NCJ Number
162164
Date Published
1991
Length
213 pages
Annotation
An eight-city ethnographic study focused on the sex- for-crack phenomenon; it provided descriptive data on individuals involved in sex-for-crack exchanges and examined the potential for sexual transmission of AIDS in this population.
Abstract
Information was gathered by means of observations of activities associated with crack use and more than 300 taped interviews with crack users and dealers. Results revealed three basic patterns in which sex is exchanged for crack or for money to buy crack. Casual exchanges are distinguished by their infrequency; they are often opportunistic. Sex-for- money-for-crack exchanges usually occur in the context of prostitution. Sex-for-crack-or-money exchanges are typified by desperation and involve women and men whose whole being is dominated by their craving for crack. A Drug-Set-Setting model was used to highlight factors influential in creating and sustaining the sex-for-crack phenomenon. Findings indicated that sex-for-crack exchanges appear to be implicated in the spread of HIV. Further research and an array of public health measures are needed. Tables and 39 references