Child
Prostitution
Advisory Task Force Report
Submitted
to Mayor-Elect Ron Dellums
City
of Oakland, California
December
2006
Prepared
by Robyn Few and Avaren Ipsen, Ph.D.
Table of Contents
I.
Preface
II.
Introduction
III.
Discussion
IV.
Recommendations and Conclusion
V.
Appendices
A.
Responses to Child Prostitution Advisory Task Force Preliminary Report
1.
Cynthia Chandler, Executive Director, Justice Now
2.
Dr. Amy Donovan, UCSF, Division of Adolescent Medicine
3.
Darby Hickey, Program Coordinator for Different Avenues, Washington DC
4.
Raven Bowen, BC Coalition of Experiential Women/Communities, Regional Coordinator
5.
Kimberly Fardy, Community Activist, former Executive Director of Young
Women United For Oakland (YWUFO)
6. San Francisco Task Force on Prostitution Final Report 1996,
Youth Issues and Policy.
7. Position Paper regarding the issues related to young people
working in the sex trades by Nelly Velasco, Street Survival Project
B. Additional Resources
1. Measure Y: Violence Prevention and Public Safety Act of 2004
2. An Evaluation of the Youth and Cultural Development: Street Youth
Work Project by Ms.
Ruth Greenaway; Dr. Lesley MacGibbon, December 2005.
I.
Preface
This
report is submitted by Mayor-Elect Ron Dellum's Child Prostitution Advisory
Task Force and addresses current and future policies that would reduce
incidences of youth involvement in prostitution.
As the only community member who formally participated in the Mayor-elect's
Advisory Task Force on child prostitution, Ms. Few sought to identify existing
programs in Oakland and Alameda County.
A preliminary report was submitted to the Mayor-elect in November,
which clarified recommendations made by community stake-holders in previous
years. She then met with and
sought the insights of experts nationally and internationally who have
extensive knowledge of this specific population. This report includes the recommendations of Oakland and Alameda
County social workers, law enforcement and youth advocates whose work she
previously enumerated in the November report, and expands upon those findings
to discuss issues of empowerment, advocate for a comprehensive continuum
of services and promote inter-agency communication.
This
report then, includes recommendations from the Sexually Exploited Minors
Network, (SEM) as well as feedback and recommendations from diverse community
activists. The following report is based on the best practices models of
harm reduction, youth development, and survivor empowerment, drawing from
diverse local and international resources.
Contributors
Members
of the Sexually Exploited Minors Network:
Jen
Lee, Elizabeth Sy, Manith Thaing, Jacqueline Vu-Asian Health Service/Banteay
Srei; Gloria Lockett, Lisa Ryan, Claudia Smith-CAL-PEP/G-SPOT; Vicki Gwiasda,
Karen Meredith-CALICO; Nika St. Claire-DreamCatcher Youth Shelter; Richard
de Juaregui, Nola Brantley, Adela Hernandez-George P. Scotlan Youth &
Family Center; Charles Go, Michelle Irving–UC Cooperative Extention/4-H;
Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker, Shawn Wilson, Sarah Wilson–Alameda
County Board of Supervisors; Councilmember Jean Quan, Claudia Jimenez-City
of Oakland; Lt. Kevin Wiley, Sgt. Tom Hogenmiller, Debbie Hoffman Oakland
Police Department: Youth &Family Services Section/Child Exploitation
Unit; Sharmin Eshraghi Bock Alameda County District Attorney's Office;
Gary Thompson, Zandra Washington, Barbara Loza-Muriera Interagency Children's
Policy Council. (Systems Partners) Valerie Patton, Program Manager for
Placement Services Alameda County Social Services; Hamilton Holmes, Manager,
Juvenile Hall Placement; Mark Johnson, Director Court Services, Criminal
Investigation–Alameda County Probation Department.
Additional
Child Prostitution Advisory Task Force Consultants:
Raven
Bowen, Regional Coordinator, B.C. Coalition of Experiential Women/Communities
(British Columbia, Canada); Annie Chen, former
outreach and work youth leadership advocate,
served on the San Francisco Youth Commission; Cynthia Chandler, esq., Director
of Justice Now (Oakland); Dr. Amy Donovan, UCSF, Division of Adolescent
Medicine; Darby Hickey, Program Coordinator for Different Avenues (Washington
DC); Robyn Few, founder of Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA; Kimberly Fardy,
community activist, former Executive Director of Young Women United for
Oakland; Dr. Avaren Ipsen, vice-chair of the Berkeley Commission on the
Status of Women; Natasha Sommers, Transgender Youth Advocate; and the Street
Work Youth Project Report by Dr. Leslie MacGibbon and Ms. Ruth Greenway
(New Zealand).
While
the Task Force is named Child Prostitution Advisory Task Force, child prostitution
was not the best term to describe youth engaged in prostitution. These
individuals range widely in age. The term prostitution implies consensual
work. To refine the language for the purposes of this report we primarily
refer to sexual exploitation and youth engaged in survival sex. Within
these contexts, both the terms minor and youth mean persons under 18, the
age of consent.
II.
Introduction
Youth
become involved in survival sex for a multitude of reasons.
Social policy and social services impacting youth who are engaged
in survival sex and prostitution should look to prevention strategies including
intervention in the schools, as well as non-coercive and nonjudgmental
foundations for basic support such as housing options, continuing educational
opportunities, alternative employment, and leadership and mentoring in
our schools, churches and existing social service programs. Best
practice models emphasize peer-based outreach and program development as
effective strategies. In addition, there is a wide age range of age and
maturity within the categories of child, youth and young person. Protocols should reflect these differences.
In order for services and prevention to be effective, services must be
culturally competent for youth who are diverse in race, culture, ethnicity,
gender identity, sexual orientation, community, and class.
This
study found that in contrast, options for youth involved in survival sex in
Oakland and other parts of the Bay Area are limited in scope.
The following report, based on past work of community members, nonprofit
service agencies and city and county departments, provides a framework
for a comprehensive continuum of services that prevent children from turning
to sex for survival, minimize harm where survival sex does occur, and address
larger issues that result in the exploitation of minors.
Harm
Reduction
Harm
reduction is a philosophy as well as a set of methods that inform service
providers about how to work with communities and individuals engaged in
behavior which poses potential risk to their health and/or safety. In Alameda
County, harm reduction is considered the preferred and most effective method
for dealing with these communities and individuals, and considered more
effective and compassionate than the use of zero tolerance and abstinence-only
approaches. Harm reduction principles are particularly useful when conducting
outreach to target these populations.
Youth
Development
Youth
development principles define the needs of youth and also the strategies
that adults and service providers can take to meet those needs and build
the inherent strengths and assets youth need to survive the hostile environments
in which they grow up. In many ways, the needs of youth in these contexts
are no different than those of other youth, and public policy would do
well to heed the enormous body of research that outlines what these needs
are.
Youth
development principles emphasize the importance of environments that foster
safety, supportive relationships, sense of belonging, leadership, skill
building, and community involvement.
For example, funding for a range of youth-led projects and out-of-school
activities has been shown to be an important aspect of youth support and
development. Education programs in schools developed by young people are
also valuable as methods of prevention and empowerment.
Survivor
Empowerment
Many
youth engaged in survival sex and prostitution experience a great amount
of trauma related to their life on the street, interactions with the police,
discrimination and interpersonal violence. In shifting the rhetoric away
from one that is criminal we also help to remove stigmatization and improve
the life options of these youth. Two terms that are often offered as alternatives
are victim and survivor. The term "victim" is useful because it is
well understood in legal contexts that a victim is a person who has had
an offense committed against them and deserves an order of protection and/or
compensation. This is a term that has been useful for judges, lawyers,
and police. In contrast, advocates, researchers, activists, and "victims"
themselves often prefer the term "survivor." The term was coined to
transform the status of "passive victims" experiencing pain, violence,
and hardship to "active agents" who have the courage to resist and/or
overcome their hardships.
Designating
youth in these contexts as "survivors" rather than "victims"
agrees with the youth development approach of first recognizing strength,
agency, and skills. Starting from a point of strength increases the chances
that youth will discover their internal worth, recover from trauma, and
feel confident about new life options.
III.
Discussion
The
Sexually Exploited Minors Network
In
May 2002 the Minors in Prostitution Task Force was formed to address both
government response and multi-faceted societal issues that impact the lives
of sexually exploited minors. Sexually exploited minors (SEM) refers to
persons under the age of 18 who are in one way or another engaged in sexual
activities for survival. The Interagency Children's Policy Council of Alameda
County (ICPC) under the direction of Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte and Commissioner
Nancy Lonsdale initiated this network. To meet the goals of this Task Force,
several Oakland Community Based Organizations (CBOs) joined with Alameda
County ICPC to create the Sexually Exploited Minors (SEM) Network.
The
(SEM) Network has been developing strategies to address the diverse circumstances
that effect youth who are sexually exploited and who engage in survival
sex or prostitution. One of
the central principles of the SEM Network is the recognition that these
young people are victims and survivors, not criminals and that society
should provide genuine support for these populations. The following recommendations
were the emphases of members of the organizations and agencies in the SEM
Network with whom we spoke, as well as summaries of broader goals expressed
during SEM Network meetings.
A
number of goals addressed prevention and the education of young people
in general. It was recommended that interagency collaborative efforts should
include outreach to school based health centers. Increased efforts to develop
public/private partnerships for prevention, education and empowerment are
also needed as well as elementary training, targeting parents and mentoring
for peer educators in middle and high schools. CBOs (Community Based Organizations)
should collaborate on peer-based trainings for prevention and should include
information about STIs, self-defense, and self-esteem targeted specifically,
at young women in Oakland. Another goal was that all-inclusive community
classrooms would be offered to girls to counter stigma.
Several
strategies addressed options of support systems for young people including
housing and a range of programs including the support of Safe Place Alternative
(SPA, an intake and assessment center), creation of a safe house outside
of the immediate vicinity of Oakland, specialized placement options through
the foster care system, out of area placement options offered to all "SEMs"
in immediate danger.
Funding
was often cited as sorely needed to support options such as evening on-call
advocacy work, peer education and case managers (there is currently only
one for the whole county). Youth empowerment options were also discussed,
for example, recommending that an "SEM peer conference" should be
planned to develop teen leaders through workshops.
Several
recommendations addressed issues concerning rights for youth within the
correctional system emphasizing the need for social services accessible
to youth while in detention and the recommendation that youth should have
the legal right to advocates, as adults have.
A
number of recommendations also addressed juvenile and criminal justice
interface with these youth including tracking, reporting and custody. Recommendations
were made regarding methods to access this 'hard to reach' population in
places they frequented. For example, it was stated that 90% of sexually
exploited youth, aged 12-17, are staying in local hotels for extended periods
of time. The SEM Network proposed a strategy that would initiate monitoring
of the local hotel/motel businesses by Law Enforcement, Code Enforcement,
Department of Public Health and Child Protective Services.
It
was also recommended that centralized database system be established for
"SEMs" in Oakland and throughout all Alameda County so that information
would be communicated to facilitate interventions.
Other recommendations in the area of reporting parameters were that
Child Protective Services would include Sexually Exploited Minors and testimony
of self-identified "SEMs" as part of their mandated reporting requirements.
The category of "sexually exploited minors" would be added to the
California Department of Children and Family Services as a type of reportable
child abuse. In a similar effort it was recommended that youth picked up
would be taken into custody and housed on a victim custody hold until the
best placement options and services are identified and initiated.
Overview:
Sexually Exploited Minors Network Legislative Goals
(From
draft in-progress, December 2006)
1)
That the category of sexual exploitation be added to the California Department
of Children and Family Services as a type of reportable child abuse that
a definition for "sexually exploited minors" (SEM)
is established in order to facilitate data collection and tracking. This would distinguish a child involved
in prostitution as a victim instead of a criminal; create a standardized
method of data collection that doesn't currently exist for this population.
2)
That when law enforcement throughout the state identifies and picks up
a SEM, the SEM is taken into victim custody and housed at Juvenile Hall
on a victim custody hold for up to thirty days or until the best placement
option and services are identified and initiated.
Also if others identify a SEM (for ex: a school teacher, doctor)
a CPS report is initiated under the sexual exploitation category as part
of their mandated reporting requirements.
3)
As adult sexual assault victims have the legal right to have an advocate,
that SEMs have the legal right to have an advocate.
Measure
Y
An
important success for the county of Oakland was "Measure Y." The citywide
"Measure Y" created a funding mechanism, and established a process
to delegate proceeds to a number of crucial needs. (See Appendix B, Section
1)
Through
these funds, Oakland supports Sexually Abused And Commercially Exploited
Youth/Safe Place Alternative (SACEY/SPA), which provides assessment, education
and resource linkages in a 72-hour period. The SACEY/SPA Program was launched
in August of 2005, and is now is staffed by one coordinator and three full-time
advocates. SPA provides transportation and offers emergency (1-2 nights) shelter for these youth. The SPA-Safe Place Alternative
component is planned to be officially running by December 2006. Funding
for the start-up resources are being provided by the offices of City Council
members Jean Quan and Patricia Kernighan. The SPA provides a drop-in center/service center, a resource
for community members, professionals and parents, on-call services in which
an advocate can come to the location and support the minor as a victim.
Currently, this service is provided by volunteers and is not funded. The
safe house has found and negotiated a location. A $225,000 matching grant
has been allocated, which has yet to be matched.
Community
Feedback: Emphasis on Community-Based Services
In
the course of our investigation we received feedback from community activists
(listed in our introduction) including youth and adults in Oakland as well
as youth agencies in cities in countries with more developed harm-reduction
services. These consultants submitted materials from reports about their
projects, recommendations for Oakland youth, critique of the current system
of services for youth and a discussion about the recommendations developed
during the preceding year. We submit a general discussion of these issues.
One
clear consensus that has emerged among parallel discussions about the future
of public policy concerning minors who are engaged in survival sex is that
treating them as criminals is not a viable, positive, or economically sustainable
approach. This opinion was clear among our consultants as well as through
the recommendations put forth by SEM Network. Accounts from law enforcement,
youth service providers, outreach services, political advocacy organizations
agree that we need alternatives to the criminal system.
The
thrust of most feedback from providers who work with lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, intersex, and questioning (LGBTQIQ) youth engaged in
survival sex, call for reexamination of all potentially punitive approaches,
increased relevant culturally competent peer based services and interventions
and emphasize more research prior to additional expenditures.
Feedback
provided by consultants to this project noted the number of crucial recommendations
developed by the SEM (Sexually Exploited Minors) Network to address the
need to provide options for youth in custodial settings. These recommendations
include giving young people the right to advocates, making social services
available to youth while in detention, and increased funding for case managers.
Giving youth access to legal and social advocates will reduce the incidences
of youth engagement in the juvenile justice system and was considered by
all to be an essential.
Over
all, we received feedback that that their contact with the juvenile justice
system has had adverse effects, reducing life options for youth and alienating
them further into behaviors involving risk. The criminal system tends disproportionately
to entrap youth of color in its throes and the punitive experiences undermine
the inherent worth and value of young people's lives. Advocates who can
derail a young person from the juvenile justice system provide a boon to
the life options of these youth.
It
was noted that, although it is crucial that social services and legal services
be available to youth while in detention, the most effective and critical
emphasis should be on long-term strategies to provide services to youth
outside of the juvenile justice system. Services that offer life skill building,
education, counseling, job training (including a program to develop salaried
positions for youth advocates), and placement in diverse occupations should
be available at any stage when youth are willing participants. Similarly, case management outside the
juvenile justice system should be provided, as this vulnerable population
has specific needs and concerns that an experienced and trained provider
can best address.
Potential
Harms of Correctional-Based Approaches
A
number of consultants on this project offered specific expertise in the
legal aspects of the experiences of youth in the juvenile justice system.
They expressed that some recommended policies listed above, though well
intentioned, have a likelihood of posing increased risk to young people
in this context. Three recommendations that drew concerns were:
1)
Enlisting law enforcement, CFS, and other authorities to monitor the hotel/motels
where youth engaged in prostitution are known to hang out and
2)
Creating a centralized database of sexually exploited minors in Oakland
and Alameda County.
3)
The implementation of mandatory custody holds and other coerced service
and treatment.
Monitoring
the hotels and motels where these youth are presumed to hang out by law
enforcement and other authorities has been reported to have an adverse
effect. In areas like Vancouver where similar monitoring and hard targeting
of young people thought to be engaged in prostitution have had been implemented,
local service providers held that this practice drove young people more
underground, out of sight of outreach efforts, and lead to the imposing
of more risks and harms to the young people who were living under these
conditions. Raven Bowen who has worked with these populations in Vancouver
declares that this type of targeting of youth increases their marginality
because "[T] hey are moved to more remote areas at more remote times
of day where they are prey to violent dates and no one sees them get into
cars." (See Appendix A, Section 4)
The
second recommendation that was noted by a number of consultants is the
mandate for a centralized database of young people involved in survival
sex and prostitution in Oakland and Alameda County. Developmentally speaking,
preteens, adolescents, and youth battle constantly with their identities,
and it is also arguably the stage of life when identity is at its most
fluid. It was put forth that it would not be wise to "tag" these young
people as part of a permanent database that stigmatizes them as Sexually
Exploited Minors forever. The idea of the database connotes both victim
and criminal, and both have the potential of stifling the healing process.
Instead, we recommend treating these individuals as survivors.
The
question also arose as to who would have access to this database. Would
law enforcement agencies be able to access these records to further incriminate
these people for offenses committed later in life, driving them further
into the criminal justice system? Would future employers have access to
this database, again hindering the life options for these youth?
The
third recommendation was the implementation of mandatory detentions and
services. Many outreach experts that we have consulted are of the opinion
that they would be extremely ineffective in the long run, and may even
introduce an aspect of coercion that would push young people engaged in
survival sex closer to their pimps for protection. To offer a look at the
psychology of why this is Kimberly Fardy, former Executive Director of
Young Women United for Oakland explains why women engaged in the economy
often do not cooperate with authorities, "In many cases, a 'Bonnie and
Clyde' mentality is created where it is just them against the world."
(See Appendix A, Section 5)
Young
women are especially at risk of abusive relationships where the mutual
protection from criminal sanctions creates a crucible that keeps both parties
feeling loved and in control. From the work of Different Avenues, we note
that transgendered youth and young MSM (men who have sex with men) may
seek protection from detention retreating into relationships that seem
to offer them support but may also expose them to risks. (See Appendix
A, Section 3)
How
can this dynamic be overcome in our vision of offering a society where
young people can thrive rather than be engaged in sex for survival and
other hardship? It was suggested that a plan for the long haul would recognize
that actions to target "pimps" have not, in fact, targeted or prevented
exploitation but rather allowed greater discriminatory policing of men
of color. Mayor Dellums' recent report "A Way Out: Creating Partners for
Our Nation's Prosperity by Expanding Life Paths of Young Men of Color,"
emphasizes the need for alternatives provided
to men who are from marginalized communities of color and turn to what
they perceive as an economically viable lifestyle. From this perspective,
Fardy states that "a public policy attitude which continues to target these
men only benefits the prison industrial complex to the detriment of their
families and communities." (Appendix A, Section 5) It was recommended
by a number of contributors that, for these youth, mandatory and court
ordered detention, service and treatment be eliminated and instead, to
implement services for youth who are involved in sex for survival that
are optional, enticing, and extremely accessible.
Our
review of the policy discourse concerning minors engaged in survival sex
reveals many points of convergence. It is a refreshing that members of
law enforcement, youth service providers, sex workers rights organizations,
and the harm reduction community can agree on a basic framework for alleviating
incidences in which minors engage in survival sex. In the next section,
this report discusses positive directions and priorities, which draw from
a range of experts who offer alternatives.
Cost
and Impact
The
works of the CBOs, the SEM Network and the media have called attention
to the fact that this population has not necessarily been a funding priority
beyond law enforcement. Measure Y offers a funding stream and
general priorities that well represent the concerns in this report. Measure
Y also provides a venue for assessment; however an assessment process should
be developed in conjunction with research.
In
addition to Measure Y, additional funding must be allocated to support
research as well as youth and community participation as a basis for developing
future strategies and determining future expenditures.
III.
Child Prostitution Advisory Task Force Recommendations
Priorities:
Research and Representation
In
considering the often-subtle issues surrounding youth engaged in survival
sex and prostitution, it is hard to ignore the overwhelming lack of quantitative
research and hard data on this population.
The most important recommendation that this Task Force can offer
is to first prioritize research.
Research must be culturally competent, and responsive to the diverse
populations who become sexually exploited minors.
It merits noting that along with specific information about the
community, it would be instructive to learn more about those who abuse
them.
A
culturally competent needs-assessment of this population must include the
many voices from this community, both youth and adults who have left the
lifestyle as well as those who are still engaged in it. Also, research
should probe the efficacy of using the juvenile justice system as a prevention
model.
Peer
outreach, as a core component of harm reduction, ought to occupy a more
central role in the development of programs. Input should also be sought
from actual members of the community and their families. In order to be
effective, outreach workers should have backgrounds that allow them to
identify with these populations, and it is particularly desirable if they
have had experiences that reflect the population they are serving.
Priorities:
Legal
It
was recommended by all concerned that youth be afforded the same legal
right to advocates that adults have. Increased legal support and access
to representation and counsel within the current justice system is essential.
Youth have very limited (or no) rights. A two pronged approach would ensure
that legal support and due process be provided immediately. Health care
standards within the juvenile justice system could also be addressed within
the context. The CBO, Legal Services for Children in San Francisco, provides
services to the Bay Area including representation in several aspects of
juvenile law.
Overview
The
Task Force recommends that the City focus on independent housing, job development
and specific shelter alternatives for youth engaged in survival sex. Provision
of services, not detention, should be the first priority for youth. Therefore, the Task Force recommends that the City:
1)
Empowerment
Development
of and increased access to peer-run support groups for youth engaged in
survival sex in various contexts.
This would include prevention strategies, programs to minimize harm
for youth involved, transitional services and programs to provide alternatives.
Youth with life experience with prostitution or survival sex should be
tapped as expert peer educators, salaried advocates, consultants and speakers
to outreach to the community at large. The Oakland Youth Commission should
enlist representation from these populations.
2)
Employment & Emancipation
One
obstacle to transitioning is alternative employment and access to affordable
housing and health care. Alternative employment development and
training must accompany efforts to educate youth about their rights and
concurrently offer living wage employment options as well as educational
options.
3)
Services and Housing
The
Task Force recommends enhanced community-based, nonjudgmental support services
for youth (including at-risk youth) such as medical services, independent
housing, long-term housing, emergency shelters specific to youth, and diverse
drug treatment options. Education programs targeting youth in general and
at-risk youth should be funded.
The
Task Force recommends that when members of this population are arrested
that they are prioritized as victims/survivors.
Rather than be subjected to a mandatory 30-day detainment, these
at-risk youth be granted immediate access to services.
Conclusion
The
SEM Network has led the way with essential recommendations including increased
funding for programs and case management, increased protection for youth
while in the justice system, peer based outreach, youth empowerment efforts,
youth leadership development and peer based community education.
The
recommendations submitted by this Task Force focus on youth empowerment,
peer based services in non-judgmental models, options for housing and work,
and presents issues for further research and inquiry. The development of
positive, compassionate, and evidence-based services that will help youth
requires reducing a reliance on the juvenile justice system to improve
the lives of young people engaged in survival sex. This shift may appear
expensive in the short run, but it pales in comparison to the cost of maintaining
the current system of incarceration and criminalization.
In
addition to the operational costs of courts, youth detention, and monitoring,
there are the costs that we as a society pay when the criminal process
bares added psychological suffering on youth who come in contact with the
system. These youth get trapped in the cycle of detention and criminal
behavior, costing the loss of their productive potential. The current system
is not cheap, and will only cost the public more as it grows. A public
policy strategy that promotes positive youth development, effective outreach,
and service provision for young people will save lives and money for the
City in the long-run.
Measure
Y provides financial support along with a roadmap to strategic funding
priorities.
Research
and inclusionary input are needed as a foundation for devising future plans.
Appendix A
A.
Responses to Child Prostitution Advisory Task Force Preliminary Report
1.
Cynthia Chandler, Executive Director, Justice Now
2.
Dr. Amy Donovan, UCSF, Division of Adolescent Medicine
3.
Darby Hickey, Program Coordinator for Different Avenues, Washington DC
4.
Raven Bowen, BC Coalition of Experiential Women/Communities, Regional Coordinator
5.
Kimberly Fardy, Community Activist, former Executive Director of Young
Women United For Oakland (YWUFO)
6. San Francisco Task Force on Prostitution Final Report 1996,
Youth Issues and Policy.
7. Position Paper regarding the issues related to young people
working in the sex trades by Nelly Velasco, Street Survival Project
Justice
Now
1322 Webster Street, Suite 210
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: 510 839 7654 Fax: 510
839 7615
December
6, 2006
Robyn
Few
Child
Prostitution Advisory Task Force
Dear
Ms. Few,
I
am the co-founder and co-director of Justice Now, an Oakland-based organization
that challenges abuses of people of California's in women's prisons. The
issue of the exploitation of children and youth in the sex industry is
of particular concern to us because the vast majority of our clientele
entered the criminal justice system through convictions for prostitution.
While
we applaud you for your concerns for the exploitation of young people in
our community, and for your advocacy for increased funds for services,
I am regretfully concerned that some of the recommendations in your "Preliminary
Summary: Proposal for the Child Prostitution Advisory Task Force"
could potentially do more harm than good to children who are so vulnerable
in our society.
Recommendations
that concern me assume that police and correctional officials are appropriate
outreach workers in the process of providing social services and that the
correctional system should be employed as a means of assistance to these
youth. This thrust is extremely
worrisome to me when taken as a whole because many young people who are
victimized through prostitution are also victimized by police. They come
from communities and families that are targeted disproportionately for
surveillance through policing and it does not make sense financially or
socially to imaging using people that young people fear to approach them
to provide social services. It
would be much more efficient to have funding go through a stream to provide
social services and outreach to people without involving the police particularly
and correction officers who are trained to punish people specifically,
not to provide them services.
Recommendations
regarding reporting and increased surveillance, using police as a means
of doing outreach will no doubt lead to the further surveillance and criminalization
of those youth. That is specifically what those actors are trained to do. I fear that this would amount to "setting up" those children
for being criminalized, having their lives destroyed through incarceration
rather than getting them the help that they so desperately need.
The
reporting system is rarely, if ever used, to help people in these circumstances.
There can be stigma associated with being put on a list. In our
society where there is so much stigma associated with prostitution, to
be put on a list and identified will inevitably lead to the social stigmatization
of those children.
One
recommendation regarding "victim custody" put forth the idea that
one could create a custodial incarcerated setting that could be benevolent
to people who are the survivors of abuse is not only a tragic misunderstanding
of how juvenile hall works and the actual conditions within juvenile hall,
but is also part of a very dangerous national trend covertly expands prisons
and jails for adults and youth by claiming that it's necessary to put more
people into custodial sentences for their own benefit and this trend is
being used nationwide to create prisons and jails for the elderly, the
disabled, people who need skilled nursing facilities, for women and now
this would be an expansion into a special kind of expanded custody for
youth and while it is very clear some people proposing these custodial
settings want to provide people the care the desperately need, this desire
is being manipulated by people whose true goal is to expand our prison
system. What we really need is services for children that they should not
have to give up their liberty and be jail to receive services that adults
in out society should be providing them.
Sincerely,
Cynthia
Chandler, co-director
| UCSF, Division of
Adolescent Medicine |
( (415) 902-9899 |
| 3333 California Street, Suite 245, Box 0503
San Francisco, CA 94118 |
FAX (415) 502-4858
amydonovan@alum.wellesley.edu |
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|
December 1, 2006 |
Dear
Mayor Elect Ron Dellums,
As
someone who works fulltime for an Alameda County based project aimed at
increasing the health and longevity of young people of color, and who has
worked closely with youth both in the social services and in street-based
research, I feel compelled to offer a response to the Preliminary Summary:
Proposal for Child Prostitution Advisory Task Force.
I
began working with youth involved in street based economies in 1992 and
continued documentary extralegal economies over the decade to follow. The
culmination of this research is a book on homeless youth in the Bay Area,
which is currently under review with Duke University Press.
In
preparing this response – which is only preliminary – I consulted
with two colleagues working in the law, E.Cristin O'Keeffe, J.D. and Cassie
M. Rubald, Esq. and my response is informed by these two consultants. I
want also to offer that I will make myself available if a panel or committee
is to be convened to develop policy to assist young people working in the
sex trade in Alameda County.
My
first response to this preliminary proposal is that while undoubtedly well-intentioned
it raises the specter of antiquated, and I suspect largely ineffective,
social engineering projects. The day of the workhouse and the "home for
little harlots" – the notion that isolation and removal is helpful
to persons on the road to empowerment has long since been abandoned. Clearly the authors took much of their inspiration from the
domestic violence model – the safe houses – which are located
in secret locations – so that survivors can gain a measure of separation
and peace from their attackers. While I too applaud this innovation of
the second wave feminist movement, the situations are not parallel. Survivors
of domestic abuse appeal for help and ask for assistance, and even then
sometimes betray the whereabouts of the safe house to abusive partners,
jeopardizing staff and inhabitants, alike.
In this case, the young people are offered no such choice. The proposal
is that they, "be taken into custody and housed on a victim custody hold."
This is far from voluntary, and I would argue is an unjustifiable and excessive
use of force that will only incite in these highly mobile young people
significant resistance. Young people will inform their friends and associates
of their whereabouts, and find other ways to go "AWOL". Such a process of forcible removal will be ineffective for
most young persons, and potentially dangerous for others as friends and
pimps may be informed of the safe house location. The safe house model
depends for its efficacy on the agency of those who elect to utilize it
and is therefore not transferable in the model that has been established
in this proposal.
Additionally,
it is not sound, as a matter of policy, when status offender law already
allows for minors to be transported. The proposal also assumes that there
are no parents/guardians, to which accountability is owed, and while this
may sometimes be the case, it is by no means always the case.
Of
the proposals, the second recommendation, "that minors should have the
right to legal advocates just as adults do." is distinctly affirmative,
and I would recommend that it be expressed as "right to counsel" or
a "right to a court-appointed attorney" and be offered to youth from
the moment that they are transported by law enforcement along with the
ability to make a phone call and the provision of
phone numbers ensuring access to legal services. It seems that that
a committee would benefit from including advocates from an organization
like Legal Services for Children, www.lsc.sf.org.
However
this right to legal advocates begs the question of legal charges. In England,
minors are no longer charged with juvenile prostitution, rather their clients
are charged with child sexual abuse and the young people are brought to
a location from which they can access a myriad of social services voluntarily.
This
proposal recommends the creation of a special status – sexually exploited
minors. Given the history of protective legislation, this strategy of creating
special categories/populations has very often backfired – often reinventing
the very stigma that the designation sought to undo. Existing criminal
laws against child sexual abuse and laws governing age of consent are more
than sufficient to hold perpetrators accountable. The creation of a special
category is unnecessary, and arguably deleterious.
Particularly
shortsighted is the proposal related to creating a special category for
reporting (when sexual abuse already exists as a reportable category);
and the requiring of mandated reporting. In my extensive experiences with
the social services, the very fact of mandated reporting and the implication
of youth in this process at a time that they are already under duress (having
just been picked up by the police), results in acute mistrust of the services
that are being offered. The result is that the reporting schema effectively
results in a barrier to care at a time when the unencumbered offering of
care is perhaps most crucial. Youth, especially those who have been
living in residential hotels and who are largely on their own, have already
largely rejected the group homes and foster care systems, so committing
them to structures such as these has a rather bleak prognosis.
Methods
such as the creation of a data base or fingerprinting (as was initiated
in San Francisco) will only increase stigma. What is perhaps most important
is that the young person not be marked in these "special ways", through
the mechanisms of tracking. To borrow the words of my colleague Cristin
O'Keeffe, J.D., who commented on the problematic raised by the processes
related to mandatory reporting, "You interrogate suspects you do not interrogate
victims, the utilization of testimony in mandatory reporting may engender
mistrust and even more, open the door to coercion."
As
a social scientists and researcher, and former shelter, drop-in center,
and group home worker, I know the efficacy of creating a truly safe space
for youth, where they can move from being victims to plaintiffs and self
advocates at a pace that is not imposed but coincident with their own growth.
In
discussing this proposal with an attorney who is currently working in juvenile
dependency, Cassie Rubald, I
found that she presented the problem in a insightful
way – "this set of proposals is attempting to move from delinquency
law into the area of dependency law. What it needs is yet a third area,
distinct from these other two."
In meeting the needs of these young people, male, female and transgender,
who have exchanged sexual services for money or needed resources, it is
imperative to look to solutions which will neither invent them as delinquents/criminals,
nor impose on them the trappings of formal state-sanctioned dependency,
which the majority of them have long since extricated themselves (even
sometimes at the cost of significant danger to themselves).
The
models for assistance must be rooted in an approach which is often called,
"routes to independence", drawing upon and cultivating strengths.
Research conducted by Chidren's Hospital in L.A. with youth on their own,
found that young people involved in sex trade were also most likely to
also have other jobs. What we see then, in this study, is an independence
and industriousness among many of these young people that can be promoted
rather than pathologized. As adults seeking to offer assistance and craft
good policy, we can look at voluntary housing that is operating successfully
in the Bay area. There are very successful group home models for pregnant
young people, and supportive housing in group and apartment settings such
as that made available by Larkin Street Youth Services and Guerrero House
(a harm reduction based group home run by Catholic Charities). These offer
young people assistance with jobs, school, and counseling in addition to
legal services and do so in a way that does not segregate youth either
by gender, sexuality, or by involvement with a specific illegal activity.
Mr.
Dellums, I offer these as preliminary responses to the Summary Proposal,
and look forward to increased dialogue as continued research and recommendations
surface.
Please
feel free to invite me to join any groups or meetings that are convened
to do research on the needs of these young people, or to develop policy
that will prove efficacious over time. I can be reached at (415) 902-9899,
or by email at amydonovan@alum.wellesley.edu.
Yours
Sincerely,
Amy
A. Donovan
Amy
A. Donovan, Ph.D.
Different Avenues,
Inc
821 Upshur St NW
á Washington, DC 20011á (202) 829.2103 Fax (202) 829.2104
December
4, 2006
Dear
Ms. Robyn Few,
Thank
you for giving me the opportunity to review the Child Prostitution Advisory
Task Force Report. Different Avenues cannot endorse your report in any
way but we can provide some suggestions of what kinds of program are successful
in working with certain groups of youth. I am writing this feedback as
a person with direct personal experience in these issues as well as having
worked with youth involved with sexual exchange for the past four years.
I have multiple concerns about the proposals outline, based on my knowledge
and experience working for the welfare and safety of youth involved with
sexual exchange. I understand that the focus of your report is youth under
the age of 18 years. My comments below are based on work we have done to
support young people under the age of 18. We would like to note that Different
Avenues has a variety of programs: some of our initiatives are specifically
for working with teenagers, other initiatives are for youth 18 to 24 and
other programs are for young adults up to the age of 30 years. It is very
important to be very clear about age appropriate initiatives throughout
your report.
The
monitoring of businesses (like hotels, clubs and other venues) and the
targeting of youth on the street, especially young trans-women, thought
to be engaging in sexual exchange can increase risks to youth. This type
of targeting pushes young people underground resulting in youth having
less access to services and support. Additionally, if youth are involved
in coercive relationships, or situations of domestic violence, a criminal
approach may build on fears already instilled in the youth by his/her abuser.
Gender discrimination means that young women who are homeless or surviving
on the street are particularly vulnerable to exploitative interpersonal
relationships. However, it is important to bring the lens of gender discrimination
to the experience of other youth as well, and to consider how fears about
hostile policing and actions by the authorities are augmented by widespread
trans and homophobia within systems of "youth protection." Trans youth
under 18 deeply fear the humiliation they experience when detained and
move with their peers from hotel room to hotel room or sleep in cars of
older friends so that they can avoid the police. Many cannot attend school
or access social services because of this mobility and turn instead to
intensive drug use as part of their peer group relationships. A better
alternative to expending funds on intensifying policing and criminalizing
youth, would be to put money and resources toward implementing peer based
outreach services in order to build relationships with youth and then determine
how best to intervene.
The
idea of placing apprehended youth in "safe custody" is highlighted
in the report while this may help some, it is likely to further alienate
many youth from "the system" rather than encourage them to engage.
In DC most female minors who are detained for prostitution flee
"safe custody" as soon as they can and it is almost impossible to
locate them again. The problem is deeper than this for GLBT youth who have,
as we mentioned above, learned to fear police and service providers because
of discrimination and, in some cases, abuse perpetrated by the very people
who are supposed to be there to help them. Many programs do not know how
to work with a young person who is gender non-conforming and may penalize
the young person for "acting out" simply because he/she resists presenting
as one gender or the other. Police may also react badly to a young person
who they perceive as "dressing as a girl when he really is a boy"
or vice versa. Service providers and the police need training in non-discrimination
and understanding GLBTQ issues. Much work needs to be done to dispel myths
about GLBTQ youth and how to connect them with appropriate resources to
gain stability and independence. Support is needed for programs that already have a proven track
record with hard to reach groups. This would include investing resources
in outreach workers and safe spaces for youth, those that build relationships
with youth can conduct the goal-planning, relationship building and ensure
that when youth are ready to leave a there are places for them to go. Education, support (that is non judgmental)
and outreach must come first. For example, many LGBT youth on the street
who are using sexual exchange to meet their needs are not there because
of pimps or an exploiter per se, but rather because they lack of support
and do not have access to housing and other necessities critical to their
survival. These youth are often very pragmatic in their world-view, and
respond better to non-judgmental, respectful, concrete service provision.
Finally,
we would like to give you some feedback on educational initiatives suggested.
If may be that some prevention education could be helpful but we would
caution that increasing simplistic efforts to educate young women and other
youth about the "dangers of the street" that does not recognize the
life challenges faced by GLBTQ youth would not be the most effective strategy.
More generalized educational efforts might be more successful in providing
all youth information on accessing services that meet their needs where
they are at. One of the best methods for developing programs that will
really speak to the experiences of these youth would be to include them
in decision-making. The advisory board that is mentioned should not only
exist, but also must be supported, by compensating the youth to participate,
supporting them with skills development, and having their opinions and
suggestions made into reality, not sidelined.
I
hope that these brief points are useful to you and I wish you luck with
working to implement programs that will truly meet the needs of youth.
If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me
and I am glad to assist in any way I can.
Yours
sincerely,
Darby
Hickey
Program
Coordinator
Responses to Child Prostitution Advisory
Task Force Report Preliminary Report
Raven Bowen- Regional Coordinator, BC
Coalition of Experiential Women/Communities
(Note:
The recommendation referred to in the Child Prostitution Advisory Task
Force Report are located at
the end Ms. Bowen's submission.)
Monitoring
of Hotels and Businesses/Outreach
The
monitoring of businesses and the hard targeting of youth while they are
working may increase risks to youth.
They need to implement true outreach services done by inactive sex
workers or those trained to do this work in order to build relationships
with youth and then determine how best to intervene.
I have seen this type of targeting and it pushes the industry further
underground. Also, youth that
are pimped can be the victims of violence if they are seen as a 'heat score'
or if they do not bring in their quotas.
They are moved to more remote areas at more remote times of day
where they are prey to violent dates and no one sees them get into cars
etc.
Section
I a-Policy Recommendations/Requiring No Additional Funding
The
report refers to failed education programs and failures in educating. Congress
has failed. I have found that
there is a need to support skill building for women and girls to increase
their ability to negotiate condom use with intimate partners. Anecdotally, workers here can more easily
negotiate with customers unless these are in survival modes where the offer
of more money cannot be refused and they do not control their working conditions.
The intimate partners- pimps, boyfriends, dealers they owe money
to etc are among those that pose a STI risk for women and girls.
Section
I b-Require Funding/ Long Term Recommendations
The
funding/long term policy recommendations are similar to the Secure Care
Act that was attempted here in British Columbia and in place in other parts
of Canada. Youth could be
apprehended and placed in 'safe custody'.
Youth would walk in the front door of the facility and out the back. In more secured settings, like the group
homes and temporary government care facilities that I have worked in and
later worked with, crime families and pimps would send in other minors
to find girls that were apprehended.
Also, removing the youth is not the most effective measure as they
will contact their pimps/boyfriends and disclose the location where they
are staying. The work needs to be aimed at dispelling
myths that guide youth decisions. I agree with funding and investment from the municipality,
but if they had real outreach workers and safe spaces for youth to go to,
those that build relationships with youth can conduct the goal-planning,
relationship building and ensure that when a youth is ready to leave there
are places for them to go. Education,
support (that is non-judgmental) and outreach must come first. As for the
members, I hope they are the front line workers with direct exposure and
not necessarily the executive directors of partner organizations.
Section
II- Additional Areas of Inquiry
I
don't understand who the target of section 11b part one is. Are they talking
about the social network of the youth or those that have known involvement
with youth exploitation?
Point
two is a good start- should be expanded to recognize the situational factors
and committed to do the least harm while support the youth. I like the idea of the advisory council
as long as youth there are supported by peers (adults who have outed themselves
in the name of community education and development. They will need to be debriefed) and not constantly outed. They should be paid well and have power
in decision-making not just token advisors or part of a huge dog and pony
show that politicians can draw on to make themselves more relevant.
Overall
it does appear to me that those who drafted this document have worked with
sexually exploited youth. Only
those who have been there would recommend that youth are enlisted to advise.
I
must say that I do not believe that youth become involved in the sex industry
through free and informed choices.
I believe that poverty, family breakdown and buying into the fantasy
that sexual exchange will bring them freedom, money and status are among
the lures. Not to mention those that procure and
actively recruit youth including their male and female friends. I think they should do some more information
gathering/research paired with direct support to youth 'where they are
at' and then collaborate for strategic development. I always say to find out what the youth
are running FROM that makes involvement in the industry their best choice.
Otherwise youth will pay the price and the industry will go underground
into trick pads where the youth do not get to leave, but customers come
through regularly and no outreach programs will ever find them.
Raven
Bowen, Regional Coordinator, BC Coalition of Experiential Women/Communities
Raven
works with individuals involved in sex work and survival sex. With more than 12 years experience in
this area, she has taken on various roles from peer to providing professional
support services to project coordination and media spokesperson. She served
for 5 years as Executive Director of PACE Society. Raven has worked toward
the mobilization of sex workers and those addicted to substances by ensuring
that the populations they are meant to serve design all projects and programs. These programs ranged from testing a social
enterprise among sex workers, the development of direct services, to educational
materials and presentations, policy development in areas of operations
and research involving humans and other harm reduction strategies for sex
working populations. Raven
has also designed and supported community-based research, consultations
and project evaluations. Raven
served as a special consultant for PACE Society, is a founder and on the
management team of the Mobile Access (Outreach Van) Project and is the
Regional Coordinator for the BC Coalition of Experiential Women/Communities
(BCCEW/C). The BCCEW/C are
a consortium of sex worker activists working toward legislative and policy
change for the betterment of those involved in the sex industry. Raven is working on a degree in
Sociology at Simon Fraser University.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from
Child Prostitution Advisory Task Force Report
Key
Policy Recommendations of Sexually Exploited Minors Network
Ia.
Policy recommendations that can be implemented immediately and which do
not require budget augmentations:
1.
The category of 'sexually exploited minors' should be added to the California
Department of Children and Family Services as a type of reportable child
abuse.
2.
Sexually Exploited Minors (SEM) should have the right to legal advocates
just as adults do.
3.
Child Protective Services can include Sexually Exploited Minors and testimony
of self-identified SEM's as part of their mandated reporting requirements.
4.
Local Law Enforcement in collaboration with Code Enforcement, Department
of Public Health and Child Protective Services can initiate monitoring
of the local hotel/motel businesses for SEMs.
(90% of SEMs aged 12-17 are staying in local hotels for extended
periods of time).
5.
Interagency collaborative efforts can include in their efforts outreach
with school based health centers. Elementary training, targeting parents,
mentoring for peer educators in middle and high schools and CBO collaboration
on peer-based trainings for prevention, including information about STI's,
self-defense and self esteem targeted specifically, at young women in Oakland.
6.
Social services should be accessible to youth while in detention.
Ib.
Policy recommendations that require funding and/or need longer term implementation
and/or funding:
1.
The support of Safe Place Alternative (SPA), which is an intake and assessment
center.
2.
The creation of a safe house outside of the immediate vicinity of Oakland.
3.
Children picked up as a SEM should be taken into custody and housed on
a victim custody hold until the best placement options and services are
identified and initiated.
4.
The creation of a centralized database system for SEMs in Oakland and throughout
all Alameda County.
5.
Specialized SEM placement options should be developed through the foster
care system.
6.
Funding should be provided to support evening on-call SEM advocacy work.
7.
Funding should be provided/increased for peer education.
8.
Funding should be provided/increased to support SEM case managers (there
is currently only one for the whole county).
8.
Out of area placement options should be offered for all SEMs in immediate
danger.
9.
A SEM peer conference should be planned to develop teen leaders through
workshops.
10.
All-inclusive community classrooms should be offered to girls to counter
stigma.
Kimberly
Fardy
Community
Activist, former Executive Director of Young Women United For Oakland*
To:
Mayor Dellums Child Prostitution Task Force
Re:
A discussion of some of the issues and needs of young women selling sex
as a method of survival.
Date:
December 5, 2006
To
begin the discussion, it's very important that we are clear about how we
are identifying young women involved in survival sex, more generally known
as prostitution. Survival sex is one of three main street economies; the
others being the drug trade, and organized theft. Of the three, survival
sex not only has the highest rates of violence and young women involvement,
but has the least amount of community support systems for those involved,
and punitive measures for predators.
I
am submitting this paper as a young woman who has worked with other young
women from this targeted population for four years. I am an avid advocate
of young women's rights and direct involvement in positive change within
their youth community, so I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute
to this Mayor-Elect Dellum's Task Force.
Basis
for Advocacy
I
think a local agency, or fully funded community based organization, that
is gender-specific and targets these young women, would make a world of
difference. It would be critical for this organization to be youth led,
and adult supported. I think both youth and adults would have to have direct
experience with survival sex either through personal experience, or through
the experience of a family member. It would be a perfect place to create
paid opportunities for young women who are transitioning out of this economy
into a more stable and safe lifestyle. I think it would be most successful
if it offered health education and care (specific to this population),
overnight stay, peer and adult counseling, job referral, and fun. This
needs to not only be a place where young women can be assessed and assisted,
but a place where young women can be young women.
Developing
Appropriate Language
Finding
the appropriate language to describe the experience of young people should
be done in conjunction with the population described. Some are sensitive
to the term Sexually Exploited Minors, and part of the research that should
be done is developing a terminology that respects the perspective of the
young people.
The
Vocabulary of Victim Status
Although
there is unanimous agreement in our communities that young people in this
context should not be treated as criminals, assigning 'victim status' may
have some repercussions. The term "victim" is never really a
clear term. Of course I understand the effort to create a "victim"
status verses a "criminal" one, but again, to me it gets blurred
with victimization. I just don't think it is that black and white - victim
or criminal. Not all young women involved in this street economy would
call themselves criminals or victims. I also think we tend to forget the
intersections of class, race, age, etc, which contribute to women having
to or choosing to engage in survival sex. I think the word "victim"
downplays these intersections, and downplays these women's humanity. They
are people, not victims. I think it is important to personify at-risk youth
rather than victimize them to obtain positive support. Changing that term
would be changing a greater mentality around people in need of community
support and assistance.
Approaches
to Providing Services
Limited
funds and top heavy bureaucracies get in the way of efforts to providing
services, housing and support to young people.
Housing
Options for Youth
What
placement options currently exist for young people in our area? Providing
alternative housing is one of the most crucial factors. This would
consist of housing that is not policed, but is more secure than hotels/motels.
Programs
away from the community: wilderness programs, boarding schools, and single
mother programs
In
my experience, young women who are taken out of their communities and placed
on ranches, in wilderness programs, boarding schools, and single mother
programs are rehabilitated through methods that don't necessarily transition
into their lives once they return to their born communities. I've also
experienced high rates of sexual assaults and abuse to these young
women once they have left what is familiar to them, and moved into distant
institutions. In these cases, it is even more difficult to stop these abuses,
because these young women have no community or familiarity to turn to. Although,
I can see how in some cases it could be productive for young
women to have the option to stay outside of their community, with the flexibility
to leave whenever they want, I also think this option must reflect
the community, and culture they are leaving in terms of mentors, activities,
and processes of healing.
I
don't agree with distant housing because I believe it is mentally, emotionally,
and spiritually damaging for both the individual leaving, and the community
that has lost that person.
The
idea of distant housing is also damaging to the community because
many, if not all of the communities we are working with are low-income,
communities of color. As low-income, communities of color, we are already
crippled by the loss of so many community members due to
the prison industrial complex, homicide, and disease (need a better word?),
that I believe it would be a lot more powerful if we were able to build
an "in-house" system, that would revive our youth through our
customs, and our ability, making them more invested within our communities
"Out
of town" placement options should be offered only in the appropriate
circumstances. We should also address the fact that if you are in that
grave of danger, the danger never really ends. How long will young women
be able to stay outside of their immediate danger? What happens when they
return?
1.
Victim Custody/Mandatory Custody
Offering
services to youth in these contexts is complicated as it is difficult to
connect with them, and they may reject some forms of assistance. Mandatory
forms of custody, such as victim custody within criminal justice system
facilities will have repercussions.
Experiences in custody will only push them deeper into the life they
are caught up in, not only physically but also psychologically. A victim
of rape may have a family member, or advocate, take her to fill out reports,
get tests, etc; survivors of the sex economy should be treated similarly.
Mandatory
custody does not decriminalize her, despite being officially labeled a
"victim." A term will never cure the experience. "Victim"
and "custody hold" is an oxymoron. A victim of survival sex should
not be treated in a way that would be experienced as incarceration. If
I were truly a victim, I'd want to be escorted to a car that would take
me to a place where I felt welcomed, comforted, and nurtured.
2.
Re-unification with Families
Most
young women are running away from these situations and finding the street
life a "safer" environment.
Monitoring
Options/ Reporting and Tracking
Due
to the frustration and fear of outreaching to these young women, organizations
which are funded to provide services to them may feel that a correctional-based
approaches may be THE ONLY workable alternatives.
Efforts
to which limit housing options by targeting those who provide housing and
establishing extensive surveillance will push young women underground,
even more than they already are.
CPS
reporting is not necessarily always helpful and may be harmful. What
is the purpose of these reports and what information will they provide,
and to whom?
The
best strategy may be to add a category reflecting this issue, however I
recommend further research as to the potential repercussions. Although
I understand the necessity of obtaining numbers through tracking and reporting,
it tends to become a thin line between obtaining research to better the
situation, and obtaining research to "police" the situation.
It would be offensive if this tracking and reporting became a metaphorical
"house arrest cuff" for young women. Also, who would have access
to these reports and tracking system? Would future employees be able to
get a hold of these at some point, hindering a young woman's chance of
becoming successful after hardship? Do these reports/tracking become a
record, or are they expunged? Specifically, what are they for, and what
will they provide to better the young women's situation?
Once
teachers, doctors, etc. are notified of this new option, will they be trained
on "identifying a SEM" or will there just be a frenzy of authorities
identifying every poor, black girl that is having difficulties in their
classes. Who will train these authorities, and who will create the training
curriculum? How often will these trainings occur? Would they be mandatory?
More
local research should be done to understand how the system of reporting
currently effects youth and our communities.
Providing
Advocates
Young
women need advocates, as do adults. This includes social services as well
as attorneys. These services should be provided on the basis of request
as well as to young people in detention. These advocates should be
community-based, and preferably other young women. If they are adults,
they should be adults who have some direct connection to the lifestyle,
to the community, to the culture, etc. Advocacy isn't just about knowledge
of the system; it's also about knowledge of the community you're dealing
with.
Funding
Funding
should be provided for:
support
24 hour services; supportive environment for assessment and referrals;
increased peer education, with a curriculum developed in conjunction with
youth diverse experiences and backgrounds; case management.
All
education efforts addressing these issues should be reviewed by a youth
policy committee experienced in this issue. Funding positions should be
centered on peer-based approaches including creating more opportunities
for these young women to gain money outside of the streets, such as a program,
which trained these young women to take these positions, receiving full-time
funding for being employed as evening on-call advocacy workers, peer educators.
*Young
Women United For Oakland closed their doors due to a lack of funding. YWUFO
was an organization run by and for young women of color between the ages
of 14-20 who are involved in the street economy, and living in low-income
communities of Oakland, California. At YWUFO, these young women take on
the responsibility of providing street outreach to their peers. They are
hired and receive many hours of training. With their peers, they create
projects to improve the lives of young women like themselves, seek funding
for these projects, hire personnel, and evaluate their work. YWUFO staff
work with adult advisors (consultants) and peers as trainers to learn the
skills necessary to take on roles such as community leader, social activist,
researcher, web designer or wherever their passions lead them. YWUFO was
a project of The Tides Center.
San
Francisco Task Force on Prostitution
Final
Report 1996
VII.
Youth Issues and Policy
Youth
are involved in prostitution for a wide variety of reasons, similar to
adults. These reasons are compounded because of legal restrictions based
on age, especially in employment and housing. Because of labor laws, established
to "protect" those under the age of eighteen, most youth are
not legally able to work more than part time. For young people who are
living on their own and can legally work only part time at a job that pays
minimum wage and offers little in terms of skill development and advancement,
there are few opportunities for survival other than working in the underground
economy, which includes sex work.
Many
young people are forced to survive on their own to escape violent and abusive
family situations. The dangers they face on the streets may be less than
the dangers they face at home. While on their own, there is a total lack
of affordable housing options for those under the age of eighteen, unless
they are emancipated. In order to become emancipated, however, it is necessary
to prove a legal means of supporting oneself. Recommendations below emphasize
strategies to reduce the harm done by legal restrictions and an arcane
system of "child care." 75
While
we realize that our society has a long way to go to adequately address
civil and human rights for young people, and young women in particular
because of the disparity in social services for youth, 76 and that limited
financial resources compete for the most effective interventions, the Task
Force submits the following recommendations:
The
Task Force recommends that the City focus on independent housing, job development
and specific shelter alternatives for incarcerated young women. 77 Provision
of services, not detention, should be the first priority for youth. Therefore,
the Task Force recommends that the City:
I. Establish a
mandate to preserve and expand youth employment. Young people need to be
paid a living wage ($8.00 - $10.00 an hour, minimum) and have opportunities
to develop job skills beyond the service economy. Equal opportunity programs
should also include youth.
II. Ensure that
services available for adults are also available for youth. 78 These should
include housing, health care including pre-natal care and abortions, rape
and abuse counseling, drug treatment and detox programs, methadone programs,
needle exchange, and self-defense training . Accessibility of services
should not be dependent on parental consent.
III. Increase
the number of Public Defenders available to people under the age of eighteen.
IV. Increase services
available to young women in order to end the gender disparity in social
services for youth .79
V. Increase the
number of shelter beds for young women in the juvenile court system who
cannot be released to parents or guardians. 80
VI. Increase funding
for peer-run support groups for youth in the sex industry, including transitional
services and programs to provide alternatives.
VII. Youth with
experience in prostitution or survival sex should be employed as peer educators,
consultants and speakers.
VIII. The San
Francisco Youth Commission should investigate the efficacy of child labor
laws, age of consent laws, and emancipation. Youth with experience in sex
work should be included in the Commission. City departments need to be
responsive to the recommendations of this board.
Notes
77
Although an increase in services is needed for young people in general,
there are significantly less services and resources available to young
women.
78
Currently there are a range of programs and services that specifically
exclude youth.
79
Velasco states that currently, services for girls, including girls who
have engaged in survival sex or worked in the sex industry, are woefully
underfunded.
80
According to an interview with Patricia Lee, Public Defender at Youth Guidance
Center, there are two shelter beds for girl and six for boys.
Position Paper regarding the issues related
to young people working in the sex trades
by Nelly Velasco, Street
Survival Project
December, 1994
Framework:
There is not one universal youth sex worker experience, not a monolithic
experience. There are a wide variety of ways which young women and men
are involved in sex work. Just like adults..... Adults must stop pathologizng
risks- which are part of life. Just because youth are young, risks are
viewed as a lack of knowledge, a death wish, incompetent decision making.
This is a fallacy. Similar to competent adults, youth use a variety of
decision-making skills to determine which risks they will enter into. However,
similar to many oppressed communities, internalizing oppression is a serious
situation which must be addressed by offering young people negotiating
skills to do harm reduction in order to increase the potential to make
competent decisions.
Definitions:
survival sex : Trading sex for a place to stay or drugs or money, or smog
certificates, or parking tickets. It is generally not a choice; young people
who are poor enter into this economy to cope with our day to day financial
and survival needs. Women in general who have had less economic opportunities
throughout time have used survival sex so their children will have a home,
to send their them to college, to pay their bills. If the economy is not
doing well, sexual and racially oppressive policies are a greater force
in the institutional policies which determine who enters the documented
labor force. With few outlets, women and in particular younger women will
enter sex work and specifically survival sex.
Geographies
of Risk: Contrary to popular mythology: young women do not come to SF and
think that they will arrive in paradise. However they are on their own
for the first time and it is harder then expected because the labor laws
are so restrictive, there is no affordable housing, adults are so violent
and negative towards young people. As a result young women do whatever
they can to survive in San Francisco on their own.
Define
pimping: Perhaps we need to define and refine what a pimp is. Are we dealing
with someone's boyfriend or someone who is actually forcing someone? Pimping:
two kinds: someone who is nice enough to hire someone seventeen; or, someone
who actively recruits young people.
Youth
Prostitution: We need to develop a protocol for different ages? A policy-type
thing that is decided by youth as well as adults (perhaps 50%). Decriminalization
applies to youth as well. Money should be allocated to legal defense for
youth to watchdog the implementation of new protocols developed to evaluate
the outcomes and process.
We
need: housing, jobs, hang out place, job training, health care. support
services. the dog jumped over the big log. the dog jumped over the big
log. the dog jumped over the big log.
Young
people should be thoroughly educated at a young age concerning laws that
affect everyone and minors in general: learning at a young age how laws
are fucked up could promote more voting. The way prop 187 has brought a
lot of youth activism. Learn your rights and what needs to be changed.
Public
Education Campaign reinforcing intelligence, competency among young people
advertised on buses and in kiosks on the street. Campaigns in the greyhound
bus station- places to go--anti- incest info in the bus campaigns- "you
are not alone" messages- "there is someone you can talk to and
it won't be reported."
Stop
using police and assistance for young people who are changing location.
Currently, police wait at the Greyhound Bus station to catch youth who
are "relocating" or "running away" to send them back
to their "families" There is a special Greyhound bus program
which pays for the RETURN ticket. We strongly suggest that police leave
this post and let young people relocate.
The
reason that young people don't access organizations and youth services
is because of parental notification and paternalistic service providers.
An advisory board run by a majority of youth must evaluate current services
(and be paid to do this job).
Develop
an analysis of the "Child savers" Who are they? What is their
agenda? Who benefits from this agenda and who is hurt?
Media
representation: How are young people portrayed? Do we ever hear their side
of the "story"? Is there a story or, is it opinion pieces laced
heavily with morality embedded in right wing fundamentalism/ family values.
Which institutions thrive due to the way media portrays young women.
Economics:
What real jobs are available? How much do they pay? How much are youth
jobs valued? Given the recent firing of 1000 paper carriers (youth carriers)
and though the Delinquency Prevention Commission fought for those jobs
for over a year, the supervisors ended their support of that campaign during
this past labor fight. Youth on their own cannot survive on minimum wage.
The Mayor's Office of Children Youth and Families which funds youth employment
programs will not allow agencies to offer more then $4.25 per hour.
Education
projects which incorporate a youth speakers program and educational videos
produced by young people should be developed to be used the schools, to
educate health care workers, and other service providers and present the
issues and develop a dialogue of respect.
Housing:
Currently there are 4 count them 4 emergency shelter beds for young women
under 18 in San Francisco. There are no affordable independent housing
programs for young people. Would survival sex be less of an option if people
had places to live? SF needs independent housing.
More
community centers. Places for young people to hang out without questions
or demands. Young people should not have to enter a system of care in order
to hang-out anywhere.
An
advisory board with majority youth could consider the issues mentioned
above and the following:
Should
we have an 'age of consent'? What would it be? What about making the laws
which go along with emancipation? How do you decide what consent is? The
criteria for emancipation is that you have a place to live and that you
can pay rent and food and clothing... A judge wouldn't grant emancipation
if you were having sex for money. Over 14 and in 'some kind of status'(?)
then it isn't statutory rape. Can we consider sex work a means of earning
a living for a young person who could then afford to take care of herself
and so a judge would allow her to emancipate?
Appendix B.
1.
Measure Y: Violence Prevention and Public Safety Act of 2004
2.
An Evaluation of the Youth and Cultural Development: Street Youth Work
Project by Ms.
Ruth Greenaway; Dr. Lesley MacGibbon, December 2005
City of Oakland Measure Y: Violence Prevention and Public Safety
Act of 2004
I.
Text of Ballot Measure
A
Proposed Ordinance (1) Creating A Special parcel Tax And (2) Increasing
The Parking Tax In Order To Fund Violence And Crime Prevention Programs:
Yes/No.
"To
reduce violent crime and increase public safety, shall the city of Oakland
increase successful after school, counseling, truancy, and job training
programs, early intervention programs for children who witness violence,
and increase community police efforts, paramedics and emergency fire personnel
in each neighborhood by authorizing a surcharge on parking in commercial
parking lots and parcel tax subject to annual performance and financial
audits by a citizen's oversight committee?"
II.
Funding Priorities
Below
are excerpts from Measure Y describing funding parameters. For review of
complete text of Measure Y see http://www.oaklandnet.com/violenceprevention/default.html
Part I. General
B. For preventive social services, including youth out-reach counselors,
after-school and in-school pro-grams for at-risk adolescents and children,
domestic violence and child abuse counselors, and ex-offender employment
training,
c. To hire 63 new sworn police officers, including at least one officer
for each existing community policing beat, for combating truancy, for a
crime reduction team, for domestic violence and child abuse intervention,
and for community policing training and equipment.)
Section 3. Use of proceeds
The tax proceeds raised by this ordinance may only be used as part
of the following integrated program of violence prevention and public safety
intervention, in accordance with the following specific purposes:
2. Violence Prevention Services With an Emphasis on Youth and Children:
Expand preventive social ser- vices provided by the City of Oakland, or
by adding capacity to community-based nonprofit programs with demonstrated
past success for the following objectives:
a. Youth outreach counselors: hire and train personnel who will reach
out, counsel and mentor at-risk adolescents and young adults by providing
services and presenting employment opportunities;
b. After and in school program for youth and children: expand existing
City programs and City supported programs that provide recreational, academic
tutoring and mentoring opportunities for at-risk adolescents and children
during after school hours; expand truancy enforcement programs to keep
kids in school.
c. Domestic violence and child abuse counselors: make available counselors
who will team with police and the criminal justice system to assist victims
of domestic violence or child prostitution and to find services that help
to avoid repeat abuse situations; expand early childhood intervention programs
for children exposed to violence in the home at an early age.
d. Offender/parolee employment training: provide parolee pre-release
employment skills training and provide employers with wage incentives to
hire and train young offenders or parolees;
Part 2. Oversight. Minimum Staffing and Term of Tax Imposition
Section
3 Established "Violence
Prevention and Public Safety Oversight Committee" Éto review the annual
audits, evaluate the effectiveness of the programs, and make recommendations
to the Mayor and City Council regarding regulations.
Young people who
work on the streets of Christchurch as sex workers are among the most vulnerable
groups in our community. The
Street Youth Work project run by the Youth and Cultural Development is
one of the few interventions working to keep these young people safe. One of the major issues
for this project is to find funding to ensure that the project continues. It is successfully operating an essential
service, but struggles year by year to find the funding to continue the
work.
The project has been
operating under the management of the Youth and Cultural Development (YCD)
for two years, and an evaluation into the project is timely. This evaluation seeks to document the
development of the project over the past two years, identify outcomes achieved,
and identify aspects of the service that could result in improved delivery
and enhanced outcomes. The
Christchurch Safer Community Council requested and funded this evaluation.
The YCD Street Youth
Work project employs two workers who work with young people on the streets
three nights a week, run the Drop-In centre one night a week, and work
on an individual case-work basis with young people who are willing to accept
their assistance. The target
group of young people under the age of 18, is affected by multiple issues
including lack of financial resources, solvent, alcohol, an drug abuse/addictions,
lack of support, mental health problems, family abuse histories, sexual
identity confusion, and attraction to crime.
Many of this group were not using safe sex practices consistently
or taking precautions to maintain their sexual, physical and/or mental
health. They are a particularly
'at risk' group.
The project is achieving its goals of minimising harm
to the young people by providing information and education on safe sex,
improving access to health services, encouraging support and safety practices,
and broadening the young people's lifestyle choices. Although it has not recorded the number of young sex workers
on the street, during the past year the project has had 538 contacts with young people
working on the street. One
hundred and twenty-two of these contacts have been with young workers new
to the streets. Thirty-three
of these young people were worked with on an ongoing one-to-one case-work
basis.
The project has excellent relationships with other projects
working on the streets, and referral agencies for additional assistance
for the young people. If the
project received more funding, workers could be on the streets more nights,
and work on a one-to-one basis with more young people. The relationship between street work and
the counselling is essential – it is through contact on the streets
that the relationships of trust are established.
The development of the Drop-In centre sessions on a Thursday
night are proving successful and provide an opportunity for issues to be
discussed in a non-threatening environment. If the YCD created a dedicated clinic space at the Drop-In
centre it would enable the Sexual Health Clinical Nurse Specialist to complete
physical examinations.
The project appears to have a huge impact on the young
sex workers in Christchurch. Although
the numbers of young people engaging in this work is not known, the YCD
Street Youth Work Project can demonstrate that it has assisted 12 young
people to leave the streets permanently the past twelve months.
-
That YCD seeks funding to keep
this programme running, and if possible expand the Street Outreach services
to more days of the week.
- That YCD develop a system for
recording the number of young sex workers as well as the number
of contacts.
- That YCD continues to endeavour
to recruit suitable back-up staff for the Street Outreach work.
-
That YCD investigates setting
aside a dedicated space at the Drop-In centre to enable the Sexual Health
Clinical Nurse Specialist to complete physical examinations.
In
August 2003 an evaluation was completed on the Youth Street Worker project
that had been a partnership between the 198 Youth Health Centre and the
New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC).
At that time the project had wound up, and a new project was beginning
under the management of Youth and Cultural Development (YCD).
The 2003 evaluation report identified successful key features it
recommended be incorporated into the YCD project.
Those features included utilising a harm minimisation model, having
clear goals and measures of success, having clear boundaries, employing
credible workers, having a backup system for street outreach patrols, providing
continuity for the clients, and sourcing ongoing funding.
The
project has been operating under the management of YCD for two years, and
an evaluation into the project is timely.
The evaluation was requested and funded by the Christchurch Safer
Community Council.
The
purpose of this evaluation is both formative and outcomes based.
The evaluation seeks to document the development of the project
over the past two years, identify outcomes achieved, and identify aspects
of the service that could result in improved delivery and enhanced outcomes.
This
evaluation seeks to answer the following questions:
-
To
what extent is the project achieving it goals?
-
What
difference has the project made on the lives of young sex workers operating
on the streets of Christchurch?
-
What
difference has the project made for the families of young sex workers
operating on the streets of Christchurch?
-
Is
the 'harm minimisation' model an effective basis for this work?
-
What
impact has the project had on key stakeholders?
-
What
are the wider issues of youth prostitution in Christchurch?
-
How
could the project be improved?
This
evaluation utilised a number of different strategies to collect information. These included a review of YCD reports and documents, an analysis
of YCD statistics, interviews with key stakeholders, and an analysis of
New Zealand and Overseas papers and articles on youth prostitution.
All
documentation from the project was made available for this evaluation. This included policy documents, project
funding applications, funding accountability reports, and workers' monthly
reports.
Daily
statistics are kept on the number of contacts with young street workers,
and these were made available to this evaluation.
An analysis of the statistics for the past year is included in the
findings of the report.
Limitations
The
way that the statistical information is collected is for the number of
contacts with the clients. This is different to the number of young
people worked with. The outreach
workers argue that it is too difficult to keep statistics for the number
of young people, because they do not record names, and the target group
is very fluid and constantly changing.
The method of recording statistics is taken up in this evaluation
(p
46
).
Interviews
were carried out with the following key stakeholders:
-
Two
YCD outreach workers
-
Backup
outreach worker
-
Manager
of YCD
-
YCD
Advisory Group
-
198
Youth Health Centre social worker
-
Child
Youth and Family social worker
-
Regional
Co-ordinator and community worker
of the NZ Prostitutes Collective
-
Director
of the Salvation Army Outreach Service
-
Christchurch
City Council Youth Worker
-
Police
Youth Services Coordinator
-
Sexual
Sexual Health Clinical Nurse Specialist
-
Young
street workers
Interviews
were completed with six young street workers.
These interviews were conducted by the YCD Outreach workers using
an interview schedule prepared by the researchers.
These interviews were taped, transcribed, and tapes were destroyed. Anonymity was guaranteed at the time of
interview and all identifying information has been removed in the presentation
of their feedback in this report.
In
1997 a joint project between the 198 Youth Health Centre and the New Zealand
Prostitutes Collective (NZPC) was established out of a community concern
about the number of young people who appeared to be taking part in street-based
prostitution on the Christchurch inner city area.
The project was funded by the Dept of Internal Affairs and ran until
2003. At that time, because of difficulty gaining
ongoing funding the 198 Centre ceased to manage the project, and YCD took
on this role.
YCD
has managed the project since July 2003, with the outreach workers operating
from the YCD base in Cashel Street.
The project has been funded initially by Safer Christchurch, and
currently by the Christchurch City Council and the Child Youth and Family
Service (CYFS). An advisory group consisting of
members from the NZPC, CYFS, NZ Police, 198 Youth Health Centre and the
Christchurch City Council. The
advisory group meets monthly to share information, identify trends, identify
gaps in service provision, and discuss funding options.
The
project focusses on an 'at risk' group of young people engaging in opportunistic
sex work or regular prostitution.
Compensation is not limited to money and may include other forms
of payment including for example, food, alcohol, drugs and accommodation.
The target group for support from this project is the under 18 age
group.
The
Prostitution Reform Act 2003 created a number of offences relating to those
under 18 being involved in prostitution.
These included making it an offence for any person to pay for sexual
services to be provided by any person under the age of 18 years, or for
any person to employ those under 18 years in the sex industry At the time of writing this report only
one prosecution had been taken against a person paying for sex with an
underage prostitute.
The
overall goal of the project is to reduce the number of young people working
as sex workers on the streets by assisting the young people to leave this
type of work, or reducing the number of nights that any one young person
is on the streets. The project workers operate from a 'harm
minimisation' model rather than as 'sex police'.
Any
small change to reduce their harm is a success for us, so that's our goal.
[YCD Outreach Worker].
The
harm minimisation approach focuses on reducing the harm associated with
potentially risky activities. It is a pragmatic approach that recognises
the reality that certain activities that may be illegal or potentially
harmful to health and/or personal safety do take place. Harm minimisation provides people with
the capacity and resources to make informed decisions about their activities.
This is considered more effective than attempting to eliminate the
behaviour itself. The approach can be used with a range
of behaviours, for example, unsafe sex, unsafe sex work, alcohol and drug
use and self haring behaviours.
With
a lot of these young people you try and say "you can't do this, it
is not only against the law but unsafe", but you need to give them
alternative choices. This is where the YCD Outreach workers fit into the
picture. They can offer alternatives, life skills and have the ability
to assist them to either immediately, or over a period of time, stop working.
When I worked on the CCC/Police project I worked very closely with
the NZPC Social Worker who worked this way and over a period of three years
out of 10 young girls only one was still working. (Police member of the
Advisory Group)
-
Empower
young people to make informed choices through the provision of information
and education on safe sex.
-
Improve
access to physical and mental health checks and primary health care.
-
Improve
the co-ordination of access to other agencies where appropriate.
-
Broaden
young people's lifestyle choices.
-
Encourage
a culture of support and safety amongst the young people.
-
Reduce
the numbers of young people in the target group who are involved in related
activities such as crime, alcohol and drug use.
The
target group of young people is affected by multiple issues including lack
of financial resources, solvent, alcohol, an drug abuse/addictions, lack
of support, mental health problems, family abuse histories, sexual identity
confusion, and attraction to crime.
Many of this group were not using safe sex practices consistently
or taking precautions to maintain their sexual, physical and/or mental
health.
There
are no baseline statistics available to indicate the size of this group
in Christchurch, and the YCD project keeps statistics on the number
of contacts (538) not the number of clients contacted on the
streets. However, 33 young people are involved in ongoing case work
with the outreach workers. This
is an incredibly time-intensive group to work with as they present with
multiple issues. As the social
worker from the 198 Youth Health Centre stated:
This
is a client group that can take up huge amounts of resources and time,
as they are very high need. If
left, things will get worse and become even more high need, so the earlier
the intervention the better.
Young
people engaging in prostitution have the potential not only to cause harm
to themselves, but also considerable risk to public health through the
spread of sexually transmitted infections, HIV and Hepatitis C.
The health of sex workers is therefore also a public health issue.
Although
the focus of the work is primarily on the young sex workers, the outreach
workers also work with their friends and boyfriends who may be acting as
their 'minders'. They provide information to the 'minders'
about practical strategies like taking down car number plates, and ensuring
that the sex workers have access to a cell phone when working. The way that these young people congregate,
may give a false impression of the number of young sex workers.
As a member of the ZNPC stated:
Young
people like to hang out in groups and we have to address that with the
media because to the untrained eye it looks like a lot of people are hanging
out on the street, but not a lot of them are actually doing 'the business'. It's a bit of a support network.
However,
one of the ways that young people begin to work as sex workers is through
their association as 'minders' or 'looking after' friends who are already
working. Honey's story demonstrates this path into
the industry.
I've
been working on the street for 3 weeks.
I was looking after some people for two or three months. I don't like the term 'minding'; I use 'looking after'. I started working when I got kicked out
of my place. Instead of getting
a job and being there all day, and seeing the cash I thought it this would
be easier. But everything
about it is bad. Like standing
out there is bad, standing out there alone, and going in cars with strangers
is bad. It isn't something I'd promote. There is nothing at all about it that
is good. I do it so I can
get the money to survive – live, eat, sleep. [Lilly aged 15]
The
Outreach work is carried out three nights a week, Tuesday ,Thursday and
a Friday or Saturday night, anywhere from 8 pm – 5 am (5 hours a
night is the goal, but not always feasible.)
During this time the workers walk around the inner city area, particularly
Latimer Square and Manchester Street, and give out free packs of condoms
and lube to street sex workers. The
NZ Prostitutes Collective provides the condoms and lube, and this is distributed
to any workers irrespective of age.
Although the YCD project focusses on under 18 year old workers,
it is necessary to make contact with all ages, so that the younger ones
will not feel threatened by being singled out.
Initially many of the sex workers are not aware that Jo and Toni
are outreach youth workers, and simply refer to them as the "condom ladies"
Sometimes
they might not even be the sex workers but other young people and they
say "Oh you're Jo and Toni, the condom ladies, you're real choice chicks."
[YCD Outreach Worker]
The
issues faced on street outreach, are many and varied. In the year to 31
July 2005, these included, attacks on the client group, increasing concern
about a house in the area used by workers, rape, murder, drugs moving around
the area, and effects of herbal highs.
The
goal of the outreach work is to make contacts with the young workers and
build relationships of trust. Jo and Toni take a low key approach, give
out condoms, and where possible engage the young workers in conversation.
As the young workers get to know and trust Jo and Toni, they are
encouraged to visit the Drop-in centre on Thursday nights, or to meet with
Toni for individual sessions during the week.
If
we can get to the point where the young ones want to sit down with us and
talk about everyday things than that's our goal, even to talk about their
dreams. [YCD Outreach Worker]
Building
trust, giving the young people the tools and information to keep themselves
safe on the streets, and eventually to have options to leave the streets,
can be a very slow process. One
of the YDC Outreach workers explained:
The
other day someone on the street said to us that she couldn't do this anymore,
she'd been doing it since she was 14 and [now she's 21yrs] so now we have
that foothold to look at other options.
[YCD Outreach Worker]
All
the young street sex workers interviewed talked about they way that they
trusted Toni and Jo, and by association, other people at the YCD Drop-in
including the Sexual Health Clinical Nurse Specialist
.
No
one else knows what we're going through.
They help us because they understand.
Toni is helping me look at courses and for a place to live. There is no one else around that we can trust. [Kowhai]
Once
a week I come to the Drop-in and I see them on the street, and come to
talk to them about stuff I couldn't tell anyone else. [Poppy]
Whenever
I ask for help they always do it, even when I'm wasted.
They are cool. [Ngaio]
In
addition to providing condoms and lube, the YCD Outreach workers offer
safety and sexual health advice. They try not to intervene directly,
but will do so on occasions where they identify that the young person is
intoxicated or doesn't have somewhere safe to stay. At times they accompany a young person
to the Accident and Emergency Dept at the Christchurch Hospital, or to
Court, or the police station.
On
my own I wouldn't have turned up at Court and I would have been screwed. When we go to court and know that you [Jo and Toni] are coming
to give support, we turn up. Otherwise
we wouldn't go. [Rata]
Finding
accommodation
The
lack of emergency accommodation is a major problem.
Jo and Toni argue that one of the prime reasons why young people
enter sex work is because they have run away from home or from foster care
and have no place to stay. They
can no longer 'dos' at a friends place and will often do sex work to make
some money to then have somewhere to stay the night.
If they do not make enough money, they have nowhere to stay. Existing emergency housing (shelters)
does not always cater for youth under 18 and do not allow for late night
emergency calls. There have
been some times when Jo and Toni have not been able to find accommodation
late at night:
It's
heartbreaking for us sometimes to just leave them there.
Last week we left someone just distraught in tears on the street,
but our hands were tied. If
only we had some money to put them up in a motel.
The
YCD Outreach workers have excellent networks of agencies and services that
they can assist the young people to access.
However, sometimes because of a sense of shame, it is difficult
to get them to appointments. For
this reason, the YCD outreach workers often try to do some work with the
clients first and also accompany them to appointments.
You've
got to run with it when it happens, because they could change their minds
so quickly. If they change their mind we say 'sweet
as'. I remember one girl who
didn't come and she felt really bad that she'd let me down, but it was
like no, if 'there's another time that's good but if there's not that's
okay too.' [YCD Outreach Worker]
YCD
has a very well maintained system for recording statistics.
The statistics that the workers collect as part of their night outreach
work records the number of street workers they interact with on that night.
The statistics therefore indicate the numbers of contacts, not
numbers of people. The
way that the statistics are recorded makes it impossible to know the actual
number of young people working on the streets in Christchurch, the length
of time they remain working on the streets, or the size of the problem.
Figure
1
Number
of street contacts 11 Aug 2004 - 10 August 2005
|
Age |
Under 14 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
|
Male |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
|
Female |
5 |
14 |
32 |
143 |
330 |
|
Age total |
5 |
14 |
32 |
150 |
337 |
|
Total number of contacts for the year was 538
|
Although
it is not possible to establish the number of young sex workers on the
street during the year, the Outreach Workers do record new contacts, when
they meet a worker on the streets for the first time.
The numbers working at any one time changes constantly depending
on many factors such as, weather, time of year, and school holidays. The
Outreach Workers report that the
under 14 yr olds don't stay long, as the older ones who find out how old
they are 'kick' them off the streets.
The
street is very funny everything is very changeable, it goes on the weather,
it goes on the time of year, it goes on whether there's a rugby game, and
there are so many elements to change the stats.
[YCD Outreach Worker].
The
majority of young sex workers (56%) were Maori, 44.5% were Pakeha, and
1.5% Pasifika. The large representation of young Maori
is a problem, given that the
Maori
population of Christchurch is only 13%
In the past two years that the project has been operating,
the YCD Outreach Workers have assisted twelve young people who were regularly
working on the streets, to leave sex work permanently.
One
of the issues identified in the previous report (MacGibbon 2003) was the
need for backup staff for night outreach work.
At that time the project had only two workers, with no backup staff,
which meant that if one person was sick or unavailable for any reason,
the street outreach work was abandoned.
Despite
the best efforts of YCD, the situation with backup staff is still vulnerable. The agency has one ex-youth worker of YCD who provides backup
on a regular basis, which is excellent, but a pool of relievers would be
the best possible outcome. It
is however, very difficult to recruit people with the specialised knowledge,
skills and personal attributes needed for the job.
You
need someone who knows that it's a rough job, it's terrible hours, it's
unpredictable, you don't know when you're going to be staying out 5 hours,
or more because you need to go to hospital or whateverÉyou've
got to be prepared to be cold, to get rained on, to have eggs thrown at
you. You have to have a thick
skin because people are horrible to you and I think that's why I say if
someone knows the industryÉhas a real personal understanding of it, you
can understand that. [YCD Outreach Worker]
There
is a co-operative working arrangement between the agencies working in the
Christchurch streets at night – YCD Outreach programme, the Salvation
Army Outreach, CCC and Police Youth Project, the NZ Prostitutes Collective.
Salvation
Army
The
Salvation Army has an outreach that works with people on the street.
They have a mobile canteen that circuits the inner city streets,
Thursday to Sunday. They cater
specifically for sex workers by providing a safe space, the Oakland Centre,
which is a drop in centre at 209A Manchester St open from Monday-Wednesday
nights 10-1am. This is seen
as a supplement to the canteen as part of the outreach work. Oaklands is
open to female and transgender sex workers.
The
approach, or ministry, of the Salvation Army is different to YCD yet complimentary. The Salvation Army does not intervene, and view their assistance
in different ways to YCD. They
are there to build relationships in a non-judgemental, non-threatening
way, and to provide immediate support though the provision of food and
drink and a safe space.
The
YCD girls do something that we don't like to do, they will talk to the
girls about being under age, and they will tell them that they are not
legally allowed on the streets, being under age, but they'll also assist
them. We offer them assistance
but knowing that the YCD girls are looking after the age problem, we don't
disbar them from coming into our centre and we don't say "You girls shouldn't
be out on the street"ÉWe're glad that the YCD workers are there because
they will actually front up with some of those hard questions and they
are there to protect them and do all they can to assist them and that's
a different role to us. The
two are necessary. [Salvation
Army Outreach Worker]
Christchurch
City Council Police Youth Project
The
Christchurch City Council joint project with the NZ Police has similar
goals in wanting to reduce the violence and harm to young people on the
streets. This project also patrols the streets
on Friday nights, with a particular focus on the under 16 age group. If young people are identified as aged
16 and under, they are taken home to parents or caregivers.
The
CCC Police Youth project youth worker was very familiar with the outreach
work being done by YCD, and stated that they did not usually approach the
young sex workers because they know that YCD has an established relationship
with this group.
I
know as a youth worker myself, that trust and confidence and that bond
between you and a young person is hard to build.
It is far harder with young sex workers because obviously they are
more cagey and standoffish. It
wouldn't be easy to build rapport and I think they have done that really
well. I heard from some young people that Toni
had taken some food around to them and they were like "Oh choice!" [CCC Youth Worker].
Police
Youth Services Co-ordinator
The
Police Youth Services Coordinator is a part of the YCD Advisory group and
has a close working relationship with the project. Her role, like the other
members of the Advisory group is to offer advise and assist the project
as required. She was the initial Police representative on the Police/ Christchurch
City Council Youth Work Project. Therefore having had experience
working with young sex workers in all capacities. She recognises that there
are a number of issues youth face, and their sex work is but one of these.
Sadly,
once these young girls decide to work it is no easy task for them to stop.
But ultimately we all are working together to stop them. We are not saying
it is okay for them to work the streets because it is not okay and it is
not a safe environment. These girls know they can trust Toni and
Jo and be shown an alternative life style.
The
Police Youth Services Co-ordinator stated that the streets of Christchurch
are a safe place to live, work and socialise but that the activities of
the sex workers is not safe. The Police have a role in working to keep
the city safe, and part of that role is to assist by uplifting the young
sex workers and either taking them home, or to a CYFS placement.
New
Zealand Prostitutes Collective
The
NZPC has a close working relationship with the project. They
see the main focus of the project being to ensure that young sex workers
are safe, sexually and physically. A key part of the Outreach Workers role is to improve knowledge
about ways to stay safe in doing sex work.
NZPC
outreach is once a month, where they hand out condoms and lube, but do
not tend to talk to many young people.
They have found that the young people have built up a huge respect
and rapport with Jo and Toni, which they do not have.
However they are known to the young workers as the women from NZPC
who also hand out condoms and lube.
The
staff at NZPC acknowledge that Jo and Toni will go out at odd hours at
night and will out go out of their way – having once gone to Kaiapoi
to find a young sex worker who was working beside the motorway.
They praise them for their commitment to working with as many young
people as they can, and their commitment to always making connections with
new sex workers.
The
Drop-in on Thursday nights from 7pm – 12pm has been steadily developing
over the past year.
Figure
2
Attendances at the Drop-in Thursday nights
|
Sept 04 |
22 |
|
Oct/Nov |
46 |
|
Dec/Jan |
53 |
|
Feb/March |
19 |
|
April |
8 |
|
May |
9 |
|
June |
34 |
|
July |
26 |
|
August 05 |
16 |
|
TOTAL |
233
|
The
Drop-in has allowed young people to spend time at YCD talking about general
issues that concern them or affect them when working the street, or in
everyday life. Both Outreach
Workers are present at the Drop-in during this time, and they describe
it as a "great tool" because it provides a safe space for the young
sex workers to meet, where they are treated with respect.
A
lot of them they have constantly heard all the time "You're worthless,
you're useless, you can't do anything, you're best laying on your back
if you're going to do anything", and they get into this mindset, that
okay it must be true, I've been doing it for a while now so this must be
all that I can do.ÉIt's usually over playing cards or something like that
that we'll start the conversation, and then you might find at the next
Drop in they come in and they say "Right I've really thought about it and
I really want to do that nursing course. Can a prostitute do a nursing course?" They honestly think that they can't.
[YCD Outreach Worker]
The
young workers often visit the Drop-in Centre before going on the streets. They have the opportunity to use the facilities,
sit and talk, and have something to eat. All six young women interviews had positive comments to make
about the Drop-in.
A
good thing about the Thursday night Drop-in is that we can come up here
and we will be so hungry. Some
nights we won't get work until some ungodly hour. We come here, have a
hot drink and have a feed. We
can have a shower, and sometimes wash and dry our clothes.
This place is very important to us. It is good having the nurse starting to be here too. If she is here next Thursday I will be
up to talk to her. It helps
to have people like her around. If
you sell your body, people don't think that you are human. [Holly]
Many
of the needs of this target group fall into the health categories –
physical, mental, sexual health, nutrition and hygiene. At the first session with the Sexual Health
Clinical Nurse Specialist
One
of the girls said to a boy there "You should have gone to school you would
have learnt all about that".
"Well it doesn't matter" he said "because I can come up here
and learn everything about sexual health". So I could see how people could think
it's just a chit chat, it's not, its specialist information. In a situation like that where one person
is asking a question and ten are listening then I'm actually reaching ten
people because you can bet your bottom dollar that they are all listening.
[Sexual Health Clinical Nurse Specialist
]
The
Sexual Health Clinical Nurse Specialist argued that the emphasis on health
with this target group is important because if they are not specifically
targeted for health care they are unlikely to access it.
One
of the priorities of the YCD Street Worker Project is to offer individual
casework. Once the young people
ask for help, they are invited to visit YCD and talk to Jo or Toni about
their problems. Jo and Toni
may accompany them to the hospital, to court, or to WINZ.
It
is case work but it is also about knowing the nature of the work and if
you put that pressure on them to leave or to follow through on something
that they wanted to do the other day, you do have to challenge them.
But if you pressure them, you lose them. They haven't got much support to be really honest about what
they are doing, so you don't want to lose them. So it's like we've planted a seed, let's leave it and continue
on and more likely than not it will come up again. [YCD Outreach Worker]
Jo
and Toni said that they must make a judgement call as to when to involve
other agencies such as Women's Refuge, 198 Youth Health Centre, and drug
and alcohol related services.
The
most common issues for young people being case managed include: sexual/physical-general/mental
health issues; pregnancy and suspected pregnancy; motherhood; housing,
clothing; benefits; rehab for drug and alcohol addiction; sexual abuse;
relationship issues, court appearances, and personal hygiene.
Many
of the young street workers have serious mental health problem, many of
which are undiagnosed and untreated.
For example, the YCD Street Outreach workers worked intensively
with one young woman for two years as her mental health deteriorated. Following an extreme psychotic episode
Toni took her to psych emergency where she was hospitalised for several
months. Prior to that time,
she was not known to the mental health services.
One
young woman they have been working with on a one-to-one basis has a severe
intellectual disability, has a boyfriend in prison, and has recently become
pregnant. The Outreach workers
spent a lot of time with this client working on the basics of sexual safety
and how to use a condom. Another
young worker has a history of suicide attempts, has no home, and is victimised
by other workers and minders.
There
are many barriers to change for the young street workers, but one of the
most common is accessing a benefit.
Although they are technically eligible for an emergency or independent
youth benefit, most of the young street workers do not have a bank account,
any form of ID or access to their birth certificate to get ID, or any permanent
address. Because of this they are often unable
to access a WINZ benefit, accommodation, or to begin to pursue options
of further education or employment.
WINZ
also require young people to attend a course, which most find very difficult
following a night of working on the streets.
If there is the possibility of a family reconciliation, WINZ may
require the young person to see a psychologist, and for a variety of reasons,
many young people do not want to do this.
Once
immediate needs are taken care of, the next step in case management is
to work with young people on creative ways of presenting themselves to
employers or for further education.
However this in itself is very challenging for a young person who
is unlikely to say what they have been doing, feels shame and finds the
process overwhelming and extremely daunting without a lot of support from
the YCD Outreach Workers. Several of the young women have left school
early and have limited literacy or numeracy.
For
some of these young women, it is not a black and white situation of making
the choice or not to do sex work; in some cases for the young people they
do not have any other option right now, unless they get help from many
sources. [YCD Outreach Worker]
The
YCD Outreach workers have a case list of 33 clients, but are not seeing
all of these all the time. The
following table (fig 3) illustrates patterns of support, with some clients
needing continual support, others dropping off, and new clients beginning.
Figure
3
Patterns
of one-to-one counselling & support
Note each * represents one visit
|
Client |
July 04 |
Aug |
Sept |
Oct & Nov |
Dec & Jan |
Feb |
March |
April |
May |
June |
July |
Aug |
|
101 |
* |
* |
* |
** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
102 |
***** |
** |
* |
** |
|
** |
*** |
*** |
** |
** |
*** |
** |
|
103 |
** |
|
|
|
|
* |
|
*** |
|
* |
* |
|
|
104 |
* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
105 |
**** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
106 |
* |
|
|
|
|
* |
* |
** |
|
|
|
|
|
107 |
***** |
***** |
**** |
***** |
*** |
** |
**** |
*** |
** |
* |
* |
** |
|
108 |
|
******* |
|
******* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
109 |
|
**** |
******* |
**** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
110 |
|
* |
|
* |
*** |
* |
* |
* |
|
|
|
|
|
111 |
|
* |
|
* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
112 |
|
* |
******
***** |
*** |
** |
**** |
* |
|
|
*** |
***** |
** |
|
113 |
|
|
|
|
*** |
*** |
|
** |
** |
** |
*** |
*** |
|
114 |
|
|
|
|
|
** |
* |
** |
** |
*** |
** |
** |
|
115 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
**** |
** |
|
|
** |
**** |
|
116 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
** |
|
|
117 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
** |
* |
* |
|
** |
* |
|
118 |
|
|
|
|
|
* |
|
|
* |
|
|
** |
| 119 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
*** |
*** |
*** |
*** |
* |
* |
|
120 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
***** |
** |
|
|
|
|
121 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
** |
|
|
|
|
|
122 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
***** |
|
|
|
|
123 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* |
|
**** |
* |
|
124 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*** |
* |
* |
|
125 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*** |
|
** |
|
126 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
127 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
** |
**** |
** |
|
128 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
** |
|
* |
|
129 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*** |
* |
|
130 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* |
*** |
|
131 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
** |
|
132 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*** |
|
133 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*** |
A lot of barriers the young people create themselves, and
I acknowledge that they don't think through things. But then a lot of them don't have the skills to do so either.
I think everybody assumes that young people have been bought up
with natural sociable skills and the ability to make decisions.
When you haven't had the role modelling or had a parent sit beside
you saying this is what you need to do and this is why you need to do it,
because if you don't these are the consequences.
But if you haven't had this, there is that big gap in their development. You add marijuana or alcohol to it, then
it has an affect on the decisions a young person is going to be able to
make. So it's not just while
they are stoned or while they are drinking, it's because they have been
stoned and because they have been drinking. [YCD Manager]
The
focus of the YCD Street Youth Work project is the young people themselves,
and the workers take direction from the young people if they want contact
to be made with their families. Usually the family will approach NZPC
or the Police first, and they will refer them to YCD. The Outreach Workers will pass on messages from family members
to the young street workers. If
they do want to reconnect with their family, Jo and Toni will support them
to do so and may go along with them to a family group conference.
Sometimes
parents ask the Street Outreach workers to 'mind out' for their children,
if they are unable to do so themselves.
As one mother wrote to her daughter:
You
know that I can't support you any more.
There are people out there that want to help you and Toni seems
to be a really loving person who understands where we all are, so please
keep her number which she gave you. If you really want help please trust Toni.
One
of the young sex workers agreed to have her story presented as part of
this evaluation. The name
is a pseudonym, and some details have been omitted or changed to protect
her identity. One of the problems
of including first hand accounts of life as a sex worker in Christchurch
is that the media has taken quotes out of context, sensationalised issues
and invaded the privacy of the young people involved.
This narrative is included to give the reader an understanding of
what it is like for these young people working as sex workers, and the
importance of their relationship with the YCD Outreach Workers.
I
started work on the streets when I was seventeen.
I'd seen my younger sister working out there and saw how much money
she made. She said "You should come out one night
and try it out", and so I did.
I went home with quite a bit of money, so I got into it. I've met lots of other working women that
I've become friends with. When I talk of friends that's Toni and Jo from
the YCD too. Those are the
good things, but there are a lot of bad things too.
When
bad stuff happens you just don't know how to react, because you don't know
what you are in for. When we are hopping into a car, we don't
know what these people are like.
I've had bad shit happen and it was really hard to get through.
Recently I had to deal with a really bad situation, and without Toni and
Jo I wouldn't have been able to get through any of it.
It was getting to the point where I didn't want to be in this world
any more, I just wanted to give up.
The only reason I'm still here is because of Toni and Jo. I feel safe with them; I can tell them anything and it won't
go any further, unless it is something really serious that they feel they
have to say something. It
is nice to have people on your side that you can talk to about anything.
I
think without the Outreach all the girls would be stuffed.
We've got support out there, with these ladies [Toni & Jo] coming
up and down the street a few nights a week to make sure that we are all
right. It is really good to know that there are people who don't look at
us like prostitutes; they look at us as normal human beings.
Other people don't look at us like that.
I
don't feel safe at all when the Outreach workers aren't out.
A lot of bad thing happen.
Just the other night I got jumped from behind, and I came into Manchester
St and I saw Toni and Jo. I
was in my worst state, and I couldn't stop crying, but when I saw them,
it was like everything was going to be OK.
I've spoken to many of the other girls and they feel the same. We'd like Toni and Jo to be out every night.
Sometimes
I think it would be really good to have somewhere safe to go.
I don't have a place to live, and with the trouble I have been having,
I need to go from one house to another.
I've been told to go to the Women's Refuge, but I know that is the
first place they would look for me and I wouldn't be safe there.
I
do feel safe with Toni and Jo, and at the Drop-in.
A good thing about the Thursday night Drop-in is that we can come
up here and we will be so hungry.
Some nights we won't get work until some ungodly hour. We come here,
have a hot drink and have a feed.
We can have a shower, and sometimes wash and dry our clothes.
This place is very important to us. It is good having the nurse starting to be here too. If she is here next Thursday I will be
up to talk to her. It helps
to have people like her around. If
you sell your body, people don't think that you are human. When I go to a normal doctor they look
down on me. "She might have
to get an AIDS test because she is a prostitute and she won't use protection". We always use protection; we get condoms
from the Outreach programme.
I
don't want to stay in sex work, and the Outreach workers are helping me
make changes. I want to be able to get another job – probably in childcare.
If someone came up to me and talked about getting into sex work,
really honestly I'd say it would be the worst thing they could do.
Some people think that it is easy money, but it isn't. The papers say things like earning $500
a night, but that is absolute bullshit.
We are on the street for hours and hours and hours and some night
we don't get anything. You
might get lucky and earn $100 or $200 a night.
Then you pay $90 for a motel, and you have to spend some money on
minders – give them a feed or if any minders have a car, you pay
for petrol. So all the money
is gone and you have to go out the next night.
Conclusion
Young
people who work on the streets of Christchurch as sex workers are among
the most vulnerable groups in our community.
The Street Youth Work project run by the Youth and Cultural Development
is one of the few agencies working to keep these young people safe. One of the major issues for this project is to find funding to ensure that
the project continues. It
is successfully operating an essential service, but struggles year by year
to find the funding to continue the work.
The
project is achieving its goals of minimising harm to the young people by
providing information and education on safe sex, improving access to health
services, encouraging support and safety practices, and broadening the
young people's lifestyle choices.
Although it has not recorded the number of young sex workers on
the street, during the past year the project has had 538 contacts with young people working on the street. Thirty-three of these young people were worked with on an ongoing
one-to-one case-work basis.
The
project has excellent relationships with other projects working on the
streets, and referral agencies for additional assistance for the young
people. If the project received more funding,
workers could be on the streets more nights, and work on a one-to-one basis
with more young people. The
relationship between street work and the counselling is essential –
it is through contact on the streets that the relationships of trust are
established.
The
development of the Drop-In centre sessions on a Thursday night are proving
successful and provide an opportunity for issues to be discussed in a non-threatening
environment. If the YCD created
a dedicated clinic space at the Drop-In centre it would enable the Sexual
Health Clinical Nurse Specialist to complete physical examinations.
The
project appears to have a huge impact on the young sex workers in Christchurch.
Although the numbers of young people engaging in this work is not
known, the YCD Street Youth Work Project can demonstrate that it has assisted
12 young people to leave the streets permanently the past twelve months.
-
That YCD seeks funding to keep
this programme running, and if possible expand the Street Outreach services
to more days of the week.
- That YCD develop a system for
recording the number of young sex workers as well as the number of contacts.
- That YCD continues to endeavour
to recruit suitable back-up staff for the Street Outreach work.
4.
That YCD investigates setting aside a dedicated space at the Drop-In centre
to enable the Sexual Health Clinical Nurse Specialist to complete physical
examinations.
|
