Drug-related Violence and Street Prostitution (From Drugs and Violence: Causes, Correlates, and Consequences, P 208-221, 1990, Mario De La Rosa, Elizabeth Y Lambert, Bernard Gropper, eds. -- See NCJ-128781)

• NCJ Number: 128791
• Author(s): C E Sterk; K W Elifson
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): H62/CCR402972-02
• Sponsoring Agency: Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services; Superintendent of Documents
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Information gathered from male and female prostitutes in Atlanta and New York City formed the basis of an analysis of the relationships between male and female prostitution, drugs, and violence.

Abstract

Data came from 106 female drug-using "streetwalkers" in the New York metropolitan area and 206 male "hustlers" in the Atlanta area. The interviews took place between 1986 and 1989. In addition, 15 customers of prostitutes took part in open-ended interviews. The participants were selected through targeted sampling based on three approaches, street ethnography, theoretical sampling, and snowball sampling. Findings showed that violence and drug use are intrinsic to the world of prostitution. In addition, males tend to work as prostitutes prior to initiating drug use, while females are more often drug users first and later resort to prostitution, often in direct exchange for drugs or for money to buy drugs. The emergence of crack cocaine has also significantly affected the dynamics of the prostitution market, making it more dangerous and unpredictable than in the past. Tables and 44 references