NCJ Number
205056
Journal
Journal of Trauma Practice Volume: 2 Issue: 3/4 Dated: 2003 Pages: 213-222
Date Published
2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article examines the history and circumstances of prostituted African-American women and the barriers they face in securing support and medical services.
Abstract
The relationship between prostitution and slavery is analyzed as the author traces the historical roots of slavery and prostitution. The sexual exploitation of African-American women flourished under slavery and provided the underpinnings for today’s prostitution industry. Historical racism and sexism have resulted in disproportionate numbers of African-American women being forced into prostitution as a means of survival. Moreover, the systematic racism of societal institutions means that Black women are more likely to be sucked into a pattern of arrest, incarceration, probation, and rearrest. Such systematic racism creates barriers between Black women and the social institutions that could help them. Next, the lack of appropriate and necessary health care for African-American women is described. According to some estimates, young Black women between the ages of 15 and 29 have the highest rate of HIV and STD infection in the Nation. The lack of attention given by the medical community to issues of violence and sexual abuse has resulted in failures within the health care system to adequately address the needs of African-American women and girls in general, and those used in prostitution in particular. Preventative health services are virtually nonexistent or inaccessible and emergency medical care is not capable of meeting the long-term health needs of sexually abused women. The author presents six main principles that service providers must understand in order to properly care for sexually abused Black women, among them is the recognition of the relationship between slavery and prostitution. Finally, the Afro-centric social service agency, Breaking Free, is described as a model program for meeting the long-term needs of African-American women escaping prostitution. Breaking Free’s nine programs are described, followed by a case example of a 30-year-old African-American woman ordered to attend Breaking Free by a county court judge. Prostitution must be the next focus of the battered women’s movement; Black women and girls suffering the sexual assault of prostitution must be offered assistance to overcome the trauma. An understanding of the historical underpinnings of prostitution in slavery is a necessary part of the healing. Notes, references