• Anxiety and mood
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2006

Objectives : Since prostitution is multitraumatic phenomena, it is known that most women in prostitution have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illness. In Korea, new anti-prostitution law launched in the year of 2004 imposes protecting prostituted victims at government-supported shelter. The objective of this study was to compare the mental symptoms, especially PTSD features of women who escaped from prostitution with those of control subjects. Methods : We assessed 113 ex-prostituted women who live in shelter for 8 months on the average and 65 normal control subjects. Demographic data, questionnaire for sleep, physical illness, smoking, alcohol and drug use, Stress Response Inventory, Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were used. Results : Ex-prostituted women had significantly higher scores of DTS, IES-R, stress related responses, sleep problems, smoking problems, and alcohol problems than control group. Age and duration of sex trade of the subjects were significantly correlated with the severity or frequency of PTSD symptoms. The degree of smoking, alcohol drinking and sleep problems were also significantly correlated with the PTSD symptoms. Conclusion : These results suggested mental symptoms did not disappear even after women escaped from prostitution.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.5-30
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to propose a practical intervention program for the women who got out of prostitution. For the research we selected the seven women who had ever engaged in prostitution by snowball sampling. Qualitative data were accumulated by in-depth interview and private documents collection. We analyzed the raw data following the Mandelbaum's conceptual frame ; dimension of life, turning point and adaptation. In analysis of the dimension of life, home, religion and occupation were represented as main thems. Home was interpreted as the reconstruction of existential field that assumes their fault and others. Religion was interpreted as the phenomenological field that develops their potentiality and peculiarity. Occupation was interpreted as the restraining means aganist returning to prostitution. In analysis of the turning point, we found a common theme : dis empowering the discourse power by body-politics. In analysis of the adaptation, we found three propositions as fellows: 1) "Living with stigma internalized by themselves" 2) "Living as anonymous being and absconding" 3) Expunging the past disgrace through shifting of social status. Based on the above results we proposed practical approaches for them.