It is called the oldest profession in the world and employs approximately one to two million people in the United States alone. Prostitution is defined as the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for a fee. This payment could be money, drugs and in some cases mercy. The lifestyle of a prostitute can be extremely dangerous and harmful and consists of being raped, robbed, beaten, threatened, materialized, exploited and the list goes on. Add to the mix a sexually transmitted disease, drug addiction and an unplanned pregnancy for a mix of devastation and total depravity. Countless men, women and children are forced into prostitution due to sexual slavery, but others choose this life for themselves. What might lead someone to pursue this type of lifestyle? Women deliberately enter the streets of prostitution due to childhood sexual abuse, economic necessity and to support a previous drug addiction. Negative childhood experiences can leave a harmful and lasting impact on a person with long-term repercussions. According to Feldman's (2013) psychoanalytic perspective on abnormality, unresolved childhood conflicts in the unconscious cause abnormal behavior in adulthood. The experience of sexual abuse as a child certainly does not always lead an adult to participate in the lifestyle of prostitution, but it has been identified as a mutual link between street-level practitioners. According to Murphy (2010), childhood sexual abuse was a common factor found among the women engaged in prostitution who participated in her study. It appears that women who have experienced this type of sexual abuse as adolescents may associate sexual intercourse with a part of their identity. A theory by Wilso... half of the document... supports their drug addiction. References Feldman, R. S. (2013). Psychology and your life (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw/Hill.Murphy, L. (2010). Understand the social and economic contexts surrounding women engaged in street prostitution. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 31(12), 775-784. doi:10.3109/01612840.2010.524345Wilson, H., & Widom, C. (2009). A prospective examination of the pathway from child abuse and neglect to illicit drug use in middle adulthood: The potential mediating role of four risk factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(3), 340-354. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9331-6Wilson, H. W., & Widom, C. (2010). The role of youth problem behaviors in the journey from child abuse and neglect to prostitution: A prospective examination. Journal of Adolescent Research (Wiley-Blackwell), 20(1), 210-236. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2009.00624.x