The STOPLight

Court-ordered treatment for Johns

A unique program has been developed for the treatment of men arrested for soliciting prostitution in Ramsey County, Minnesota. Since its inception, 17 men have gone through the court-ordered treatment. STOP Light interviewed Audrey Schroeder who, together with Steve Sawyer, developed the program.

Q. What circumstances led you to develop a treatment program specifically for men arrested for soliciting prostitution?

A. While working as a therapist in sex offender treatment, I learned that one of the behaviors the men had in common was that they went to prostitutes. Steve was approached by a probation officer about counseling a man whose only connection with the courts was soliciting prostitution. A rather ambiguous question came up:

is he considered a sex offender? It didn’t seem like he would fit into the same treatment program where a lot of other sexual issues (voyeurism, exhibitionism, incest, etc.) were being addressed. We knew that some other sex offenders had a history of going to prostitutes. What we didn’t know is whether these men — whose only offense was soliciting prostitution — had other similar traits or problems in common.

About this time, police in Ramsey and Hennepin Counties started increasing "john sweeps" and bringing more prostitution arrests to the courts.

There were big debates about whether the names of johns should be published in the newspaper. In general, an increasing pressure from many sources was put on the court system to "do something" about the johns.

Q. On what did you base your treatment program?

A. We conceived and developed the program. It is unique. As far as we know, there are no others like it anywhere.

Our first step was a literature search through the University of Minnesota library in an attempt to find all available research on the subject of johns. The result was a list of over 250 references under headings relating to prostitution and none of the material mentioned johns.  If an alien arrived and wanted to learn about the behavior of prostitution and read everything available, it would hardly be apparent that males, particularly Johns, were in any way involved. Clinically we became excited by the prospect of gathering data others haven’t collected. That, together with the courts’ dilemma about what to do with the johns being arrested — plus our genuine curiosity about human behavior — convinced us to pursue developing the treatment program.

Our next step was to interview people in the system: judges, police and probation officers. Steve even accompanied a vice squad on a john detail. We kept track of the number of arrests in the Twin Cities. These rose from about 40 arrests seven or eight years ago to nearly 400 annually due not just to an increase in john sweeps, but because police were consistently arresting those who were picked up.

Q. Can you make any generalities about or give a profile of the men who’ve been through your program?

A. Most have been Caucasian. All have been employed. Their ages have ranged from 27 to 62. Almost all are in stressed marital relationships. They are classic examples of the training of males in this society: alienation from their own feelings; not taking their emotional lives seriously. They have a hard time asking for what they want or knowing what they need. These men are very emotionally developmentally delayed.

Q. Can you describe the program and how it works?

A. Each session lasts eight weeks for 1-1/2 to 2 hours per week. It is a combination of therapy and education in a group setting. A group of at least seven is preferred because the men tend to be more open among their peers. The first week involves psychological testing so we can determine if the men are appropriate for the program. Each successive week we deal with different issues.

These men have a lot of misinformation about themselves and their own sexuality. Since anger is one reason they give that triggers a visit to a prostitute, we talk about other things they can do if they are angry at their wives or feel rejected. We talk about how decisions are made. Most men at the beginning of treatment say they were just driving around, saw a prostitute and impulsively stopped. We try to get them to back up to what happened that morning or earlier in the week so they begin to realize that they did follow a definite plan, perhaps a subconscious one, but one which they made and over which they had control.

We don’t talk specifically about prostitution until the third session because these men have so many other issues to sort out first. They fill out a questionnaire so that we can get their views on prostitution. We ask questions like: Would you have married your wife if she were a prostitute? Would you want your daughter to become a prostitute? Do you think going to a prostitute is breaking your marriage vows? Do you think prostitutes enjoy their work? Do you enjoy sex with a prostitute?

(To this last question almost every man has answered ‘no,’ which was very interesting to us. We had assumed that they would at least acknowledge enjoyment. But they usually leave the encounter with so much shame, guilt, self-hatred and hatred for the prostitute, that they don’t enjoy it.)

We try to get at their values — to point out inconsistencies they express in their own value system. For example, they might say that prostitution should be legalized but wouldn’t want their daughter to be a prostitute. We don’t try to change their values —it’s up to them to want to change.

During our last session on prostitution, we asked the parents of a former prostitute to join the group and talk about how prostitution affected their lives. We also show a videotape of former prostitutes telling about the reality of prostitution as they lived it.

Q. What kind of feedback do you get from the men?

A. We’ve been pleased with how the men, after the initial anger over the arrest wears off, have been willing to follow the program and be involved in the process. Somehow, getting arrested and sent to this group acts as an intervention. I think it has greater impact on them than an arrest and fine would have — it gets their attention. They tell us they get a lot out of the program. They open up when they sense we are truly interested and curious rather than judgmental or critical.

Q. What is your obligation to the courts referring men to your program?

A. Our only obligation is to provide a statement saying "so and so" attended eight sessions and participated in the program. We usually add appropriate recommendations such as marital counseling or attending a 12-step support group. Each man gets a copy of the report and the assurance from us that no other information about him has been or will be released without his permission.

Q. What would you like to see happen with your program in the future?

A. I would like to see it become like the programs for drunk drivers — an automatic referral to treatment for first offenders. The court systems of the metropolitan counties should refer offenders to our program as a matter of course. We are nowhere near our capacity of having five sessions a week with seven men in each on continuing eight-week cycles.

Q. What do you feel is the biggest barrier or obstacle in our society to openly confronting prostitution?

A. I see the problem as primarily sexist and part of our broader culture. There is a strong general belief that no-one gets hurt. People see TV interviews of glamorous-looking prostitutes who profess to liking what they do. Movies like ‘Pretty Woman" perpetuate the myth that the prostitute is really a loving, affectionate person who enjoys what she does, meets one of her customers who turns out to be rich, marries him, and they live happily ever after. On some level, that’s what most people believe. There is a big cultural assumption that sex is separate from the person. My opinion about this is you can’t separate your sexuality from yourself, so buying sex is like slavery — buying a person. Also mixed into the equation are incredible power inequity— male power— and money inequity.

Bios

In 2002 our organization changed its name to Adults Saving Kids. Prior to that we were called A-STOP (Alliance for Speaking Truths On Prostitution), STOP (Speaking Truths On Prostitution), or Grassroots Ministry Alliance.