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Street Prostitutes in Canada: An Evaluation of the Brannigan-Fleischman Opportunity Model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2014

John Lowman
John Lowman
Affiliation:
School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University
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Abstract

On the basis of a review of research on prostitution and prostitution in law enforcement in Canada, Brannigan and Fleischman have argued that prostitution is as mainly adult occupation motivated by financial gain, not “pathological work undertaken by the emotionally damaged and the young.” In this paper, an alternative interpretation suggests, among other things, that: 1) although the majority of Canadian street prostitutes are adult, most of them began their careers as youths; 2) a much larger proportion of street prostitutes report childhood “sexual” and other “abuse” than do non-prostitutes; and 3) the “choice” to prostitute ought to be understood in terms of the social-structures which circumscribe that choice.

Résumé

Après avoir examiné les études réalisées sur la prostitution et sur l' application de la législation relative à la prostitution au Canada, Brannigan et Fleishman ont affirmé que la prostitution est principalement une activité d'adultes motivés par les gains financiers et non pas «une activité pathologique de personnes ayant des troubles émotifs et de jeunes». Le présent article propose une autre interprétation qui suggère, entre autres choses, que: 1) bien que la majorité des personnes se livrant à la prostitution au Canada soient des adultes, la plupart ont commencé quand elles étaient jeunes; 2) les personnes se livrant à la prostitution déclarent avoir subi des sévices “sexuels” ou des mauvais traitements durant leur enfance en plus grande proportion que celles qui ne s'y livrent pas; 3) le “choix” que fait une personne de se livrer à la prostitution devra être compris en tenant compte des structures sociales qui poussent à ce choix.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société , Volume 6 , 1991 , pp. 137 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Law and Society Association 1991

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