Title

Prostitution in Portland today is much less visible than in the past when prosti

Authors

Source

Casco Bay Weekly

Date

8-9-2001

Pages

10-11, 13

Abstract

Prostitution in Portland today is much less visible than in the past when prostitutes could be found working their trade on Mellon, Congress, Deering, and St. John streets. Today's prostitutes, who also tend to have substance abuse problems, tend to work through escort services, making it much more difficult for the police to deal with them. Authorities do not seem to make the connection between addiction and prostitution, and offer the women little held in straightening out their lives. The police view the matter only from a legal perspective, making no moral judgments. The county attorney's office generally eschews asking for lengthy jail terms or high fines and only offers intervention services when asked by the prostitute. Cumberland County sheriff Mark Dion sees prostitution as a social problem and understands that prostitutes must have help to break their habits and turn their lives around. With the story of Jane, now 29, who got caught up in Portland's prostitution and drug scene in her mid-twenties, but has successfully broken the cycle on her own.

Subjects

Prostitution, Substance abuse

https://digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com/cbw_2001/31/

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