Do I have an obligation to report prostitution activity?
I just discovered that an acquaintance who is currently seeking to regain her parental rights has been prostituting herself. She lives in a very small town where memories are very long. I have real concerns for the child's future, although the mother assures me that she will not do this once she regains custody. I am not sure I can believe her. I was formerly a mandated reporter and at that time my obligation was much more clear. She is somewhat developmentally disabled and suffers from bipolar disorder. My options are to 1. do nothing; 2. insist she tell her custody lawyer; 3. make an anonymous report; 4. make a report that isn't anonymous. I definitely made my thoughts on the matter very clear and she says she will stop, but this isn't the first time she has engaged this type of activity and I have my doubts it will be the last.
Answer:
If you make the report to her attorney then the client / attorney privilege is in effect and he can help her with her problem or at least give her sound legal advice.
For the sake of her child, please do report her in any way you can.
The real question is: Can you live with knowing that you had the chance to do it, but you didn't? It's more of a moral dilemma than anything. But no obligation...only in your conscience...
A knotty one. You have no legal obligation to do anything, but the child is at stake here. I think that I would tell her custody lawyer.
Why don't you wait and see what she does after she regains custody. Living with a prostitute would be better that many, many foster homes where they use the children as slaves, sexually abuse them (even babies), and mistreat them. Why is it any of your business? If she doesn't misbehave in front of the child most states don't consider her to be unfit as a parent. I vote for you butting out and leaving it to the professionals who are paid for their investigations and assessments.
selling is legal, sex is legal, why isn't selling sex legal?! She is administering a very important social service despite what we are used to thinking about it. Everywhere else in the world it's allowed. Only in the "land of the free" did we restrict it. I say turn a blind eye to it. (choice 1)
Who precisely would you report her to? Interfering in this kind of situation can cause a lot of trouble, especially where lawyers and possibly the police could be involved, neither of which are in my experience likely to be supportive and helpful to your acquaintance given the problems she has. If she is developmentally disabled and bi-polar, isn't it possible she has to resort to prostitution to support herself and provide for the return of her children? What she seems to need is effective social services support and help in finding and keeping gainful legal employment. You would be more helpful to everyone concerned if you could help her in this respect.
I have worked with a number of disadvantaged people prostitutes being a big slice of the pie -
Sadly the stats are not good - they almost never get out alive It is a very dangerous life though they get a lot of money they rarely keep it - It is an entire lifestyle and a self perpetuating one at that -
The kid needs to never see or know this life style - it impacts them horribly - Drugs are almost always involved and pimps are shortly thereafter - It is a life of beatings shame drugs and so on
Do you want this kid to see men as "marks" and pimps - the cops as the enemy and so on
Lets not forget the disease part of it although stats wise Prosititues tend to be fairly clean compared to the "normal" world they are at higher risk nonetheless -
It is my opinion that prostitutes should never go to jail for simple solicitation but recieve intensive help and redirection but that isn;t the way of it - The chances of her being arrested or owned by an abusive pimp and getting a disease from injectable drugs are huge -
The kid will see all of this sooner or later -
Now think about what I have said and go call the cops
A judge will decide who gets custody of her child, not you. Anytime she steps into a courtroom, she automatically swears to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
If she withholds info. regarding her prostitution, she's committing perjury. Like it or not, she's got to straighten out her life before she can take good care of her kid. In the meantime, the kid is better off elsewhere instead of with her. If she doesn't do right by the law, you have to assume responsibility for her and REPORT the knowledge in your possession. In the end, it will work out and be in the best interest of both mother and child.
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