Valandra, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN
Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work, Vol. 22, No. 2: 195-208, 2007.
Little research has examined the specific healing needs of prostituted African American women. In this qualitative research study, eight African American women who were receiving culturally specific services at an Afrocentric agency participated in a focus group and in-depth semistructured interviews. The analysis revealed seven categories of experience: (1) a legacy of violence and underreporting, (2) family and self-preservation, (3) kinship support and spirituality, (4) hitting rock bottom, (5) barriers to recovery, (6) helpful and harmful services, and (7) a prism of oppression. Implications for social workers, policy makers, advocates, and further research are discussed.
Described by some as the “oldest profession” for women, prostitution seemingly provides a lucrative environment for the exchange of sex for money between mutually consenting adults. Within this paradigm, many customers/clients, sex workers, and corporate commercial conglomerates have argued for the legalization of sex-trade work. Antiprostitution activists, however, have campaigned for the abolition of prostitution, recognizing it a form of systemic violence and exploitation of women and children comparable to rape and domestic violence. Still others have positioned prostitution within the context of colonialism and slavery and have linked it inextricably with the racial, gender, and class oppression of African American and other women and girls of color. For proponents of this perspective, the buying, selling, and trading of women and children are recognized as “the oldest oppressions” or modern-day slavery.
Childhood risk factors and limited access to economic and educational resources place poor African American women and girls at significantly higher rates of risk for entry into prostitution at earlier ages as a consideration for survival (Kramer & Berg, 2003). African American women and girls are disproportionately represented among women who are involved in street prostitution—the lower echelon of the prostitution hierarchy (Kramer & Berg, 2003). They are disproportionately (90%) represented among female victims of prostitution-related homicide (Goktepe et al., 2002), and are more likely (60%) to be controlled by a pimp (Giobbe, 1993; Norton-Hawk, 2004). Prostituted African American women are more likely to be arrested, have higher fines levied, receive more jail time, and have their children removed by the child welfare system (Nelson, 1993). Faced with additional individual barriers associated with child sexual abuse, substance use, and mental health issues, African American women can benefit from culturally sensitive healing and recovery programs that adequately address a multitude of needs. These considerations raise important issues regarding the need for service delivery programs that simultaneously address both individual and systemic factors in serving the needs of prostituted African American women and girls.
The specific recovery needs of African American women survivors of prostitution have received little attention from research. Most prostitution-related research has treated prostituted women as a homogeneous group who are defined almost exclusively by their victimization and/or empowerment. In addition, prostituted women have been compared to nonprostituted battered and sexually assaulted women who need appropriate prostitution-related services. Such research practices have minimized the diverse needs of African American women and the ways in which they resist, survive, and recover. These studies have made the violence of prostitution a priority over the violence of racism and poverty, which also affects the lives of African American women. They have also minimized the importance of the cultural context for the healing and recovery process.
THE AGENCY: BREAKING FREE
Breaking Free, a grassroots Afrocentric nonprofit organization in St. Paul, Minnesota, which since 1996 has served women and girls who are used in systems of prostitution, provides an atmosphere and service approach that acknowledges the cultural context and addresses the impact of systemic race-, gender-, and class-based oppression in the lives of African American women who are recovering from prostitution. It is dedicated to assisting women and girls who are exploited through various forms of violence, including battery, prostitution, and rape, and to promoting social and political change (About Breaking Free, 2003). Located within the African American community, with a board and staff representative of the women who are served, the agency has a philosophy that includes recognition of the following:
- Prostitution as systematic violence against and sexual exploitation of women;
- Sexist and racist attitudes that promote prostitution as violence against women;
- Prostitution as an extension of slavery that disproportionately affects African American women and girls; and
- The systemic barriers encountered by prostituted women, particularly African American women, who are involved in the criminal justice system that impede the women’s recovery.
THE STUDY
Purpose
The purpose of the study was to explore healing and recovery from sexual violence within the context of an Afrocentric approach, using in-depth interviews to magnify the personal experiences and perspectives of the women’s lives. Given the sensitive nature of the topic, interviews were conducted at Breaking Free to maintain familiarity in the environment and to minimize the intrusiveness of the research process (Zimmerman & Watts, 2004). The structure of questions to ask was predetermined (Patton, 1990).
Sampling and Recruitment
Purposive sampling (Goodman, 2001) required the participants to be at least 18 years old, to have self-identified as African American, and to have actively participated in 12 weeks of services or graduated from Breaking Free within the previous year. During weekly educational support groups, the staff of Breaking Free verbally informed women who met the criteria of the study and provided them with a flyer outlining the voluntary nature of the study, its purpose, risks, and benefits. Women who were interested in participating informed the staff. Sixteen women volunteered and were scheduled for one-hour indepth personal interviews that I conducted between October 14 and 25, 2004, in a private setting at Breaking Free. Of the 16 interviews, 8 were completed. Upon completion of each interview, the participants were compensated with $10 in cash from Breaking Free and a complimentary copy (sold at $10) of the CD Rhythms of My Heart: Healing from Within (Valandra, 2002).
Data Collection
A predetermined interview guide, consisting of 17 open-ended questions, was developed to examine antecedents of entry into prostitution, services received, and the women’s experience and perceptions. A semistructured format was used to allow for variability in each participant’s responses throughout the interviews, which lasted 45–75 minutes. Instances in which the participants chose not to share identifying information are reflected in Table 1 as “not indicated.” Notes, instead of a tape recorder, were used to record the participants’ responses and were transcribed later. Finally, each participant was offered a list of resources in the surrounding metropolitan area that provided counseling services for survivors of sexual assault. The majority of the women interviewed refused the resource list, stating a preference, in many instances, to speak with their individual case manager at Breaking Free, if needed.
Data Analysis
The grounded theory approach to data analysis was used to code the data into themes and subthemes (Gilgun, 2001). Each interview was analyzed separately and coded by me. Merging the interviews into categories with related themes and subthemes further reduced the codes from all the interviews. The results were shared during one focus-group meeting that was held at Breaking Free with African American participants of the program and the staff to receive feedback that confirmed the themes, subthemes, and descriptions of experiences that were shared.
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