142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

302188
Sisters project: A Milwaukee partnership to address prostitution

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Staci Young, PhD , Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Laura Cassidy, PhD , Institute for Health and Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Jeanne Geraci , Benedict Center, Milwaukee, WI
Donna Hietpas , Benedict Center, Milwaukee, WI
Mina Farahzad , Institute for Health and Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Background: Most women are coerced into entering the sex trade as minors and use the income to support a drug habit, to stave off homelessness, or as a general means of survival.  They suffer extremely high rates of victimization on the streets.  Yet the journey out of prostitution, due to the complexity of contributing factors, is challenging.

Purpose: The goal of the Sisters Project is to prevent violence against women involved in street-level prostitution by employing a harm-reduction model as we help them to exit permanently from the sex trade. 

Methods:  The project focuses on women engaged in street prostitution in the predominantly African-American neighborhoods on the west side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a city with the fourth highest poverty rate in the nation.  The project is a collaborative effort including the Benedict Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Reformation Lutheran Church and the Milwaukee Police Department.  Activities included acquisition of law enforcement data to determine the scope of the problem in Milwaukee.

Discussion:  The Sisters Project’s approach is innovative in addressing the health disparities of an oft-dismissed, vulnerable, and underserved population facing an unacceptably high risk of violence.  We seek a paradigm shift in the ways that law enforcement, service providers, health care practitioners, and the public respond to women in sex work.  Rather than framing prostitution as a criminal matter, our project seeks to resituate it locally as a public health issue—specifically, as violence against women. 

Learning Areas:

Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Discuss findings from a data review and analysis of female sex work clients served by a drop-in center, including demographics and service needs. Describe the alignment with existing community efforts to bridge conversations between law enforcement, business owners, health care providers, and stakeholders. Identify lessons learned from utilizing a community-academic partnership to address a public health issue.

Keyword(s): Women's Health, Sex Workers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator or co-investigator for two community-based studies focusing on violence prevention among women and youth. My research interests include the health of vulnerable populations and systems of care.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.