Exiting Prostitution: Moving Through Stages of Change During a Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 Pandemic has undoubtedly impacted the ability for individuals to exit the commercial sex trade. Prostituted persons’ ability to meet their quota has been severely restricted by widespread lockdowns. To compensate, there is evidence that traffickers have moved victims online to maintain their current profit levels (Rosseland, 2020). Yet, at the same time, many involved in the commercial sex industry have contemplated next steps since the pandemic forced them out of their daily routines. In the past few months, individuals we serve at The Avery Center for Research & Services have clearly indicated thinking about “what’s next,” which prompted the need for the present study. Understanding how prostituted persons experience these shifts is best framed using the Stages of Change model (SCM). This psychotherapeutic tool is used to predict a person’s ability to succeed at a particular behavior change based on their current perception of reality (Horwath 1999). The most recent iteration of SCM includes six stages of change, and specific predictors and indicators of progression through each stage including pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and relapse (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1994). Psychologists and researchers often use this framework to understand how individuals seek help for depression, weight management and smoking cessation (Johnson et al., 2008; Jordan et al., 2013; Levesque et al., 2011; Velicer, Redding, Sun, & Prochaska et al., 2007)...The purpose of this study was to apply the SCM to prostituted persons on social media during COVID-19. The guiding research question is: how has COVID-19 affected prostituted individuals’ readiness for change? [CVRL Note: includes infographic of the main findings.] (Author Text)