NCJ Number
168193
Date Published
1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper explores the psychopathology of female prostitution in relation to physical and sexual abuse.
Abstract
The patient (Vivianna) was physically and sexually abused as a child. It is common for sexually abused children to become prostitutes. Prostitution is used by these women as an antidote against depression and pain that stems from being used as a debased sex object but never being loved or valued. This antidote works only briefly. When its initial anti-depressant effect wears off, it becomes soul-destroying in its own right. Instead of alleviating depression, it exacerbates the sense of despair and hopelessness. Vivianna's treatment involved group psychotherapy. In the course of the therapy, the group members became more willing to challenge their own assumptions that they had no choice but to be a prostitute, a pedophile, an exhibitionist, etc. Vivianna's integration into the group as a fellow sufferer became more rapid as she shared her abuse as a child. Vivianna gradually disengaged herself from prostitution. She increasingly recognized that through prostitution she not only attempted to exact her revenge on her abusive father by repeatedly being unfaithful to him with other men, she also attempted to take her revenge on her mother by attacking her own body. At the end of the fourth year, she left the therapy group. She was planning to open a restaurant, having been encouraged by her success in running a souvenir shop for the past 2 years.