NCJ Number
239768
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 18 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2012 Pages: 562-579
Date Published
May 2012
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined the differences between women who were sexually exploited before the age of 18 and women who experienced prostitution as adults.
Abstract
This study seeks to assess the nature and extent of childhood emotional abuse among adult women in a residential prostitution-exiting program. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the unique role of childhood emotional abuse in the prediction of age of entry into prostitution. Childhood emotional abuse, a history of running away during childhood, and participating in survival-based exchanges of sex were significantly associated with the commercial sexual exploitation of girls younger than age 18, while childhood emotional abuse contributed to predicting a younger age of entry. Results are discussed regarding policy, prevention, and future research. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.