A 17-year-old jailed for prostitution reads a Danielle Steele novel in jail in Clark County where Las Vegas is located. The child allegedly had a history of abuse. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

Cheers to the Los Angeles Times for this profile of social worker Marisela Quintero, who does the heroic job of  saving teenagers from a life of prostitution in Las Vegas.

The job is especially hard because pimps used psychology, threats and other tricks to keep teenagers enslaved. Quintero has rescued some girls only to have them go back to the streets to sell their bodies.

And one of her clients was murdered.

The article follows Quintero’s interaction with one child prostitute in particular, 16-year-old “Maria.” Maria eventually decides to leave prostitution, opting to become a dancer to support her son.

For Quintero, the only social worker in the county assigned primarily to child prostitutes, having Maria become an exotic dancer is the lesser of two evils. At least she is not dead on the street, murdered by her pimp or some cusThanks to National Association of Social Workers member Loretta Lavine for telling us about this article.

Social workers often help young people overcome life’s challenges, including sexual abuse and neglect. To learn more visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here.

Scene from "Prostitution: Leaving the Life." Photo courtesy of the Oprah Network.

The Oprah Winfrey Network gave SocialWorkersSpeak.org an advance copy of “Prostitution: Leaving the Life,” a 90-minute documentary that will air Aug. 18 at 9 p.m.

The documentary follows inmates and staff at a Cook County Jail Chicago mentoring program that helps women escape from prostitution. Most of the women featured in the film grappled with sexual abuse or drug addiction.

 Social workers who watched the program were Patricia O’Brien, MSW, PhD, associate professor at University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work and Bekki Ow-Arhus, MSW, LICSW,ACSW, DCSW, and Kamilah Omari, MSW, ACSW, senior practice associates at the National Association of Social Workers in Washington, D.C.

O’Brien has a special perspective — she has been involved with Women’s Justice Services at the Cook County Jail for some time and is helping to start a co-parenting program for inmates.

Q: Did you think the documentary was educational? Did you like or dislike the film?

O’BRIEN: The statistics and information about who gets involved in prostitution and its impact is certainly educational, especially for social workers who have not recognized the problem. One of the most powerful points is that what defines prostitution is much broader than might be usually considered – thus, sex traded for drugs, sex in the context of an abusive relationship, sex for survival on the streets could all be considered prostitution if the demand is evident for it. The film provides a very authentic picture of the struggle that women have with both addiction and survival on the streets and the hard choices they face in recovery. I would certainly use the film in classes that can help students understand some of the complications that women face in dealing with prostitution and drug addiction.

OW-ARHUS: The program had a good, clear depiction of the problems and issues women face in drug and alcohol treatment and in jail. But it’s not good for training on social work skills since no social workers were identified and the approach of the peer counselors and clinical ward did not appear to be social work practice in theory or approach.

OMARI: Overall, I disliked the film. However, I’m uncertain if the aspects of the film that I disliked were related to the actual women’s program or the filmmaker’s novice approach to the subject matter. For example, it never becomes abundantly clear ‘what’ help in the women’s program actually involves.  It is clear that the filmmakers didn’t challenge any of the stereotypical thought processes or underlying sexist attitudes regarding the criminalization of women charged with and involved with prostitution. Further, the filmmakers failed to properly address the subject of minors being victims of commercial sexual exploitation.  This, specifically, was a huge fail.

Marian Hatcher, a former prostitute and drug addict who now counsels women at the Cook County Jail. Image from "Prostitution: Leaving the Life."

Q: Do social workers take part in programs such as the one depicted in the OWN documentary?

O’BRIEN: There is really nothing that would prevent social workers from working at such programs, especially to provide assessment, counseling, group facilitation, case management, parenting skills and family linkage. I know that there is no social worker currently employed at the Women’s Justice Services; they have generally preferred psychologists and psychiatrists (by contract) in part because the women are screened for mental health disorders and medication. In our project, our research project coordinator is a clinician and she will be supervising MSW interns at the program. Perhaps that will open the door to other social workers being employed there.

 Q: If you could what would you change in the film?

OW-ARHUS: I would have identified the background of the clinical supervisor shown in the documentary and other professionals at the group staffing and case review meetings. I would have also been more transparent about the treatment approach by identifying it clearly. And perhaps narrow the focus to two or three case scenarios that differ signficiantly to show the range. I would have also focused a bit less on the peer coordinators, although their role is important. It would also have been nice to add in information about the connection between the peer coordinators and how they are supervised, and the checks and balances with other professionals to make the team work.

OMARI: I would reframe the narrative surrounding the stories of the young women Anesha and Jamisha. These young women, were presented as though they were adults entering into prostitution when, in fact, they were minors. They were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. It is a deleterious suggestion that a minor, who can’t legally consent to sex,  can ‘choose’ to enter prostitution.

O’BRIEN: From a social work perspective, I think it would be helpful to know more clearly what the “treatment” is. We get a sense, particularly at the engagement level, that if you haven’t “been there,” there isn’t much you can say or do to join with women who have been on the streets. Also, though there is the example of the woman who has been using heroin who connects her drug use with sex acts, it’s hard to see the connection between drug use and prostitution (though I know that no one is eligible for the Women’s Justice Services unless they have a drug charge).

Q: Would you recommend other social workers or the public watch the film?

OW-ARHUS: Social workers not so much but for the public, yes. However I wish it made a clear connection about the professionals that one might reach out to. Not everyone needing treatment for prostitution and drug and abuse issues accesses help from prison. How can women outside of jail get help? That was an essential piece missing.

OMARI: No, for a professional, I don’t think the film adds any compassion or humanity to the women featured in the film or the subject of prostitution.  Nor do I think this film was done well enough to educate the public. And because of the subject matter, I don’t think this film could be considered entertainment. I think the filmmakers should have spent more time exploring their personal narratives.

Q: Ms. O’Brien, what can the public do to help women escape prostitution?

O’BRIEN: Though this film does not address this directly (except in the GED class), women like men, need access to legitimate income to build their self-sufficiency and support their children. It is also true that as a society, we need to take seriously the work of community-based accountability and restorative practices that can facilitate people having the capacity to rebuild their lives after being charged with offenses.

In July SocialWorkersSpeak.org already interviewed Marian Hatcher, one of the counselors from the Cook County Jail who took part in the documentary “Prostitution: Leaving the Life.” To read that interview click here.

Social workers also help women overcome challenges that could lead to prostitution, including domestic violence, human trafficking and addictions. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers Peace and Social Justice Web pages, which include a section on human trafficking, by clicking here; the NASW “Help Starts Here” Web pages on domestic violence by clicking here; and the “Help Starts Here” Addictions Web page by clicking here.

Marian Hatcher counsels a woman arrested for prostitution. Image courtesy of Oprah Winfrey Network.

Marian Hatcher says if she can become a drug addict and prostitute, anyone can.

 Hatcher, 49, had a finance degree from Loyola University, a good job in accounting supervising a staff of 25 at a dialysis company, and was married and the mother of five children.

 However, underlying depression and physical and mental abuse from her husband prompted her to turn to crack cocaine for comfort.

She disappeared on the streets of Chicago for two years, supporting her drug habit through prostitution. Some of the men she picked up beat, raped and kidnapped her. Eventually Hatcher ended up in jail.

However, her story has a happy ending. Hatcher turned her life around after being incarcerated and now works for the Cook County Jail in the Sheriff’s Women’s Justice Programs, helping to rescue other women from prostitution and human traffickers. This program will get nationwide attention in a 90-minute Oprah Winfrey Network documentary, Prostitution: Leaving the Life, scheduled to air August 18 at 9 p.m. Eastern.

“Someone helped me. Someone gave me a chance,” Hatcher told SocialWorkersSpeak.org. “(Prostitution) has always been a problem but now it’s getting the press, the notice.”

In the program, peer coordinators such as Hatcher who were former prostitutes provide women with counseling, job and housing support and other services they need to not slip back into prostitution.

Hatcher wears a lot of hats in the program. Although she was a peer coordinator and continues to sometimes do this job she was recently promoted to special projects assistant. Hatcher also takes calls on a human trafficking hotline and provides services to women soon after they are arrested for prostitution.

Women in the Cook County Sheriff's Women's Justice Programs. Image courtesy of Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Hatcher said the prostitution program uses an integrated treatment model and is evidence and researched based. Besides peer coordinators the program also has counselors, mental health professionals and social work interns on staff, she said.

Hatcher will celebrate seven years of sobriety on July 29. She comes from a close knit family and says her relationship with her children is improving. Her work is also fulfilling but can be emotionally draining.

“Some of the women I was on the street with and some women I was incarcerated with are in the program,” she said. “Some come multiple times but we have had to learn how to be strong and be able not be harsh or hard but accept the reality that not everyone gets it at the same time.”

 OWN gave the National Association of Social Workers an advance copy of Prostitution: Leaving the Life. Social workers in Washington, D.C. and Illinois are reviewing it and we will post their comments soon.

Social workers also help women overcome challenges that could lead to prostitution, including domestic violence, human trafficking and addictions. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers Peace and Social Justice Web pages, which include a section on human trafficking, by clicking here; the NASW “Help Starts Here” Web pages on domestic violence by clicking here; and the “Help Starts Here” Addictions Web page by clicking here.

Biannual homeless tally includes focus on veterans
Casper Star-Tribune Online
David Allhusen, senior social worker at the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic, will take part in the twice-yearly homeless count for the Casper area.

Social workers gather Delaware prostitutes’ stories
The News Journal
The few studies evaluating diversion programs have not clearly demonstrated their effectiveness, said Stéphanie Wahab, an associate professor in the school of social work at Portland State University.

Calif. nursing homes to be held to higher standard
OneNewsNow
A Los Angeles social worker thinks other states should consider adopting the new nursing home rating system that will soon be implemented in California.

Japanese scholars coming to Oak Park
TribLocal
She said America is ahead of the curve in school social work, a subject that is just beginning to catch on in Japan.

Outreach worker Rochelle Booker offers a prostitute advice. Photo courtesy of delwareonline.com.

Delawareonline.com recently ran this article on a researchers who are trying to determine why women prostitute themselves on Wilmington’s streets.

The article’s headline said social workers were collecting the prostitutes stories but the article focused mainly on Rochelle Booker, an outreach worker for Brandywine Counseling and Community Services (which does have social workers on staff).

Booker, a former drug addict who had sold her body, drives to areas where prostitutes gather and offers them condoms, toiletries and other assistance.

The article had input from at least one social worker. National Association of Social Workers member Stephanie Wahab, DSW, an associate professor at the Portland State University School of Social Work, said studies have not proven the effectiveness of diversion programs in stopping women from prostituting.

Stephanie Wahab

Diversion programs offer women drug counseling, housing, legitimate work and other services to get them out of prostitution. Wahab found troubling evidence when she did research on a diversion program in Utah, the article said.

“Essentially, women were still working while they were still in the program,” Wahab said.

Participants in the Delaware program acknowledge this concern. They said their research will not eradicate prostitution but should help reduce the number of prostitutes on area streets, the article said.

Q: Social Workers, do you think collecting data on why women are involved in prostitution will help social workers and others devise strategies to help them stop?

Teenage prostitutes from the documentary "Very Young Girls." Photo courtesy of the Boston Phoenix.

Cheers to Georgia state Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) for introducing legislation that would end prosecution of girls under age 16 for prostitution. Instead, they would be referred to programs to help them escape exploitation.

“Sixteen years old is the age of consent in Georgia, and anyone who is less than 16 will not be charged with prostitution,” Unterman man. “We consider them a victim, not a prostitute. They need care and counseling.”

Unterman is a social worker and registered nurse. To read the full Atlanta Journal Constitution article on her proposed legislation click here.

To read more about how social workers help teens in crisis, visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Youth Development Web page by clicking here.

Children play at Amazing Grace Children's Home in South Africa. Photo courtesy of AFP.

South African government officials fear child trafficking could increase during next year’s World Cup event . Schools will be closed between June 11 to July 11, and officials said more children could be recruited during this period to sell goods on the street or become prostitutes, according to this Agence France-Presse article.

The article also said a social worker saved 10-year-old Thato from prostitution. The Lesotho-born girl was brought to South Africa by a woman known as “granny” and sold into prostitution at age 8. Thato was taken to Amazing Grace Children’s Home.

The National Association of Social Workers is an opponent of child trafficking. To find out what NASW is doing to address this worldwide problem check out NASW’s Peace and Social Justice and Child Rights and Protection Web pages. There is also Better Care Network, a coalition of organizations and individuals who are concerned about children who don’t have good  family care. NASW member Jon Singletary, Baylor University assistant professor of social work, sits on the Better Care Network’s Faith-Based Organization (FBO) Outreach Committee.