Celia Williamson

University of Toledo · Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work

Running away from home is a known risk factor for commercial sexual exploitation among youth; however, research has not fully investigated the process by which multiple factors at individual, familial, and extra-familial levels increase youths’ risk for runaway behavior. This study applies an ecological risk factor framework to assess risk for runa...

The number of mothers in the criminal justice system (CJS) increased over 700% in the past 25 years. Little is known about these mothers’ spirituality and religion. Our review of quantitative (n = 1,170) and qualitative (n = 87) data from mothers’ experiences and concluded that while spiritual wellness was important to most, the participants had va...

Despite increased effort to respond to human trafficking at national and state levels, very little empirical research has been conducted on domestic child sex trafficking. This study retrospectively examines associations between multiple risk factors and domestic child sex trafficking (i.e., entry into the commercial sex industry under the age of 1...

Women offenders are a growing population in the criminal justice system; most are mothers. A subset of these women have a history of prostitution. Despite more recent research identifying the needs of women offenders who are mothers, those with and without experience in prostitution are still generally represented in the literature as a homogenous...

This study investigated the mental health needs of mothers in the criminal justice system using qualitative methods. Identified needs included counseling to help mothers recover from trauma, to define sense of self, and to link them with external support systems.

The past 2 decades have produced a rapid increase in the numbers of incarcerated mothers. This study investigated both career development and the career counseling needs of mothers in the criminal justice system. A mixed-methods design was employed using both qualitative interviews (n = 1,161) and quantitative survey methods (n = 1,170). Identified...

Exiting street-level prostitution is a complex, convoluted process. Few studies have described this process within any formal conceptual framework. This article reviews two general models and two prostitution-specific models and their applicability to the exiting process. Barriers encountered as women attempt to leave the streets are identified. Ba...

Trafficking of domestically born children in the United States into the sex trade has been recognized by the U.S. government under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2005. The Midwest has been exposed as a recruitment site for traffickers. Children who have been trafficked into prostitution often experience mental health problems, suffer phy...

Women engaged in street-based prostitution have been studied from a number of perspectives. Little research was found that focused on their work styles. This study was conducted to gain a better understanding of work styles of women involved in street-based prostitution in the Midwest. Of the 53 women interviewed, 12 were or had been involved in Pi...

Child sex trafficking and adult women involved in street-based prostitution are two problems affecting the city of Toledo, Ohio. While various agencies worked independently to address these problems, there was no collaborative effort. We decided to organize a year-long roundtable that included people from Toledo-based social service, criminal justi...

The authors assessed the substance abuse counseling needs of women in the criminal justice system using interviews (n = 304) and surveys (n = 1,170). On the basis of the results, the authors call for gender-specific treatment as well as family-oriented support for women who are mothers.

Laws related to vice are laws in which police officers are given a considerable amount of discretion. Because of police authority and frequent contact with marginalized women involved in prostitution, opportunities to engage in inappropriate behavior are ever present. Data collected from three studies on women in prostitution, from 1998 to 2004, ar...

NWSA Journal 18.1 (2006) 226-228 In Listening to Olivia, Jody Raphael writes a compelling book about life as a prostituted woman in the United States. This book presents the personal story of Olivia's progression through prostitution from entrance through exit. Most chapters are arranged in sequence to first present Olivia's experience, and then to...

Social workers come into contact with street prostitutes through the criminal justice system, child protective services, hospitals and addiction treatment centers. Understanding the motivations, risks, protective strategies and the experience of being a street prostitute is essential for providing meaningful intervention. It is important to underst...

Street-level prostitution is comprised of both pimp-controlled prostitution and independent entrepreneurial prostitution. Although much of the more recent research has focused on the latter group, this work reports on a qualitative study designed to understand pimp-related violence to women involved in pimp-controlled prostitution. In addition, thi...

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the risks and responses of street prostitutes to customer-related violence. Thirteen female street prostitutes, aged 18 to 40, were recruited from a moderate-size, midwestern city in the United States. Eight were non-Hispanic White and five were African American. Respondents participated in indivi...

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) The goal of this study is to explain the basic social process of street prostitution from entrance to exit using Grounded Theory Methodology.