Street prostitution, is it a worthwhile occupation? A community perspective on social responsibility

Abstract

This study attempts to understand community perspectives and to explore social responsibilities towards street prostitution. Prostitution or sex work has multiple realities and is a socially constructed phenomenon. Postmodernist debates view prostitution as an occupation (regardless of gender) and not as a crime against women. However, using various social lenses, any activity against the will or ability of an individual is viewed as offensive and assaultive towards morals, beliefs, norms, values, emotions, and so forth. This study used a qualitative and ethnographic research design. Observations and interviews, as research tools, were applied. The data was analyzed using triangulation and crystallization to understand the social reality from different perspectives. The respondents in this study were members of the community, such as, vendors, shopkeepers, businessmen, cab drivers, police officers, and local residents. The results suggest that prostitution is a social problem and is socially constructed requiring social responsibility in addressing the issue and preventing vulnerable juveniles from entering prostitution through persuasion or greed. The findings suggest that areas affected by street prostitution are the regular ‘joints’ interconnecting the main market. Here uninvolved shoppers and passersby, especially woman and girls, are assaulted. This situation needs immediate action to protect the morals and values of the community. While social responsibility is considered pivotal, none of the community respondents in this study demonstrated concern towards street prostitution, which is fast becoming a flourishing trade in the traditional market areas of Kathmandu.

Keywords

• Sex trade
• sex workers
• gender
• social constructivism
• social problem
• socially transmitted disease
• ethnography

Kaynakça

1. Asher, A. & Miller, S. (2011). So you want to do anthropology in your library? A practical guide to ethnographic research in academic libraries. ERIAL Project. Retrieved from http://www.erialproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Toolkit-3.22.11.pdf
2. Barnett, L & Casavant, L. (2014). Prostitution: A review of legislation in selected countries. Ottawa, Canada: Library of Parliament. Publication No. 2011-115-E. Retrieved from https://lop.parl.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/2011-115-e.pdf
3. Barrera, P. (1997). In whose interest? Feminist research on prostitution. Off Our Backs,27(7), 16–19. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20835890?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
4. Brann, E. T. H. (1992). What is Postmodernism? The Harvard Review of Philosophy, 2(1), 4-7. http://harvardphilosophy.com/issues/1992/Brann.pdf
5. Burns, T. (2014). People in Alaska’s Sex Trade: Their Lived Experiences And PolicyRecommendations. Retrieved from http://sextraffickingalaska.com/pdfs/AKSWR.pdf
6. Christiansen, L., H. Lin, J. Pereira, P. Topalova, and R. Turk. (2016). Individual Choice or Policies? Drivers of Female Employment in Europe. IMF Working Paper, 16/49. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2016/wp1649.pdf
7. Davis, A. (2004). Slavery and the roots of sexual harassment. In C. MacKinnon & R. Siegel (Eds.), Directions in sexual harassment law, 457-478. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
8. Duchesne, D. (1997). Street prostitution in Canada. Juristat Service Bulletin, 17(2), 1-13. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Center of Justice Statistics, 1997. http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/Statcan/85-002-XIE/0029785-002-XIE.pdf

9. Farley, M. (2006). Prostitution, Trafficking, and Cultural Amnesia: What we want must not know in order to keep the business of sexual exploitation running smoothly. Yale journal of law and feminism, 18, 101–136.
10. Farley, M. (2004). Prostitution is sexual violence. Psychiatric Times, 21, 7-10. http://todaango.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Farley.pdf
11. Fergus, L. (2005). Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation. Australian centre for the study of sexual assault, 5, 1-44.
12. Fox, N. (1998). How to use observations in a research project. Trent focus for research and development in primary health care. Trent Focus Group, 3, 1-31. http://web.simmons.edu/~tang2/courses/CUAcourses/lsc745/sp06/observation.pdf
13. Genzuk, M. (2003). A synthesis of ethnographic research. Centre for Multilingual, Multicultural Research, University of Southern California. http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~genzuk/Ethnographic_Research.pdf
14. Kawulich, B. (2005). Participant observation as a data collection method. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 6 (2), Article 43. May 2005. https://entwicklungspolitik.uni-hohenheim.de/uploads/media/Day_3_-_Reading_text_2_02.pdf
15. Lauri, M. (2011). Triangulation of data analysis techniques. Papers on Social Representations, 20, 34.1-34.15. http://www.psych.lse.ac.uk/psr/PSR2011/20_33.pdf
16. LeBrun, J. (1999). Prostitute as Sex Worker: Feminist Theories Contextualized. Master dissertation, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
17. Levitt, S & Venkatesh, S. A. (2007). An empirical analysis of street-level prostitution. University of Chicago Working Paper. Retrieved from http://www.sajaforum.org/files/levitt_venkatesh.pdf
18. Mehra, N & Goswami, S. (2016). Third Genders: Their Agonies and the Demand for Legal Recognition. Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5(1). 19-22.
19. Mislevy, R. J. (1997). Postmodern test theory. In A. Lesgold, M. J. Feuer, & A. M. Black (Eds.), Transitions in work and learning: Implications for assessment, 280–299. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
20. Myer-Powell, B. (2008). Really worth it? No prostitution exploits many women’s deep pain.Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company Inc. Retrieved from https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-179387786.html
21. Olsen, W. (2004). Triangulation in social research: Qualitative and quantitative methods can really be mixed. Developments in Sociology: An Annual Review. Edited by M, Holborn, Ormskirk: England Causeway press.http://www.federica.eu/users/9/docs/amaturo-39571-01-Triangulation.pdf
22. Parker, J. (1998). How prostitution works. Retrieved from http://prostitutionresearch.com/ Rajbhandari, M. M. S & Rajbhandari, S. (2015). Leadership maintenance: Filling the gap for leadership competences. Educational Research and Reviews, 10 (21), 2777-2788. http://academicjournals.org/journal/ERR/article-full-text-pdf/7EF15DB56071
23. Rajbhandari, M. M. S. (2016). How does maintenance of psycho-socio-physio parameters enrich educational leaders? Journal of Educational Thought, 48 (3) Winter 2015, 239-254. University of Calgary.
24. Rajbhandari, M. M. S. (2008). Impact of sexuality education in preventing STD- HIV/AIDS among teenagers of school going students. Mini research Project. Kathmandu University. Nepal. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/3e/b1/63.pdf
25. Raymond, J. G. (2003). Ten reasons for not legalizing prostitution and a legal response to the demand for prostitution. Journal of Trauma Practice, 2, 315-332. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1300/J189v02n03_17?needAccess=true
26. Richardson, L. (1994). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.) Handbook of qualitative research (516–529). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
27. Richter, M.L., Chersich, M., Temmerman, M., & Luchters S. (2013). Characteristics, sexual behaviour and risk factors of female, male and transgender sex workers in South Africa. South African Medical Journal, 103(4):246-251. http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/samj/v103n4/21.pdf
28. Scott, M.S. (2002). Street prostitution. COPS: Problem-oriented guides for police series, No.2. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. https://cops.usdoj.gov/html/cd_rom/inaction1/pubs/StreetProstitution.pdf
29. Sullivan, M. (2005). What happens when prostitution becomes work? An update legalization of prostitution in Australia. North Fitzroy: Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. N. Amherst, Massachusetts.
30. Sonke Gender Justice. (2014). Sex Workers and Sex Work in South Africa – A Guide for Journalists and Writers. Sonke Gender Justice, Sisonke Sex Worker Movement, Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce, and Women’s Legal Centre, December 2014. http://wlce.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Final-Journalist-Guide_15-Jan-2015.pdf
31. Thurmond, V.A. (2001). The point of triangulation. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 33(3), 253–258. https://su.edu.ph/assets/media/resources/sucnaai/Thurmond-2001The%20Point%20of%20Triangulation.pdf
32. Ugarte, M., Zarate, L & Farley, M. (2003). Prostitution and trafficking of women and children from Mexico to the United States. Journal of Trauma Practice, 2 (3/4), 147-165.https://www.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Prostitution-and-Trafficking-from-Mexico-to-US-Ugarte-and-Zarate-and-Farley.pdf