NCJ Number
137062
Date Published
1992
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This description of some of the methods pimps use to procure juveniles for prostitution includes a case study of the complex relationship between pimp and juvenile prostitute and the difficulty of leaving the life.
Abstract
Procuring is a tactic for contacting juveniles and convincing them to engage in prostitution. It involves the use of cunning, fraud, and often physical force to manipulate juveniles into prostitution. A primary method of procuring a juvenile is to use feigned friendship and love. A combination of seduction and terrorism is apparently the most common approach used by pimps to recruit girls into prostitution. Pimps will frequent areas where juveniles congregate, such as shopping malls, video game arcades, and bus stations, and target isolated young girls. In phase one of this approach, the pimp engages the potential recruit in conversation to obtain information about her. This is a strategy that enables him to identify her vulnerabilities and select the recruitment strategy to which she will most likely respond. This may include a combination of flattery and charm and the promise of money, protection, companionship, and intimacy. The case study presented in this chapter is based on an interview with a 31-year-old woman who had been a prostitute for 13 years. It describes her family background, recruitment, prostitution, the abusive relationship with her pimp, customer violence, health implications, pseudo-identities in prostitution, vocabulary of motivation, and the mode of exit from prostitution. 8 references