A Systematic Review of Dissociation in Female Sex Workers

Tschoeke, Stefan; Borbé, Raoul; Steinert, Tilman; Bichescu-Burian, Dana

doi:10.1080/15299732.2019.1572044

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The 314 WSWs surveyed in this study reported a high prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms consistent with the prevalence rates reported in previous studies (Cwikel et al, 2004;Daalder et al, 2013;Farley, 2016;Farley & Barkan, 1998;Farley et al, 2005;Tschoeke et al, 2019). The sample also reported pervasive physical, sexual, and verbal violence from clients, again replicating the findings of previous studies (Anderson et al, 2015;Büschi, 2014;Deering et al, 2014;Wilson & Butler, 2014), as well as pervasive discrimination indicative of the extreme stigmatization of WSWs, which some see as a primary cause of the hardships and risks navigated by WSWs (Benoit et al, 2018;Brents & Sanders, 2010;Bruckert & Hannem, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Women who sell sex (women sex workers [WSWs]) consistently report an exceptionally high burden of posttraumatic stress (Daalder, Bogaerts, & Bijleveld, 2013; Farley et al, 2016; Tschoeke, Borbé, Steinert, & Bichescu-Burian, 2019) with concurrent experiences of physical and sexual violence (Anderson et al, 2015; Büschi, 2014; Deering et al, 2014; Wilson & Butler, 2014), abuse (Boittin, 2013; Harding & Hamilton, 2009), intimate partner violence (Carlson et al, 2012; Puente-Martínez, Ubillos-Landa, García-Zabala, & Páez-Rovira, 2019), and substance misuse (El-Bassel, Witte, Wada, Gilbert, & Wallace, 2001; Sallmann, 2010). They also report pervasive stigma associated with their work (Benoit, Jansson, Smith, & Flagg, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Contributors to posttraumatic stress symptoms in women sex workers.

Alschech

Regehr

Logie

et al. 2020

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous research has demonstrated that women who sell sex (women sex workers [WSWs]) consistently report high levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. The present study explores multiple factors that may contribute to the variation in WSWs’ experiences of posttraumatic stress symptoms, including workers’ racial identity, experiences of discrimination and control over their working conditions, the site of selling sex, and their clients’ perceived sexual entitlement and violence. The study sample consisted of 314 self-identified WSWs. Online invitations to participate in a 30-min survey were sent to WSWs in the United States and Canada who advertise their services online on sites such as Facebook, the Erotic Review, and Backpages. The hypothesized structure of associations between the variables was tested using structural equation modeling. The model accounted for 68% of the variation in the traumatic stress reported, with direct and indirect effects for workers’ racial identity, the site where they sell sex, and experiences of discrimination, especially by police. Clients’ violence, on the contrary, was indirectly associated with traumatic stress, as violent clients were also significantly more likely to be perceived as sexually entitled, which, in turn, was the strongest predictor of higher traumatic stress.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Contributors to posttraumatic stress symptoms in women sex workers.

Alschech

Regehr

Logie

et al. 2020

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Women who are exposed to trauma in childhood, particularly child sexual abuse and emotional neglect, are much more likely to enter sex work than those who are not exposed, and sex is often sold before the age of 18 [13]. Women who have experienced child sexual abuse often experience dissociative disorders which assist them in being able to cope with being in sex work [14]. Another common coping strategy for many FSWs is alcohol drinking and other substance use [15,16], and both of these elevate the risk of being subjected to sexual violence, with the entailed trauma [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intersections of Sex Work, Mental Ill-Health, IPV and Other Violence Experienced by Female Sex Workers: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Community-Centric National Study in South Africa

Jewkes

Milovanovic

Otwombe

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Female sex workers (FSWs) are at increased risk of mental health problems, including mood disorders and substance abuse, and we need to understand the origins of these to treat and prevent them, and particularly understand how the context in which they sell sex impacts their mental health. We conducted a multi-stage, community-centric, cross-sectional survey of 3005 FSWs linked to SW programmes in twelve sites across all nine provinces of South Africa. We interviewed adult women who had sold sex in the preceding six months, who were recruited via SW networks. We found that FSWs have very poor mental health as 52.7% had depression and 53.6% has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The structural equation model showed direct pathways from childhood trauma and having HIV+ status to mental ill-health. Indirect pathways were mediated by food insecurity, controlling partners, non-partner rape, harmful alcohol use, substance use to cope with SW, indicators of the circumstances of SW, i.e., selling location (on streets, in taverns and brothels), frequency of selling and experiencing SW stigma. All paths from childhood trauma had final common pathways from exposure to gender-based violence (non-partner rape or intimate partner violence) to mental ill-health, except for one that was mediated by food insecurity. Thus, FSWs’ poor mental health risk was often mediated by their work location and vulnerability to violence, substance abuse and stigma. The potential contribution of legal reform to mitigate the risks of violence and mental ill-health are inescapable. Treatment of mental ill-health and substance abuse should be an essential element of FSW programmes.

show abstract

“…Furthermore, survivors of CSA often suffer from altered sexual self-schemas (Meston, Rellini, & Heiman, 2006) as well as feelings of disgust and being contaminated (Badour, Feldner, Babson, Blumenthal, & Dutton, 2013; Jung & Steil, 2012). CSA is also linked to chronic pelvic pain (Lampe et al, 2003; Reiter, Shakerin, Gambone, & Milburn, 1991), dyspareunia and vaginism (Leonard & Follette, 2002), high-risk sexual behavior (Choi, Batchelder, Ehlinger, Safren, & O'Cleirigh, 2017; Senn, Carey, & Vanable, 2008), prostitution (Cooper, Kennedy, & Yuille, 2001; Tschoeke, Borbé, Steinert, & Bichescu-Burian, 2019), and compulsive sexual behavior (Vaillancourt-Morel et al, 2015). CSA has also been linked to paraphilic interests (Briere, Smiljanich, & Henschel, 1994; Frías, González, Palma, & Farriols, 2017; Fuss et al, 2019; Lee, Jackson, Pattison, & Ward, 2002; Nordling, Sandnabba, & Santtila, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual symptoms in post-traumatic stress disorder following childhood sexual abuse: a network analysis

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Even though recent research indicates that sexual symptoms are highly prevalent in post-traumatic stress disorder following childhood sexual abuse and cause severe distress, current treatments neither address them nor are they effective in reducing them. This might be due to a lack of understanding of sexual symptoms' specific role in the often complex and comorbid psychopathology of post-traumatic stress disorder following childhood abuse. Methods Post-traumatic, dissociative, depressive, and sexual symptoms were assessed in 445 inpatients with post-traumatic stress disorder following childhood sexual abuse. Comorbidity structure was analyzed using a partial correlation network with regularization. Results A total of 360 patients (81%) reported difficulties engaging in sexual activities and 102 patients (23%) reported to suffer from their sexual preferences. Difficulties engaging in sexual activities were linked to depressive and hyperarousal symptoms, whereas sexual preferences causing distress were linked to anger and dissociation. Dissociative amnesia, visual intrusions, and physical reactions to trauma reminders were of central importance for the network. Dissociative amnesia, depressed mood, lack of energy, and difficulties engaging in sexual activities were identified as bridge symptoms. Local clustering analysis indicated the non-redundancy of sexual symptoms. Conclusions Sexual symptoms are highly prevalent in survivors of childhood sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder. Further research is needed regarding the link of difficulties engaging in sexual activities, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as regarding the association of dissociation and sexual preferences causing distress. Sexual symptoms require consideration in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder following childhood sexual abuse.

show abstract

A Systematic Review of Dissociation in Female Sex Workers

Cited by 14 publications

References 53 publications

Contributors to posttraumatic stress symptoms in women sex workers.

Contributors to posttraumatic stress symptoms in women sex workers.

Intersections of Sex Work, Mental Ill-Health, IPV and Other Violence Experienced by Female Sex Workers: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Community-Centric National Study in South Africa

Sexual symptoms in post-traumatic stress disorder following childhood sexual abuse: a network analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About