Reducing Demand for Prostitution in San Francisco With a "John School" Program

• NCJ Number: 250306
• Date Published: August 2016
• Length: 2 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2005-DD-BX-0037
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Report (Summary)

Annotation

This article details San Francisco's "First Offender Prostitution" program, one of a number of programs across the country that aim to reduce prostitution by reducing demand not by targeting prostituted women and men.

Abstract

A number of programs across the country aim to reduce prostitution not by targeting prostituted women and men but instead by reducing demand. The First Offender Prostitution Program was one such program. The First Offender Prostitution Program was designed to reduce the demand for commercial sex and human trafficking in San Francisco by educating "johns," men arrested for soliciting prostitutes, about the negative consequences of prostitution. First-time offenders who agreed to pay the fee and attend a one-day workshop (the "john school") had the charges against them dropped if they avoided re-arrest for another prostitution offense for a year after they attended the class. The evaluation addressed three priority issues about the First Offender Prostitution Program: effectiveness, return on investment, and transferability. The key finding for policy and practice was that the First Offender Prostitution Program is highly portable; that is, it can be replicated or used as a model in new environments and remain stable and successful. The researchers also note that similar programs can avoid needing taxpayer support indefinitely if there are enough participants. And, that practitioner access to information about the range of john school models and details about those programs is critical - the First Offender Prostitution Program can be a model for a new program, but local conditions may require modifications.