And then I became a prostitute … Some aspects of prostitution and brothel prostitutes in Dakar,Senegal

In the framework of a research undertaken to study the role of clients of brothel prostitutes in the spread of HIV in Dakar, Senegal, prostitutes working in several sectors of prostitution (street, bar, hotels, etc.), provided information about their life and about how they became prostitutes through opened interviews. Information was also obtained by observation of the brothels during the fieldwork with clients. This paper describes some characteristics of prostitution in brothels and prostitutes in Dakar, Senegal. This research shows that young African women are vulnerable to HIV infection because sexual relations with men are an important means to achieve social and economic status, and for some women they are necessary for survival. These data show that Senegalese prostitutes, because of their high HIV prevalence, represent a reservoir of HIV infection and a core group for HIV transmission into Senegalese society. This suggests that in spite of information and free condoms, a number of prostitutes engage in unprotected sex. Clandestine and minor prostitutes are at major risk because they are not targeted for condom interventions. Pockets of non-utilization of condoms were found in some geographic areas (brothels) of Dakar and merit local interventions.     

Adolescent and Young Adult Male-to-Female Transsexuals: Pathways to Prostitution

Correspondence to Dr Ronit D. Leichtentritt or Dr Bilha Davidson Arad, Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. E-mail: ronitl{at}post.tau.ac.il Summary The current study aims to reveal the experiences of young male-to-femaletranssexuals who work as prostitutes in Israel, providing astage where the voice of this marginal group may be heard, aswe believe social workers need to know more about the realityof these young people’s lives before they can offer meaningfulresponses. The study was guided by two main questions: (1) Whataccounts do young male-to-female transsexuals who work as prostitutesprovide for their involvement in the sex industry? and (2) Whatare their experiences as young transsexuals engaged in prostitution?Using the life story interview and thematic analysis, two mainthemes were revealed: (a) what I ran away from or was thrownout of; and (b) why I became a prostitute, how I became professionalizedand why I continue to work as one. The first theme focuses ontranssexualism; the second on prostitution. Yet, these two themesare intertwined: from the respondents’ perspective, prostitutionis a price you must be willing to pay if you want to achievegender transformation at the beginning of the twenty-first centuryin Israel. Practical implications and further research are recommendedto better inform social workers assisting this high-risk population.     

Working with Prostitutes: Probation Officers' Aims and Strategies

Summary This small sample survey examines probation officers' aims andstrategies when working with street prostitutes within the contextof the Street Offences Act, and the results of their work. Itindicates that the officers fail in their main aim of encouragingstreet prostitutes to stay within the law because of the women'sintention to do otherwise. The officers' strategy of definingand tackling prostitutes' legal, emotional and material problemson an individual basis also leads to little impact being madeon such problems. The article suggests that probation officersmight more profitably adopt non-correctional aims when workingwith street prostitutes and consider alternative social workstrategies.     

Understanding Adolescent Female Prostitution: A Literature Review

Correspondence to Dr Jill Jesson. Aston Business School, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B47 7ET. Summary Sexual behaviour and sexuality are currently topical issuesof concern for child care social workers. Social workers arespending more and of more of their time with children who comeinto care because of sexual abuse, or who have an involvementin the ‘rent’ scene or Prostitution. In additionmany teenage young women come into care because of social orparental concern over their lsquo;promiscuous’ behaviour.The review of research on adolescent prostitution offers severalexplanations for involvement in prostitution. which vary accordingto the discipline of the author. Explanations vary from pathologicaland personal psychology factors to the wider social aspectsof the family and local environment. This literature reviewwas used as a basis for research which examined the incidenceof female prostitution for a social services department. Thisis a relatively new field of interest and consequently thereis very little British research published on the issue of adolescentprostitution, or on under age (16) prostitution. There is nopublished research on girls in care and prostitution. We needto know much more about the reality of young people's livesbefore social workers can offer a meaningful response.     

An Ecological Study of Parents of Adjudicated Female Teenage Prostitutes

This study presents findings from a survey of 33 parents of adjudicated teenage prostitutes. The purpose is to describe conditions of family life from the point of view of parents with an eye toward proposing family oriented services. An ecological perspective that locates troubles in the relationship between parents and their social and physical environment was used. Based on structured interviews, the findings suggest that parents are likely to be experiencing stress related to a history of failed intimate relationships and economic marginality. In addition, the neighborhoods in which they have raised their girls are likely to provide easy access to careers in prostitution. A wlde range of services are suggested to rehabilitate families and prevent further involvement in prostitution.     

Women,Legal Aid and Social Inclusion

This article examines access to legal aid for women in light of the Australian government's social inclusion agenda. It is notable that the government's image of social citizenship does not include the ability to invoke and enforce legal rights, and that discourses of social exclusion have paid relatively little attention to gendered patterns of exclusion. The article reports on a study of applications for and refusals of legal aid for family law, domestic violence and anti‐discrimination matters by socially excluded women in Queensland. It demonstrates the variety of ways in which Legal Aid Queensland's grants process operated to further exclude and marginalise these women. It argues that effective access to legal aid is an important element of social inclusion, but that this goal cannot be achieved by reliance on the tools of New Public Management.     

Breaking the Matthew Effect – on Women Leaving Prostitution

Although the body of research literature on prostitution is extensive, systematic research on why and how women break with prostitution is lacking. The purpose of this paper is to report some empirical findings from a Swedish study of women leaving a life in the sex trade. In a broader perspective the study ties into a social psychological research tradition which focuses on illuminating individuals’ processes of change, turning points, role changes and exit behaviours. The study comprises life-story interviews with 23 women who exited prostitution during the years 1981–1995. Half of the women were referred to us via a special social outreach operation within the social services in a major Swedish city, the other half were recruited via newspaper and tabloid announcements. The majority of the women had been active in the sex trade for more than five years, thus classifying them as “long-term residents”. The majority had experiences exclusively of street prostitution, the most common form in Sweden. Our analysis shows a number of different exit courses, ranging from breakaways that happened quickly and were executed primarily by women who were relatively loosely integrated in the milieu, to breakaways that were made by women who, after many years of being exploited in prostitution, had reached the limit of the existentially bearable. In our account, we also identify four main challenges which the women have been faced with after leaving the trade: (1) working through and understanding the experiences of a life in prostitution, (2) dealing with shame, (3) living in a marginal situation, and (4) dealing with intimate and close relationships. Finally, we present an integrated exit model which combines structural, situational, interpersonal and individual factors in explaining how and why women leave prostitution. The purpose of our model is to create a general understanding of why certain people not only survive a difficult life situation, but are able to grow and develop further during the course of the process.     

Conspiracy to corrupt public morals and the ‘unlawful’ status of homosexuality in Britain after 1967

The common law offence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals has a long though controversial history in English law. It was a charge mainly employed against obscenity, procuring prostitution, keeping a disorderly house, public indecency and public mischief. These could be interpreted by the courts as facets of a single offence known as conspiracy to corrupt public morals. The charge was used intermittently in the twentieth century, mainly against the arrangement of prostitution and ‘disorderly houses’ used by homosexual men. It was applied again in 1960 in the Ladies Directory case and was subsequently used against gay men who advertised for friends and partners in the underground magazine International Times (IT). The prosecution of IT was based on the legal principle that certain forms of ‘outrageously immoral’ conduct were in themselves corrupting of public morals, whether such conduct was legal or not. This principle placed male homosexuality in the legal category of ‘unlawful’ or ‘wrongful’ acts. In that sense, even after the decriminalization of homosexuality between men in 1967, it still had an uncertain legal status. Conspiracy to corrupt public morals cast a shadow over early attempts to create a gay civil society that was partly based on magazines and personal advertising. For conservative critics of the 1967 Act, conspiracy charges had the useful effect of curtailing public expressions of homosexuality.     

Emotional abuse and neglect: a time for reappraisal

This paper explores, from a UK perspective, issues surrounding policy and practice in cases of neglect, which inevitably involves emotional abuse. It does not address cases of emotional abuse in which neglect does not occur. The paper argues that there is a sufficient body of knowledge on the necessary conditions for healthy child development and factors associated with psychological/ emotional disorders in childhood for social workers to be more proactive in work with such cases. There is, however, a need for this evidence to be assembled and organized in ways which will be useful to social workers. Nonetheless, intervention in such cases is unlikely to become more effective unless some of the reasons for the'neglect of neglecf are better understood and addressed. In the second part of the paper, a range of factors influencing such work is considered, related to the professional, organizational and legal context within which social workers in the UK operate.
The paper draws on an ESRC funded project, which ended in 1995, of social workers' judgements in cases of child sexual abuse and neglect     

Young Male Street Workers: Life Histories and Current Experiences

The current study aims to reveal the experiences of young malestreet prostitutes in Israel, providing a stage for the voiceof this marginal group to be heard, as we believe youth workersneed to know more about these young people’s lives beforewe can offer meaningful responses. The study was guided by twomain questions: (1) What accounts do young men who work as prostitutesprovide for their involvement in the sex industry? and (2) Whatare their experiences as young males engaged in prostitution?Using the life story interview and thematic analysis, four mainthemes were revealed: (a) a life-long path to prostitution;(b) entering prostitution; (c) interpersonal encounters whileengaging in prostitution; and (d) the consequences of workingin prostitution. The results highlight the lack of meaningfulinterpersonal relationships in the lives of these young men.Practical recommendations are made to better inform youth workersassisting this high-risk population.     

Pictures and silences: memories of sexual abuse of disabled people

The article de–individualises the debate about sexual abuse of disabled people, especially women, by showing that both the sexual and asexual identity of impaired persons are invariably fashioned within the institutional arrangement of domination and subjugation. It shows that if disabled persons are seen as asexual or if they are sexualised, they cannot escape sexual violence, which is not an aberration, but is intrinsic to the social construction of disability. The article includes personal testimonies of women with different disabilities from Slovenia, who were abused either at home or in public care and shows some responses of the professionals and caregivers who minimise the importance of abuse. It claims that ignoring the memories of sexual abuse is part of a subtle and unintentional discrimination, which reflects a continuity of prejudices and hatred toward disabled children and adults in the private realm as well as in public care. People from ethnic minorities, such as Roma, are still today more often diagnosed as mentally disabled, which shows that the disability diagnosis has to be seen as part of cultural responses towards an economically and socially marginalised group. The author uses different perspectives: historical, social work theories, cultural studies and feminist analysis.     

法制下法治与法治下法制

法制下法治和法治下法制是两种不同的社会存在。法制下法治之治理主体单一,法治下法制治理主体多元;法制下法治依赖国家法正义观支持,法治下法制依赖多维正义观支持;法制下法治以人为治理客体,法治下法制则以人和法律同为治理客体。在特定历史阶段,法制下法治曾经起过积极的作用;但是随着社会发展,民主勃兴和社会转型的逐步推进,法制下法治已经成为中国法制建设的瓶颈,应为法治下法制的理论和实践所突破。法治下法制是多元法律规则并存于社会与依法办事之法治原则的结晶。通过各种法规则的冲突、互动和整合,法治自然会从理想走向现实。     

论法律意识现代化的标准

法律意识现代化的标准是评价社会主体对现代法律和法治主观把握状况的标尺,包孕着法律形式观现代化和法律价值观现代化的标准,而公民对法律的信仰状况则是评价社会主体法律意识现代化程度的综合性指标.法律的形式合理性观念是现代法律形式特质的主观心理确证,它包括法律规范的形式严整性观念,法律体系的完备、和谐的观念,法律的程序化观念和法律的效益观念;而法律的价值合理性观念是现代市场经济和民主政治内在法权关系和现代法的价值理念的体现,它包括自由追求与理性自律相统一、个人权利主张与社会利益维护相统一、人格平等和坦然面对差别相统一以及法律是维护合法权威与防止、制约权力滥用的统一的观念等具体价值指标.     

On Teaching and Applying the Law in Social Work: It is not that Simple

Summary The teaching of welfare law to social workers has recently beenthe subject of critical scrutiny. Concurrently the relationshipbetween social work practice and the law, the place that legislationshould occupy in daily working practice, has been openly debated.This paper, based on our teaching and practice experience anda small evaluation exercise, criticizes the principal positionstaken in the debate on that relationship. It also evaluatestwo approaches to teaching law to social workers. We argue thatteaching law to social workers and using legal knowledge andprovisions in practice is not as simple and straight-forwardas some commentators allege. Rather, we argue that, for socialworkers to learn and apply the law effectively, both teachinglaw and any subsequent application of this knowledge must beconsidered in a conceptual frame of practice dilemmas whichconfront every practitioner and create role conflict, uncertainty,ambiguity, and insecurity.     

城市管理综合执法工作的困境和出路——以广州城管建设为例

城市综合管理问题是社会转型期的中国在城市化进程中所遇到的特有问题,城市管理综合执法是我国城市行政管理体制改革的突破口。从试点发展至今已经十六年,虽然取得了不少成绩,但也仍然面临着管理和信任危机。要走出城管执法面临的困境,必须转变执法理念,加强城管执法队伍建设,规范执法程序,完善法律保障机制。本文以广州城管建设为例,分析了我国城市管理综合执法面临的困境,对今后城管体制改革和发展提出了建议。     

在理念与现实之间——当代中国法治化进程中体制内法治工作者职业倦怠研究

本文以社会认知论为理论框架,采用量化方法研究了体制内法治工作者的职业倦怠及其影响因素,结果表明,该群体总体上存在较高水平的职业倦怠。进一步的分析表明,法治理念水平、对法治建设前景的信心、实际工作法治化程度等因素均对该群体的职业倦怠影响显著。尤其是三个变量两两之间的交互项偏回归系数在统计上的显著更值得关注,表明理念、期待与现实之间的冲突导致的认知失调和心理落差是引发体制内法治工作者职业倦怠不可忽视的重要因素。本研究从科层体制内部为理解当代中国法治化进程提供了一些线索。     

The role of social support when giving up drug abuse: a female perspective

This article contains a presentation and analysis of the results from two qualitative studies, which examined female drug abusers' everyday lives and the social support available to them within their close relationships. Both studies concerned women who were participating in work-training or treatment programmes and who were in the process of giving up drug abuse. The two main questions concerned the supply of social support from the women's social networks and whether the amount of support available or lack of support had any impact on the exit process. Social support within different relationships of the women's social networks is presented, as well as different types of professional social support and treatment. The results in relation to previous research about female drug abusers and social support from gender and class perspectives are discussed. Conclusions about three important factors when creating a new life after drug abuse are drawn.     

对我国公司社会责任法律规制的技术探讨

公司应当承担社会责任已为业界和理论界所共识。公司社会责任应该具有明确的法律内涵和外延,并且在法律的范畴内应该有其实现路径和责任的追究机制。这是公司社会责任得以实现的前提条件,也是防止公司社会责任被泛化的核心要素。当公司承担社会责任被作为一项法律原则予以确立,同时,这一法律原则也就贯穿于公司法的规则之中。在具体的法律适用上,可以通过司法解释的方法解决公司社会责任法律的实现问题。     

Child protection social work and men's abuse of women: an Irish study

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study of the response of social workers within a community care setting, in a large Dublin suburb, to cases involving men's abuse of women. This research aims to focus on what child protection workers do regarding this abuse, and what they say about what they do, thereby giving readers a sense of the action taking place in this social work team. The data, generated from both qualitative and quantitative methodological research, reflects this aim, as it taps into the working model of responses to men's abuse of women held by social workers, and identifies what influences that, thereby reflecting the realities and constraints of everyday work. At the time the research was carried out (2000), the results confirm that the prevalence of cases involving men's abuse of women on this team was in line with international findings. This research revealed an absence of a team policy, an agreed definition of intimate violence in this context and agency practice guidelines, and illuminated how these gaps act as a deterrent to effective intervention. This paper explores some of the ethical and practical dilemmas that may arise for child protection social workers intervening in cases where the abuse of women by men is present. Recommendations arising from this research identify a need for a clear policy and best practice guidelines for social work staff in relation to this abuse.