The Compassionate Court?: Support, Surveillance, and Survival in Prostitution Diversion Programs

Laws that subject people who perform sex work to arrest and prosecution are assessed in the article. The Compassionate Court? assesses two prostitution diversion programs (PDPs) that offer to "rehabilitate" people arrested for street-based sex work as an alternative to incarceration, but often fail to provide sustainable alternatives. Participants are subjected to constant surveillance and obligations, creating a paradox of responsibility in conflict with the systems logic of rescue. Poverty and other social problems remain in place, and participants often face shame and re-traumatization as a price for services.

Format: Hardback
Length: 204 pages
Publication date: 21 July 2023
Publisher: Temple University Press,U.S.

Laws that criminalize sex work subject individuals who engage in it to arrest and prosecution. The Compassionate Court? assesses two prostitution diversion programs (PDPs) that aim to "rehabilitate" individuals arrested for street-based sex work as an alternative to incarceration. However, as the authors reveal, these PDPs often fail to provide sustainable alternatives for their mandated clients. Participants are subjected to constant surveillance and obligations, creating a paradox of responsibility that contradicts the systems logic of rescue. Moreover, as participants often face shame and re-traumatization as a price for services, poverty and other social problems, such as structural oppression, remain entrenched.

The authors of The Compassionate Court? present case studies of these programs and draw upon interviews and observations conducted over a decade to explore how participants, clients, and staff perceive court-affiliated PDPs, clients, and staff. They consider the motivations, vision, and goals of these programs, as well as their limitations, which perpetuate inequity and disempowerment among their participants. Furthermore, the authors reflect on their own changing perspectives on prostitution courts, diversion programs, and the criminalization of sex work, challenging the dominant narratives and advocating for more compassionate and effective approaches to address the needs of individuals involved in sex work.

Dimension: 210 x 140 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781439922002