Focusing on the Clients of Street Prostitutes: A Creative Approach to Reducing Violence Against Women. Final Report

摘要

Although the number of working prostitutes in the U.S. is difficult to estimate, Department of Justice arrest statistics for prostitution hover around 100,000 per year. Concern over prostitution has led to the formation of local organizations and task forces designed specifically to address the issue in many communities. There are often complaints about the negative effects of prostitution on the livability of neighborhoods and the harm it does to local businesses. Law enforcement officials share these concerns, and are particularly concerned with the vice often associated with prostitution. Perhaps most importantly, prostitutes are frequent victims of violent crime, including assault, rape, and murder. Reports of violence are particularly compelling when one recognizes that a substantial proportion of prostitutes begin working while still minors. The issue of AIDS has added urgency to efforts to understand prostitutes and their clients. While prostitutes do not deserve the reputation they currently hold as polluters of the heterosexual population, prostitutes themselves are under a high risk of contracting the AIDS virus and other sexually transmitted diseases. The vast majority of those arrested for prostitution are women, with only about 10% of arrests consisting of clients, virtually all of whom are men, a situation that has been decried as unfair and discriminatory.