Shari Williams
Return to Service Provider Interviews
This method cost 2%.
“Prostitutes come here several times a week seeking medical treatment for injuries sustained in an apparent fight. These women rarely ever tell what happened to them, even when their injuries are severe. We are under no obligation to report the incident to the police unless a firearm was used, so many of the assaults don’t get reported. It troubles me to see this cycle of violence. The recent homicide victim was also a familiar walk-in patient. What hurts the most is when a new face shows up in the emergency room.”
Response Revealed
Encourage prostitutes to report serious offenses to the police.
Police in some jurisdictions work hard to develop a good rapport with street prostitutes to persuade them to report juvenile prostitutes, violent clients, client robbery, etc., and to give evidence against pimps. Prostitutes who assist the police may require extra protection because they risk violent retaliation.
Response Revealed
Distribute information about known dangerous clients to prostitutes.
Police in some jurisdictions distribute so-called “bad dates” lists to street prostitutes, warning them to stay away from clients who are known to assault prostitutes. Some people may view this as condoning prostitution, however.
Response Revealed
Educate and warn high-risk prostitute and client populations.
Working with other institutions, you can target education and warning messages to groups especially likely to become involved in prostitution, as either prostitutes or clients.
Certain groups are especially vulnerable to being recruited or drawn to street prostitution, among them juvenile offenders, juvenile runaways and juveniles in group homes (residential custody). Young people who are at high risk for being recruited into prostitution usually have multiple critical social and psychological problems that require attention if they are to be kept out of prostitution.
Among the high-risk client groups are male conventioneers, male soldiers, and previously arrested clients. The education and warning information can be conveyed through letters, lectures, video presentations, billboards, warning signs, or media outlets. A growing number of jurisdictions have established court-ordered education programs for convicted clients. These so-called "john schools" confront prostitution clients about the consequences of their behavior. They usually include information about the legal and health consequences for clients, the impact of street prostitution on the community, and the negative effects of prostitution on prostitutes. Recidivism rates for clients who participate in court-ordered education programs are low (around 2% to 7%). It is less clear what added deterrent value there is in the education program beyond what is achieved by any official intervention, from a warning to an arrest.
