Online Program

317846
Sex Exchange in the City: Risk of arrest and incarceration among young people exchanging sex in Detroit


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 12:50 p.m. - 1:10 p.m.

Andrea K. Knittel, MD, PhD, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
William Lopez, PhD, MPH, University of Michigan National Center for Institutional Diversity, Ann Arbor, MI
Louis F. Graham, DrPH, MPH, Department of Health Promotion and Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
Rachel Snow, DSc, Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Associations between criminal justice involvement and risky sexual behavior have been well-documented, from increased rates of HIV and other STDs among incarcerated populations to higher numbers of sexual partners and lower rates of condom use reported by previously incarcerated individuals. This study uses a unique dataset collected in Detroit using novel sampling approaches to reach young people exchanging sex on the street, in strip clubs, and at after-hours parties and social clubs to examine patterns of arrest and incarceration. Challenges of survey sampling and analysis in this economically vulnerable and residentially unstable group are briefly explored. Using multi-variable logistic regression, relationships between criminal justice involvement and patterns of sexual exchange, neighborhood characteristics, and individual demographics are explored. Each year of regular sex exchange confers a 12% increase in the odds of having experienced incarceration, regardless of whether individuals exchanged sex for drugs, cash, food or shelter. Neighborhood characteristics predict arrest, but not incarceration, supporting qualitative reports of differential policing. In addition, exchange venue, exchange frequency, racial identity, substance use, and perceived stress about police are examined in relation to arrest and incarceration. These results offer further evidence of the association between high risk sexual behavior and involvement in the criminal justice system, and also suggest that factors unrelated to illegal behavior predict arrest and incarceration, with potential long-term implications. They emphasize the clustering of poverty, sexual vulnerability, and criminal justice involvement, and highlight the need for public health interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of disproportionate risk for arrest and incarceration.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify sampling and analysis challenges inherent in economically vulnerable and residentially unstable groups. Discuss the clustering of risk of arrest and incarceration and sexual vulnerability among young people exchanging sex in the City of Detroit.

Keyword(s): Urban Health, Sexual Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the primary investigator on several projects focused on the connections between sexual risk and involvement in the criminal justice system.
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.