Vulnerability and involvement in drug use and ... - Sex Work Europe

c o n t rolling the forms of commercial sex that exist in a local area (May et al., 1999).
Through this influence they are seen as having particular opportunities to know about and
restrict the extent of youth prostitution. May and colleagues (1999) describe opportunities
for the police to divert sex workers from street to off - s t reet locations. If the police warn
owners and managers of indoor sex markets that they will lose their business licences should
d rug use or young prostitutes be discovered on their premises, then the owners and
managers are readily co-opted to help control the age and drug use opportunities of sex
workers. Another police strategy created a post for a WPC liaison officer whose
responsibilities were to:
provide some continuity and consistency in prosecutions against sex workers, whilst
o ffering them a degree of support. She carried out referral work to appropriate
agencies; and alongside processing sex workers through the criminal justice system,
she was the first point of police contact when workers had been the victims of assault
or sexual offences, accompanying them to court if they needed support as witnesses.
(May et al., 1999: 26)
Services
Throughout the literature, service harmonisation is recommended as the way forward for all
professionals working with young people who are involved or at risk of becoming involved
in prostitution (Barrett, 1997; Brain et al., 1998; Christian and Gilvarry, 1999; Melrose et
al., 1999; O’Neill et al., 1995; Schissel and Fedec, 1999; Shaw et al., 1996; Shaw and
B u t l e r, 1998; Swann, 1999; Yates et al., 1991a). Despite broad agreement that
professionals need to work together to prevent youth becoming involved in prostitution and
to react appropriately to youth who are involved, there is considerable variation in opinion
as to the best form of service delivery. There are a host of hypotheses that might explain
why existing services are rejected by many of those they purport to serve, and difficulties
a re described in the practical detail of ‘working together’. In reaction to this, of course,
there are many suggestions for improvements from professionals with experience of working
in this field. Each of these issues is discussed in a little detail below.
Variation in opinion as to the best form of service delivery
Schorr (1989) recommends that to be effective, programmes for ‘at-risk-youth’ should be,
comprehensive, intensive, flexible, and possess staff who are skilled in forming relationships
based on mutual respect and trust. Similar lists of guiding principle descriptors have been
assembled elsewhere (Altschuler and Armstrong, 1991; Palmer, 1983). Such principles, like
the idea that a multi-disciplinary approach is appropriate for serving the needs of vulnerable
Introduction
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