Women of the Street : How the Criminal Justice-Social Services Alliance Fails Women in Prostitution

Women of the Street explores encounters between those who make their living by engaging in street-based prostitution and the criminal justice and social service workers who try to curtail it. Working together every day, the lives of sex workers, police officers, public defenders, and social service providers are profoundly intertwined, yet their relationships are often adversarial and rooted in fundamentally false assumptions. The criminal justice-social services alliance operates on the general belief that the women they police and otherwise regulate choose sex work as a result of traumatization, rather than acknowledging the fact that socioeconomic realities often inform their choices. Drawing on extraordinarily rich ethnographic research, including interviews with over one hundred street-involved women and dozens of criminal justice and social service professionals, the book argues that despite the intimate knowledge these groups have about each other, measures designed to help these women consistently fail because they do not take into account false assumptions about street life, homelessness, drug use and sex trading. Reaching beyond disciplinary silos by combining the analysis of an anthropologist and a legal scholar, Women of the Street offers an evidence-based argument for the decriminalization of prostitution. Explores Encounters Between Those Who Make Their Living By Engaging In Street-based Prostitution And The Criminal Justice And Social Service Workers Who Try To Curtail It .working Together Every Day, The Lives Of Sex Workers, Police Officers, Public Defenders, And Social Service Providers Are Profoundly Intertwined, Yet Their Relationships Are Often Adversarial And Rooted In Fundamentally False Assumptions. The Criminal Justice-social Services Alliance Operates On The General Belief That The Women They Police And Otherwise Regulate Choose Sex Work As A Result Of Traumatization, Rather Than Acknowledging The Fact That Socioeconomic Realities Often Inform Their Choices.drawing On Extraordinarily Rich Ethnographic Research, Including Interviews With Over One Hundred Street-involved Women And Dozens Of Criminal Justice And Social Service Professionals, Women Of The Street Argues That Despite The Intimate Knowledge These Groups Have About Each Other, Measures Designed To Help These Women Consistently Fail Because They Do Not Take Into Account False Assumptions About Street Life, Homelessness, Drug Use And Sex Trading. Reaching Beyond Disciplinary Silos By Combining The Analysis Of An Anthropologist And A Legal Scholar, The Book Offers An Evidence-based Argument For The Decriminalization Of Prostitution. -- Provided By Publisher. Workin' It, Advocating, And Getting Things Done -- Occupational Risks -- Harm Reduction And Help Seeking -- Discretion. Susan Dewey And Tonia St. Germain. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Explores encounters between those who make their living by engaging in street-based prostitution and the criminal justice and social service workers who try to curtail it. Working together every day, the lives of sex workers, police officers, public defenders, and social service providers are profoundly intertwined, yet their relationships are often adversarial and rooted in fundamentally false assumptions. The criminal justice-social services alliance operates on the general belief that the women they police and otherwise regulate choose sex work as a result of traumatization, rather than acknowledging the fact that socioeconomic realities often inform their choices. Drawing on extraordinarily rich ethnographic research, including interviews with over one hundred street-involved women and dozens of criminal justice and social service professionals, Women of the Street argues that despite the intimate knowledge these groups have about each other, measures designed to help these women consistently fail because they do not take into account false assumptions about street life, homelessness, drug use and sex trading. Reaching beyond disciplinary silos by combining the analysis of an anthropologist and a legal scholar, the book offers an evidence-based argument for the decriminalization of prostitution. -- Provided by publisher Women of the Street explores encounters between those who make their living by engaging in street-based prostitution and the criminal justice and social service workers who try to curtail it. Working together every day, the lives of sex workers, police officers, public defenders, and social service providers are profoundly intertwined, yet their relationships are often adversarial and rooted in fundamentally false assumptions. The criminal justice-social services alliance operates on the general belief that the women they police and otherwise regulate choose sex work as a result of traumatization, rather than acknowledging the fact that socioeconomic realities often inform their choices. Drawing on extraordinarily rich ethnographic research, including interviews with over one hundred street-involved women and dozens of criminal justice and social service professionals, the book argues that despite the intimate knowledge these groups have about each other, measures... SOC002000 Social Science / Anthropology / General This is a work about people who make their living by engaging in street-based sex trading and criminal justice and social services efforts to curtail it through the work of police officers, public defenders, judges, probation officers, or court-mandated therapeutic treatment providers. Coauthored by an anthropologist and a legal scholar, the text explores these interactions and the cultural context in which they take place by drawing upon six years of ethnographic research with hundreds of women involved in street-based prostitution and illicit drug use, as well as dozens of the criminal justice and social services professionals who regularly interact with them