In 1998, the Mary Magdalene Project's (MMP) Board of Directors commissioned the Beyond 2000 (B2K) Committee to research street prostitution and make recommendations for new programs and services.

At the June 9, 2001 Gala, the B2K report was presented with all its fascinating results and conclusions. We encourage you to contact the MMP office and request your copy of the report ($10.00 each to cover printing costs) or the executive Summary (free of charge). The knowledge gleaned will certainly increase your understanding of this perplexing population that we strive to assist in their journey to wholeness.

A special thank you must be extended to Task Force members Rev. Dr. Gary Collins, Joan Gregor, Patty Hartsworn, DrPA, Rev. Ann Hayman, Jerri Rodewald, Alan Seals, and co-opted members, Willie Hodges, Dan and Ruth Franks, Darlene Pastel, Don Vivrette, Michelle Castelo, Julie Garino and Leda Lopez for all their hard work, talent and perseverance in bringing this report to reality.

Following are excerpts from the Executive Summary highlighting the contents of the report.
In order to bring the B2K report to life, data was gathered from surveys conducted with women incarcerated in Los Angeles County jail, other social service agencies and donors to the MMP.

Arrest data was compiled from 1990 through 1999 and laws and ordinances were studied. Data from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), which has been, and is regularly administered to the MMP residents by qualified therapists, has been gathered and analyzed.

Researchers looked at the screening reports from the MMP's residents over the past 20 years and from women who were interviewed by the MMP's Program Director. Included is a survey conducted with other prostitution agencies in the U.S. and one in Great Britain. Interviews with various personnel in the criminal justice system provided background knowledge and a range of statistics on arrests added to the picture of how society has chosen to deal with street prostitutes.

The B2K report examines the questions of what constitutes recovery and success for the MMP. Recovery means to overcome the symptoms of addiction, mental illness, physical illness or a bad habit. It does not mean achieving a trouble free life. Recovery for the MMP is the reclaiming of lives.

Success is in some ways measurable but is not "one-size-fits-all", for each woman brings with her a unique set of vulnerabilities. The goal is an independent life without connection to prostitution. The MMP believes that for every ten years of abuse in the life of a resident two years of "tender loving care" are necessary for recovery. Women who are seriously mentally ill or who have children require a longer stay in the program.

With all of these qualifications in mind, how do you measure success in a program like this? For the MMP, success is maintaining the ability to provide women with the resources they need for a healthy recovery. The MMP organization is successful when staff is adequate in numbers, skills and dedication to serve the needs of the clients and their children. Our donors and hard working volunteers make it possible for organizational success to be met.

What benefit do donors derive from their support of the work of MMP? Public money is saved in several areas: the cost of incarceration (average $9,414.29 per prostitute per year; $103,853 for those housed in mental health units), public health services, children's services, police work.

A program addressing the needs of street prostitutes is very often addressing the needs of a homeless woman who is also the victim of severe abuse and a substance abuser herself. Donors to the MMP are helping a unique population who will receive the holistic, long-term approach they require from a well-trained and dedicated staff. The many volunteers utilized by the MMP multiply the positive effects, as does the financial support of donors.

Ann Hayman also contributes two essays based on her experiences: "Recognizing the Problem: A History of Prostitution" and "Men and Religion in the Lives of Prostitutes" and a summary on the types of prostitution. Three factors have shaped prostitution during the past one hundred years: economics, law enforcement and disease control. As with all other patriarchal entities, the presence of racism, sexism, violence, heterosexism, poverty and religion have served to shape prostitution in America.

The women who come into the MMP believe it is normative for men to sexually abuse women. It is said that the childhood of the women in the MMP program functioned as "boot camp" for their lives on the street. Incest has been part of the experience of all street prostitutes with only the rarest of exceptions. The question of male sexual responsibility is provocatively addressed.

A brief section on the curious role of religion in the world of prostitution begins with a quote from William Blake: "Prisons are built with stones of Law, brothels with bricks of Religion." Most of the women (98%) who come to the MMP attended Sunday school or grew up in church-based orphanages or foster homes. They pray and practice their religion in other ways, but fear the church is not a safe place for them. Studies show that incest and battering are more common in churched families than in non-churched families. Yet, the church's great sin is one of silence and secrecy that enables families to cover-up incest and battering.

Patty Hartsworn spent many long hours analyzing the criminal justice system in relation to prostitution. She studied the many statutes pertaining to prostitution and arrest data was collected and trends analyzed over a ten- year period 1990-1999 for the State of California, Los Angeles County and Orange County. Her findings are eye opening.

For example, Asian women are arrested in startling low numbers compared to their percentage in the population. Other ethnic women are arrested at strikingly high rates with African American women exceeding all ethnic groups. Women in the age category of 30-39 were arrested most often. The rate of arrest for women over 40, even for those 60 and older, is rising. Los Angeles leads the nation in number of arrests for prostitution.

Who are the women in this population group? In an effort to determine a profile, demographic data has been compiled for the 120 women who have participated in the MMP program, 42 interviewees who did not enter the program, and 84 prostitutes in a recent Los Angeles County jail survey.

The profile reveals that the most likely age to begin prostitution is 15 years old with the average age being 20. Almost 1/3 of the women got started in prostitution through family members or friends. Almost 80% have attempted to leave prostitution. 70% have children, 89% of whom do not have custody. Street prostitutes tend to be the children of dysfunctional parents, including violence, drugs and sexual assault. The childhood of these women were chaotic and unstable, with a high percentage having absent parents who were either in jail or deceased. Over 40% (26) of the women surveyed got involved in prostitution to pay for a drug habit. The second most cited reason was through a family member or friend; the third was the need for money.

The MMP experience reveals that the women coming to the Project today are more damaged psychologically, more likely to have serious mental illness, a history of substance abuse, and physical trauma than those who came twenty years ago. Most of the women entering the MMP today exhibit severe levels of pathology in four scales of the MMPI (4,6,9,8).

The sheriff's office points out that the psychiatric unit in the county jail is the largest local inpatient mental health facility in Los Angeles County. If the MMP is to respond effectively to those more and more fragile women who come into the program, new strategies will have to be developed based on solid research of the needs and trends in this population of women.

The B2K Committee's conclusions and recommendations for further study reflect how much more study and research are needed to provide an effective treatment program for prostitute women.

Contact the MMP office at 818.988.4970 or e-mail mmp1nc@aol.com for your copy of the Beyond 2000 Report! $10 per copy