Knowledge of Evil by David Barratt, Alyson Brown

From the Publisher

This is the first book on child prostitution in 20th-century England to have been written, tracing the roots of a contemporary problem which has been the subject of increased publicity and concern. It uncovers a mass of new evidence to indicate the extent of the phenomenon from the late 19th century to the present day, arguing that child prostitution is a significant aspect of child abuse, and one of the clearest ways in which "deviant" groups can be conceived of as both victims and threats. The picture of child prostitution emerging from this book is one of exclusion from mainstream society and the law, and remoteness from the agencies set up to help young people in trouble which were often reluctant to accept the realities of child prostitution. Child prostitutes were not wholly victims, and motivations to enter prostitution have included, amongst other things, the desire for a level of income they are unable to obtain in other ways, and which provided a means of independence. Yet the evidence provided in this book indicates that the circumstances which have led children into prostitution over the last 100 years amount, at worst, to physical or psychological abuse or neglect, and at best as the result of limited choice.

Booknews

Brown (criminology and social history, U. of Luton, UK) and Barrett (health care and social science, U. of Luton, UK) document the ongoing history of child prostitution in England over the past 100 years and explore the socio-economic and policy contexts in which it occurs. One of their purposes is to examine the negative presumptions and judgments made about children involved in prostitution. They argue that child prostitution must be seen as a form of child abuse and that any definition of the problem must incorporate understandings of the rights and development of the child. Furthermore, the phenomenon cannot be separated from class, gender, and social divisions and is more dependent on these factors than any so-called "moral decline." Distributed by ISBS. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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