Weighing the Consequences of a Deviant Career: Factors Leading to an Exit from Prostitution

Research on how individuals leave sex work examines this transition by focusing on either structural/economic conditions that keep them in the trade or internal changes that prompt exiting. Leaving certain roles, such as those deemed criminal and deviant, may be more challenging due to labeling, stigma, and a lack of resources. In this study, the author analyzes the particular factors that lead women to exit street prostitution via enrollment in “helping” organizations. The author finds extant theories do not fully capture how multiple factors combine to pull women off the streets. Rather, the author contends it is both internal and external factors that lead women to initially exit prostitution. This study draws on interviews with thirty-six street prostitutes from four different U.S. cities to address these concerns.