Womens Prostitution and the Criminal Justice System Essay -- Female W

In the following assignment, it is my intention to produce a research report, examining women involved in street prostitution and how they end up entering the criminal justice system. Within the report I will look at three pieces of research, review their main findings, the type of research that was used, and look to identify where I believe further research is required. My reason for choosing women in the criminal justice system is that I have expressed an interest in the criminal justice setting and my elective module is in this area. Anything that I learn from undertaking this assignment will aid my understanding and increase my knowledge base when undertaking my second placement. Prostitution has been defined as: "Prostitution involves the exchange of sexual services, sometimes but by no means exclusively, sexual intercourse, for some kind of reward, money, drink, drugs, a meal or a bed for the night" (Shaw & Butler 1998) Another simple definition offered was, prostitution is: "The purchase and sale, involving cash payment of sex" This is the preferred definition of Glasgow's Street Working Women as stated in: Stewart, A (2000). Historical Background ===================== Throughout the UK and internationally, the issue of prostitution is seen as an ever-increasing problem. For the purpose of this assignment I will concentrate on the issue of prostitution within the United Kingdom. There has been a marked rise in the incidence of street prostitution since the 1980s and a growth in the proportion of intravenous drug users involved in street prostitution. In Glasgow, police estimate that ar... ...emale population in Cornton Vale Prison is represented by black or ethnic minorities, (HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland 2001). One Area that could use further research was highlighted in the Herald newspaper this week; it has become a very worrying state that women are apparently being coerced into working in illegal saunas as prostitutes. Sauna owners are buying the women's debt they then 'work' to 'pay off' the debt, according to retired Chief Inspector Nannette Pollock " the wording that refers to these women is debt-bonded", (The Herald 1/11/02) One other area for further research could be the use of language used within the criminal justice system, terms like 'common prostitute' could and should be removed then maybe some of the stigmatisation that these women are subjected to would also be removed.