Violence against prostitutes include violent and harmful acts, both physical or psychological, against individuals engaging in prostitution. It occurs worldwide, with the victims of such acts of violence being predominantly women. In extreme cases, violent acts have led to their murder while in their workplace.
Prevalence Women working in prostitution experience higher levels of violence against them than the general population of women. A long-term study published in 2004 estimated the homicide rate for active female prostitutes who had worked in Colorado Springs from 1967 through 1999 to be 204 per 100,000 person-years. The overwhelming majority of the 1,969 women in the study were street prostitutes. Only 126 worked in massage parlors, and most of these women were also prostituted on the streets. Although the Colorado Springs prostitutes appeared to be representative of all US prostitutes in terms of prevalence and number of sexual partners, and while they worked as prostitutes (and died) in many parts of the country, prostitutes elsewhere might have different mortality rates and profiles. This homicide figure is considerably higher than that for the next riskiest occupations in the United States during the 1980s (4 per 100,000 for female liquor store workers and 29 per 100,000 for male taxicab drivers). The prevalence of violence against prostitutes varies by location. A study of prostituted women and girls in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada over the age of 14 who used illicit drugs other than marijuana found that 57% of prostitutes experienced some form of sex-based violence over an 18-month period. A study of 1,000 female (both cisgender and transgender) prostitutes in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, found 93% of women surveyed had been the victim of rape in the past year.
Types of violence
Physical Physical violence is defined by World Health Organization as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation". Physical violence is more commonly experienced by outdoor prostitutes with 47% of prostitutes working outdoors reporting being kicked, punched, or slapped in one study. In a study of prostitutes working in San Francisco, 82% of participants reported having experienced some type of physical violence since entering prostitution, with 55% of these assaults being committed by a client. A different study found a slightly lower rate with 74% of sex-workers reported experiencing some form of physical abuse in their lifetime. The general consensus among most studies regarding violence against prostitutes is that rates of physical violence against prostitutes is extremely high, particularly among women who experience higher rates of physical violence than their male counterparts.
Psychological Psychological abuse, also referred to as mental abuse or emotional abuse is characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The United Nations Population Fund says that this type of violence "includes, but is not limited to, being insulted (e.g. called derogatory names) or made to feel bad about oneself; being humiliated or belittled in front of other people; being threatened with loss of custody of one's children; being confined or isolated from family or friends; being threatened with harm to oneself or someone one cares about; repeated shouting, inducing fear through intimidating words or gestures; controlling behavior; and the destruction of possessions." There are certain types of psychological or emotional abuse that sex workers are more prone to such as denial of basic needs, forced drug or alcohol consumption, and being arrested for carrying condoms to name a few. Women working in prostitution are especially vulnerable to psychological abuse, particularly verbal abuse, because many customers and other members of society view them as "whores" or as generally undesirable women. Often verbal abuse will occur either while the service is being given, or after it has been given and the customer is not satisfied. In both these cases, verbal abuse can be a precursor to sexual violence from the client. In one study, 78% of sex-workers reported having experienced emotional or psychological abuse in their lifetime.
Sexual Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, unwanted sexual comments or advances, acts to traffic a person or acts directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim. The risks of sexual abuse are overall lower than the risks of physical abuse, with the exception of indoor prostitutes who report a higher rate of rape or attempted rape than any one type of physical violence. Rates of sexual assault and rape are higher among women (including transgender women) than among men, though the overall rate is high with one study finding that 68% of respondents had been raped since entering prostitution. In another study, 44% of sex-workers reported having experienced sexual abuse in their lifetime. These high levels of sexual violence suffered by sex workers have very traumatic effects on the men and women working as prostitutes. High levels of rape and other forms of sexual violence while working as a prostitute have been linked to higher levels of PTSD.
Contributing factors Studies have shown that younger prostitutes tend to experience more client violence than their older colleagues. Furthermore, cisgender and transgender female sex workers are also more likely to experience violence committed by a client than their male prostitute counterparts.
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