Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

What Are the Causes of Prostitution? Edited by Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit, Mich.: Greenhaven Press Thomson Gale, 2007. 1 vol. 104 p. $28.70. ISBN 10: 0-7377-2737-3; ISBN 13: 978-0-7377-2737-1.

Students might debate whether prostitution is a vice or also or only a social problem. Christian reformers sought to abolish prostitution while others thought it best to legalize it and thus control sexually transmitted diseases and crimes, the latter without much success. Beginning with “The Causes of Prostitution: An Overview,” the debate issues include “Poverty Leads to Prostitution in the Developing World,” “Poverty Is Not Always the Cause of Prostitution in the Developing World,” while most offer information. These include “Childhood Sexual Abuse Often Leads to Prostitution,” “Male Orphans and Runaways Sometimes Turn to Prostitution,” “Gender-Based Domination Promotes Prostitution and Sex Trafficking,” “Drug Addiction Keeps Sex-Trafficking Victims in Prostitution” and “Ignorance and Complacency Promote Sex Trafficking.” This will be a difficult issue to discuss, but ignoring this topic will not make it go away.