Program Targets Prostitution Many Have Backgrounds Of Sexual Assault, Study Shows

Women in prostitution have backgrounds that are filled with sexual assaults and being used by males, a new study has concluded.

Dealing with prostitution through the criminal justice system doesn’t work, is more expensive than providing support services and actually exacerbates the problem, the study by the Seattle Women’s Commission has found.

The commission is asking the city to pay for an $85,000 pilot project to help women escape the sex industry.

“Our goal is to help them out, to give them an opportunity to find that there are opportunities available,” said Commissioner Stephanie Daley-Watson.

The report, scheduled to be released Monday, recommends diverting municipal court fines into a state program to provide services to prostitutes, and developing detention and probation services specifically for prostitutes.

In Seattle and King County, an estimated 4,000 girls and women work as prostitutes. About 90 percent are homeless and 88 percent have drug and alcohol problems, the study said.

The commission’s report builds on studies by Debra Boyer, a University of Washington research anthropologist.