced prostitution as an international crime, their member states would be required to enact domestic legislation outlawing and criminalizing it as well as strictly enforcing those provisions. While forced prostitution could be prosecuted in most countries under a variety of statutes, the international community has not succeeded in its attempts to decrease the prevalence of the practice because it lacks a universal rallying point that would focus attention on the dismal practice

The Prostitution of Women and Girls In Metropolitan Chicago: A Preliminary Prevalence Report

This report represents the first ever research to determine the number of girls and women involved in prostitution in the Chicago metropolitan area. It marks the first phase of a project designed to ascertain how many of these girls and women are being affected by problems of violence, abuse, substance abuse, and homelessness in an effort to better help them escape from prostitution and rebuild their lives. Between July 2000 and March 2001 the Center for Impact Research (CIR) collected arrest statistics, conducted interviews with 124 social service providers in a range of fields, and investigated Internet and print source materials advertising prostitution services and online communication of men who solicit women and girls for prostitution to determine area

Prostitution as a social issue - the experiences of Russian women prostitutes in the Barents region

This article analyses prostitution in the Barents Region as a social question through the subjective experiences of female Russian prostitutes. The women who were interviewed for this research live their everyday lives in the context of Russia. The operational possibilities of the women are based on a sociocultural framework which differs from that of Western countries. This article addresses the following question: How does prostitution construct the agency of women in the Barents Region? The question is explored in terms of the social relationships of the women, their everyday agency within the local environment, their living conditions, and the marginal conditions of their lives. Our focus is on the social structures and the position of the women within them. The data used in this article consist of observational material as well as interviews with 17 women, wherein they discuss their experiences of prostitution in the Barents Region. All of the material was collected in Murmansk, Russia between 2004 and 2008. Qualitative content analysis was performed as a means to understand the aforementioned women’s experiences of prostitution and its relation to everyday life. Prostitution is a product of social structures, a woman’s position, the accessibility of support, and the available personal, social and mental resources. Sometimes prostitution is a way to survive. Women who practice prostitution are often seen only as stereotypes, but the individual paths of their lives and the social contexts in which they live are integral to an understanding of the causes and effects of sex work

Prostitution of Juveniles: Patterns From NIBRS.

Examines the prostitution of juveniles by analyzing incidents of this problem that come to the attention of law enforcement. Part of the Crimes Against Children Bulletin Series, this Bulletin draws on data from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to provide a profile of juvenile prostitution, noting characteristics that distinguish it from its adult counterpart. Although information about the prostitution of juveniles is scarce, the data from NIBRS can be used to help juvenile justice officials and others better identify and respond to the sexual exploitation of youth

Prostitution & Instrumentalization

Is prostitution immoral? Various philosophers have put forward arguments for thinking so, one of the most notable being that, by engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment, the prostitute instrumentalizes himself or herself. In this paper, I identify two meanings of "instrumentalize" and, with them, two versions of the instrumentalization argument for the immorality of prostitution. I then critique each version of the argument