Women Immigrants Face Risk of Exploitation in Prostitution - Essay Sample

Introduction

Prostitution is a common vice among women seeking to escape difficult lives that are mostly characterized by unemployment, crime, abuse and poverty. These difficulties force women to flee their native countries with the hope of starting better lives. As noted in the Prostitution Along Immigration Routes video, the number of female immigrants is disproportionate across the world. These women undergo serious problems along the way, with the most significant being the risk of crossing though the Senora Desert in Mexico illegally. The area comprises of numerous nightclubs and brothels where female immigrants exchange sex with freedom from human traffickers. This behavior exposes them to serious health risks including transmission of sexually transmitted illnesses, some die, while some end up as slaves, never getting to cross over to America. The video, Prostitution Along Immigration Routes supports the social structure, social process, and social development theories, and highlight serious social issues that require to be ramified.

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How the Video Supports Sociological Theories

Social Structure Theory

The social structure theory is vital in the explanation of disparities in crime as it assumes that crime rates differ with respect to the components of the social structure. In addition, the theory relates the reasons for committing a crime to society and social interactions (Crossman, 2019). According to the theory, individuals' motivations to engage in crime are dependent on their position on the socioeconomic structure. As such, individuals in the lowest level in the economy have a higher probability of becoming criminals as they lack the privilege of resources and opportunities. The social structure theory comprises of three sub-theories; structural strain, social disorganization, and cultural deviance theories.

The cultural strain theory is solely based on the concept of deviance. According to the theory, individuals differ in their criminal tendencies because of their choice of socioeconomic means to achieve success and the differences between cultural ambitions. Key to acceptable behavior is social structure and culture (Crossman, 2019). Culture outlines the behavioral expectations of members of society, while society structure provides the means to meet these expectations or goals. As such, deviant behavior arises at the intersection of cultural goals and failure by society structure to provide means of achieving them. On the other hand, the disorganization theory is based on the concept of social disorganization, or the inability of individuals to conform to predetermined values (Crossman, 2019). The theory supports the argument that an individual's or group's circumstances or living conditions are antecedents to crimes such as robbery, prostitution, murder, and rape. As such, the theory proposes community-based solutions to crime. Lastly, the cultural deviance theory classifies criminal activities as any behaviors that go against the core values, beliefs, and norms of a society (Crossman, 2019). Therefore, no particular behavior is intrinsically deviant.

Social Process

The social process theory focuses on how individuals learn and adopt behavior out of their interaction with other people, organizations, institutions, and social processes. The theory depends on symbolic interactionism, a concept that deals with how people define and interpret their social reality depending on their interactions. As such, the theory dissociates an individual's cultural and socioeconomic history from their criminal behavior and relates it to adverse social relationships. Therefore, according to social process, crime is learnt or copied and its prevalence is determined by the society's ability to control it. The theory is also concerned with how people assign meaning to things after engaging with others (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). In the video, the immigrants learn this behavior from their predecessors. It has been the norm for immigrants crossing to the United States to experience slavery and sexual abuse. If anything, those that survive are considered lucky. Women already have a perception that they can purchase their freedom by engaging in prostitution.

Social Development Theory

This theory seeks to explain the incidence of distinct behaviors such as homicide, violence, and use of illegal drugs, among others. According to this theory, criminal activities result from social interactions. As such, different socialization units predict behavior differently (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). The theory identifies four phases of social development including high school, middle school, elementary school, and preschool. As children move from one socialization unit to the next, they experience different levels of influence. Individuals develop practices as they interact with different social groups and at each stage of life; different social groups affect individuals differently. For example, delinquent peers tend to be more influenced by their peers as compared to their parents.

In addition to the effects of socialization, individuals adopt the behaviors of members of the socializing units in which they are brought up. For example, a delinquent parent is most likely to bring up a delinquent child (Hawkins, & Weis, 2017). In most times, individuals adopt the specific criminal activity that the individuals in their socializing units such as family engage in.

Primary Content of the Video

Prostitution Along Immigration Routes is a video based on the immigration of people, particularly women into the United States through the Senora Desert region and the challenges that arise along the way. In particular, the video focuses on women who cross the border in search of a better future and how they end up compromising their morals by engaging in prostitution to earn income, pay traffickers, and obtain freedom. The video describes the interaction of individuals in society and the incidence of crime. People are willing to compromise their morals, risk their lives, and experience torture in the search for better living conditions.

Social Issues

The social issues in the video include prostitution, poverty, and criminal behavior. The video demonstrates how immigrants are eager to move to the United States at all costs without caring about the dangers involved. These people also leave their families behind without any fear of disintegration to satisfy their craving for better lives. The willingness to overlook the hardships experienced to get to America is evident throughout the video.

Another social issue highlighted in this video is poverty. The low socioeconomic status of immigrants also makes them uncomfortable in their native country. The immigrants move from their native countries due to poverty and seek better lives in the United States. Also, in their native countries, crime levels are always high, and there are limited resources. As a result, the resources available are insufficient to cater to the needs of the entire population, which forces progress seeking individuals to leave everything behind in search of a better future. Crime is a common practice among individuals living in developing countries, and some people survive by breaking the law (Hawkins, & Weis, 2017).

Principles of Sociological Theory

The video outlines several principles of sociological theory. First, the video identifies social interaction as the basis for societal construction (Brooks, 2013). The video shows that how we interact with other people is a reflection of beliefs. Secondly, the video addresses the principle of distinct social units, such that society is fragmented into social units such as education, religion, family, and government, which set the rules of conduct. The theory also shows that our behavioral patterns are representative of inequalities in society and in social relationships. Another major principle addressed in the video is that of social change (Brooks, 2013). The video proves that social change is a crucial part of survival as depicted in the choices made by the immigrants.

Ramifications for Social Policy Change

There is a need for reform in both the United States and the native countries. For the United States, there is a need to increase assistance for legal immigration and also increase security to reduce instances of deviant people prying on innocent people. The native countries such as Mexico should strive for better governance and fair distribution of power and resources to reduce suffering among citizens. This is a preventive measure as it reduces the need for migration into the US for the search of better lives.

References

Brooks, J. (2013). The principles of sociology. Retrieved from https://onlinelearningtips.com/2013/01/the-principles-of-sociology/

Crossman, A. (2019). Sociological explanations of deviant behavior. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/sociological-explanations-of-deviant-behavior-3026269

Hawkins, J. D., & Weis, J. G. (2017). The social development model: An integrated approach to delinquency prevention. In Developmental and Life-course Criminological Theories (pp. 3-27). Routledge.