Reasons for Becoming Prostitutes

Before Parent-Duchâtelet’s research, it was widely assumed that moral failings such as laziness, vanity, and the desire to live a lavish life without working for it were the causes of prostitution. Upon examining the situations of these prostitutes more closely, however, Parent-Duchâtelet found that prostitution could be attributed to a number of circumstances that were often completely independent of questionable ethics and “improper” personality traits. Examples of these independent circumstances include the result of a false promise of marriage, a means to avoid brutality or simply a desperate measure to avoid starvation. Despite his progressive research, Parent-Duchâtelet was a man of his moment: torn between ascribing to contemporary stereotypes and a desire to understand larger social issues at play. Duchâtelet collected his own statistics on the subject as part of his mission to approach his work scientifically. Such a statistical method that was virtually unheard of at the time. The section of Duchâtelet’s treatise in which he seeks to answer the question “Quelle est la cause première de la prostitution?” (What is the primary cause of prostitution?) illustrates his attempt to maintain a scientific perspective. While he was still influenced by popular opinion, his thorough research is a sort of proto-sociology. Social investigations like his would later develop into the field of sociology. The attached object is a chart from Parent-Duchâtelet's work. It provides statistics pertaining to the causes of prostitution. If you would like to see an English translation of this chart, you can go here. 

Parent-Duchâtelet, Alexandre. De La Prostitution Dans La Ville De Paris. Paris: J. -B. Baillière, 1836. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65208459/f1.image.r=Parent-Duchâtelet, Alexandre-Jean-Baptiste.