“Getting Him To Pay Me Is How I Take Control:” Conversations With Phoenix Prostitution Diversion Program Graduates

• In Event: Lessons from Sentencing Reforms and Community-Based Court Programs

Abstract

The Phoenix Prosecutor’s Office operates two prostitution-related diversion programs: one targets individuals arrested for prostitution-related charges (PDP), and one targets those arrested for soliciting sex (PSD). As part of a mixed-methods evaluation of the effectiveness of these programs in reducing recidivism, researchers interviewed willing participants on their backgrounds, experiences “in the life,” and time in their respective diversion programs. Qualitative findings from conversations with the women who have “graduated” from the prostitution diversion program (PDP) are presented. Themes present in the data include denial of responsibility, opportunism, frustration and distrust of social institutions, and, interestingly, desire to become memoirists, among others. Implications for the continuance of these programs and graduates' perceptions of necessary changes to exponentiate the program's effectiveness are discussed.

Authors

• Jessica Raskauskas, Arizona State University

• Marva Goodson, Arizona State University

• Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill, Arizona State University

• Shi Yan, Arizona State University