NCJ Number
201532
Journal
Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: 2002 Pages: 154-172
Date Published
2002
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a study of prostitution in Sweden, following its 1999 criminalization in this country.
Abstract
After prostitution was criminalized in Sweden, this study was undertaken to understand the type of knowledge that existed in regards to prostitution. Based on an earlier survey designed to provide the greatest number of images of prostitution, the author interviewed informants who, through the course of their work, came into close contact with prostitutes. Informants were recruited from the social service sector, police force, healthcare industry, and non-governmental organizations. Interviews focused on how the position of informant influenced the understanding of, and the reproduction of, the phenomenon of prostitution. Central themes that emerged during the interviews surrounded issues of definition, the importance of exposure, and the occurrence of male prostitution. Overall, the interviews revealed the way in which the image of the bad woman as vendor and the invisible man as purchaser has been preserved in the public consciousness. As such, other avenues and images of prostitution, such as male prostitution, remain unproblematized, and thus relatively invisible in the public consciousness. References