Women in Street Prostitution: The Result of Poverty and the Brunt of Inequity

Street prostitution is intrinsically related to poverty. Female prostitutes, in disproportionate numbers, are known to be ethnic minorities who are impoverished, uneducated and possess few marketable skills. Viewed as depraved individuals, lawmakers have and continue to chastise these women through the law. Consistency in enforcing prostitution laws, which includes laws against patronizing prostitutes, nonetheless, has been and continues to be inequitable. The female prostitute or sex worker continues to be the target of enforcement strategies, while the illegal activities of the sex buyer are minimized or completely ignored. Sentencing practices have also followed suit. The aim of this article, then, is to (1) discuss Africana womanist theory in the context of prostitution; (2) present structurally centered arguments for why poor and minority women resort to prostitution; (3) discuss prostitution laws; (4) examine the differential practices of law officials between the female prostitute and the male customer (a.k.a., the John) with a specific focus on John Schools; and (5) propose short term and long term solutions that may start to redress the impact of structural racism, sexism and classism on the female prostitute.