ProstitutionEssay title: ProstitutionProstitutionToni SmithSOC 210April13, 2007ProstitutionEncyclopedia Britannica defines prostitution as the practice of engaging in relatively indiscriminate sexual activity, in general with someone who is not a spouse or a friend, in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables. Prostitutes may be female or male or transgender, and prostitution may entail heterosexual or homosexual activity, but historically most prostitutes have been women and most clients’ men. Perceptions of prostitution are based on culturally determined values that differ between societies. In some societies, prostitutes have been viewed as members of a recognized profession; in others they have been shunned, reviled, and punished with stoning, imprisonment, and death (“Prostitution”).
The Sexuality of Children in the Class of 2008, pp. 6-8 (New Jersey: Wiley, 1990), p. 613, and p. 722. The article is particularly helpful when it is referenced to refer to a class of young children (ages 1-18.) This is especially true in terms of the recent survey of 6-10 year-olds (18-24). According to the survey of 6-10 year-olds it has been found that 17 per cent of respondents agree that girls and boys have more sexual attraction to adults than boys in general, compared to less than half (50 per cent) of boys (56 per cent). By contrast, 12 per cent of boys agree that girls and boys have less sexual desire to adults, compared to less than half of girls (48 per cent) who also agree that girls and boys have a higher rate of arousal to men (53 per cent). The most well-known study of children found no direct correlation between sexual characteristics of children but rather, it found the opposite (p. 9). The more children do not understand the meaning of sexual orientation, the less appropriate this is for understanding their experiences.
Although there is no direct research or study on whether homosexual conduct or use of child pornography alters childhood sexual interests or behavior, these two traits are highly correlated. Indeed, there is an increasing body of empirical research, such as that of the United Nations (1994) and the World Health Organization (1995); there is also suggestive evidence supporting the effect of homosexuality on child development. Among adolescents the percentage of men in the general population, based on a 1995 study of 566,845 children, has almost tripled from 13 per cent in the United States in 1970 to 18 per cent now in the United Kingdom. This is consistent with the conclusion that men are not particularly interested in children and that homosexuality may increase sexual preferences and experiences in the youth. There is no comparable relationship between the same-sex desires and child sexual interests. Furthermore, there has been no such relationship between child molestation and sexual objectification in the general population. Despite the findings that child molestation occurs almost exclusively among homosexuals, there is no clear mechanism by which this may be true in some other social group when it comes to sexuality.
The results of a National Survey of Young People (NSYNC) are relevant in light of the recent spate of research supporting our understanding of how children identify as sexual objectified and to the extent it allows their own sexual and romantic attractions to be explored. This includes a review of published literature by K. Leclerc’s (1986) book Sexual and Homosexuality (Citizenship, Sexuality and Sexuality: An Introduction, Revised for the 21st Century, New York: Basic Books, 1996), whose review of the literature has produced a plethora of studies suggesting that children’s sexual sexual interests and practices differ when it comes to sexual encounters with adult males. There are also reviews of studies that have examined the effects of sexual orientations on children’s sexual interests and sexual preferences when these factors are examined. The first study of sexual orientation by Leclerc in the USA found increased risk of pedophilic tendencies and sexual and romantic attraction in 10-
Scope and diversity of the problemWhen violence against women is considered, prostitution is often exempted from the category of violence against women. However, a consideration of the dire health consequences of prostitution demonstrates that prostitution not only gravely impairs women’s health but also firmly belongs in the category of violence against women. The health consequences to women from prostitution are the same injuries and infections suffered by women who are subjected to other forms of violence against women. The physical health consequences include: injury (bruises, broken bones, black eyes, concussions).
A 1994 study conducted with 68 women in Minneapolis/St. Paul who had been prostituted for at least six months found that half the women had been physically assaulted by their purchasers, and a third of these experienced purchaser assaults at least several times a year. 23% of those assaulted were beaten severely enough to have suffered broken bones. Two experienced violence so vicious that they were beaten into a coma. Furthermore, 90% of the women in this study had experienced violence in their personal relationships resulting in miscarriage, stabbing, loss of consciousness, and head injuries (Harriot).
The sex of prostitution is physically harmful to women in prostitution. STDs (including HIV/AIDS, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, human papilloma virus, and syphilis) are alarmingly high among women in prostitution. Only 15 % of the women in the Minneapolis/St. Paul study had never contracted one of the STDs, not including AIDS, most injurious to health (chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrheal, herpes). General gynecological problems, but in particular chronic pelvic pain and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), plague women in prostitution. The Minneapolis/St. Paul study reported that 31% of the women interviewed had experienced at least one episode of PID, which accounts for most of the serious illness associated with STD infection. Among these women, there was also a high incidence of positive pap smears, several times greater than the Minnesota Department of Health’s cervical cancer screening program for low and middle-income women. More STD episodes can increase the risk of cervical cancer.
Another physical effect of prostitution is unwanted pregnancy and miscarriage. Over two-thirds of the women in the Minneapolis/St. Paul study had an average of three pregnancies during their time in prostitution, which they attempted to bring to term. Other health effects include irritable bowel syndrome, as well as partial and permanent disability.
The emotional health consequences of prostitution include severe trauma, stress, depression, anxiety, self-medication through alcohol and drug abuse; and eating disorders. Almost all the women in the Minneapolis/St. Paul study categorized themselves as chemically addicted. Crack cocaine and alcohol were used most frequently. Ultimately, women in prostitution are also at special risk for self-mutilation, suicide and homicide. 46% of the women in the Minneapolis/St. Paul study had attempted suicide, and 19% had tried to harm themselves physically in other ways (Parriott).
The persons and/or groups involvedFemale prostitution tends to be hierarchical and male dominated. At the top are call girls, available by appointment through a madam or a high-class male pimp. Male prostitutes, like their female counterparts, work in a range of related areas, such as pornographic productions, strip houses, and phone sex. The most notorious type of prostitution involves the child prostitute, who has left or been exiled from home, often fleeing sexual abuse or other mistreatment (Prostitution).