University of Maryland, School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2010 Dec;31(12):775-84. doi: 10.3109/01612840.2010.524345.
Prostitution involves the exchange of sexual services for economic compensation. Due to the sexual promiscuity surrounding prostitution, women involved in prostitution constitute a high-risk group for contracting and transmitting STDs, including HIV. Prostitution is not only a public health concern, but also an economic one. Cities throughout the United States spent an average of $7.5 to $16 million per year enforcing prostitution laws and addressing negative outcomes associated with prostitution. Thus, women involved in prostitution are a cause for concern from both public health and economic perspectives. However, little is known about why women remain in this type of behavior given the risks prostitution presents, and even less is known about how to intervene and interrupt the complex cycle of prostitution. Thus, the purpose of this study was to understand what factors contribute to a woman's decision to remain in prostitution. A series of interviews were conducted with 12 women engaged in street-level prostitution. Results of the study revealed that drug use not only spurs entry into prostitution, but also contributes to the tenure of prostitution. Further, social support and economic stability are plausible reasons for women remaining in prostitution. These findings lead us to recommendations for policy and program development. Women involved in prostitution are a highly marginalized population, rarely recognized as individuals with life histories. Understanding why women remain in prostitution is important, because until these determinants are known, intervention programs designed to interrupt the cycle, and ultimately prevent prostitution, cannot be formulated.
卖淫是指以性服务换取经济补偿的行为。由于卖淫活动涉及到性滥交，因此从事卖淫的女性是感染和传播性传播疾病（包括艾滋病）的高风险群体。卖淫不仅是一个公共卫生问题，也是一个经济问题。美国各地的城市每年平均花费 750 万至 1600 万美元来执行卖淫法，并解决与卖淫相关的负面后果。因此，从公共卫生和经济角度来看，从事卖淫的女性是值得关注的。然而，尽管卖淫行为存在风险，但很少有人了解为什么女性仍然从事这种行为，甚至更少有人了解如何干预和中断卖淫的复杂循环。因此，本研究的目的是了解是什么因素促使女性决定继续从事卖淫。研究人员对 12 名从事街头卖淫的女性进行了一系列访谈。研究结果表明，吸毒不仅促使女性进入卖淫行业，而且还会延长她们的卖淫生涯。此外，社会支持和经济稳定是女性继续卖淫的可能原因。这些发现为政策和项目的制定提供了依据。从事卖淫的女性是一个高度边缘化的群体，很少被视为有生活史的个体。了解女性继续卖淫的原因很重要，因为在了解这些决定因素之前，无法制定旨在中断循环并最终预防卖淫的干预计划。
