NCJ Number
195269
Journal
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: October-December 2001 Pages: 379-390
Date Published
2001
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The linkages between the sex-for-crack exchanges, prostitution, and rising rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases among cocaine-dependent women have been well documented; this study examined the extent to which crack and associated behaviors remained primary in the culture of cocaine-dependent women in Miami, FL, during the years 1994 to 1996.
Abstract
The empirical data for this analysis were drawn from a larger study of the barriers to substance abuse treatment encountered by cocaine-using women in Miami, FL. During 1994 through 1996, a total of 851 women were recruited for interviewing. All of the women were at least 18 years old; had received at least some economic support through criminal activity during their last 30 days on the street; and were cocaine-dependent, in that they had used cocaine at least 3 days every week during the past 2 years, or had entered treatment in the past 30 days because of cocaine use. Of the 851 women respondents, 49.8 percent were recruited on the street, with the balance drawn from treatment. Qualitative data were collected at several points in time. During 1998, in-depth interviews were conducted with a subsample of 30 of the women. Several issues were discussed in detail, including the initiation and patterns of drug use, criminal activities, and sexual behaviors; the Miami crack scene; and drug treatment experiences. In addition to the interviews, a series of 9 focus groups were conducted during the closing months of 1999 with 53 sex traders who had recently entered treatment for cocaine dependence. Of the 851 women recruited, 708 (83.2 percent) reported having traded sex for money or drugs at least once during their last 30 days on the street. The women had long histories of multiple drug involvement, following clear sequential patterns of onset and progression. All of the women had criminal histories, and these began at a median age of 18 years old. The first crime committed was most often prostitution, theft, or drug-dealing offenses. During the 30-day period in question, the 708 women reported having committed a total of 197,804 offenses; of these offenses, 28.3 percent were individual episodes of prostitution/sex trading, 50.9 percent were individual drug sales, and an additional 14 percent were drug business-related offenses. Predatory crimes such as robbery and assault were comparatively few and were engaged in by only a small proportion of the sample. Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the offenses resulted in arrest. The data suggest that a significant proportion of the 708 women sex traders were at high risk for infection with HIV, since many had histories of injecting drugs, having multiple sex partners, many of whom were injecting drug users and HIV-positive. 6 tables and 104 references