National Network for Equitable Library Service

The voices of young female prostitutes offer a chorus of disturbing firsthand perspectives on sexual exploitation and the inadequacies of government programs designed to help them in this account of the sex trade. To provide a full picture of the complex issues of the sex trade, discussions are included of health and safety concerns, the effect of prostitution on identity, the prevalence of violence, the legislation passed to protect prostitutes, the factors that force young women to become prostitutes, and the support required to facilitate their transition out of the sex trade. This candid look at a much-neglected, grisly reality provides perspectives on why social service agencies so often fail to help prostitutes.