Being Outside: CONSTRUCTING A RESPONSE TO STREET PROSTITUTION
Chapter Eight: EARLY INTERVENTION
8.1 Typically, a child or young woman for whom the risk of becoming involved in prostitution is becoming substantial or actual, will be demonstrating behaviour which will cause concern and bring her to the attention of health, social care or justice services, for more than just the reason of incipient involvement in prostitution. This may include:
- resistance to or exclusion from existing educational, health or care services;
- known or suspected drug or alcohol misuse;
- concerns about mental health;
- offending or other high-risk behaviour;
- withdrawal or exclusion from family contacts.
In addition, of course, services which are active in areas where street prostitution takes place will identify 'newcomers'. Indeed women themselves who are established in their involvement in street prostitution will often identify and seek to deter younger women - and certainly those under the age of 16 - who are attempting to become involved.
8.2 This point of early, experimental involvement in prostitution is one which should precipitate renewed work by all forms of services, both generic and specialised, to strengthen appropriate support, deter this course of action and substitute more constructive life alternatives. The significance of this point lies in the facts that it:
- signals a failure of previous preventive activity, if any has taken place, requiring a systematic review and amendment/strengthening of approaches as appropriate;
- indicates a transition to a lifestyle with new and higher levels of risk of harm;
- emphasises the potential process for further deterioration in circumstances if early action is not successfully taken; but
- may constitute an opportunity to intervene effectively before more harmful consequences multiply. The close connection, for example, between drug misuse and prostitution means that intensification of one problem behaviour is likely to exacerbate the other, unless intervention can break the link or prevent the problem intensifying.
It is important that services which engage at this stage not only have the characteristics to engage and retain referred to in section 9.2, but also that they are physically separate and distinct from 'later' services which are working more specifically with women continuously involved in prostitution. This locates early intervention within the parameters of prevention and avoids the potentially stigmatising association with established prostitution.
8.3 In many respects, where the young person is already involved with existing preventive services, such as those dealing with addiction, health, education or transitional support when leaving care, then the preferred response to evidence of early involvement in prostitution may be to review and strengthen existing service involvements, perhaps, with additional services to strengthen the impact. This builds on existing working relationships without creating the tensions of establishing new relationships at a time when events may be tending to distance the young person from any involvement with helping services. On the other hand, it must also be recognised that a young person can 'outgrow' a particular service, in which case progression to different service engagements may be natural and appropriate. This judgement needs to be made in the circumstances of the individual case and with knowledge of the available service options. All the services listed in section 7.3 above will be relevant in this context - with the addition of greater frequency of contact and more intensive interventions as required.
8.4 Central to the impact of an early intervention approach will be the capacity of services to work collaboratively. This will ensure that evidence of involvement in prostitution noted in one area of service - such as the police, courts or criminal justice services - informs and potentially strengthens the work being carried out in other services - such as addiction, housing or 'leaving care'. This highlights the necessity of appropriate service networking.