The mental health of female sex workers

Abstract

Sex work is a major public health problem. It has many faces, but ill mental health of sex workers is primarily related to different forms of violence.

Mental Health and HIV-Related High-Risk Behaviors Among Female Sex Workers

“…According to GSI results, almost two-thirds of the sex workers experienced significantly moderate to severe disorder symptoms more than women in the control group. These results are in line with the studies in Hong Kong and France (21,22), but in contrast with the findings of a study in New Zealand, which found no significant difference between sex workers and other women with respect to general wellbeing (23). The results of another study on FSWs in the USA found that more than one-third of the participants suffered from anxiety symptoms and more than half of them had depression symptoms (24).…”

Prostitution and the Ideal State. A Defense of a Policy of Vigilance

“…The study by Hoigard and Finstad is controversial because it is said to be biased towards a radical feminist point of view and because it focuses on prostitution on the street and in brothels. However, although the incidence of PTSD, depression, and self-hatred appears to differ depending on the segment analyzed (street, brothel, private, escorts and subsegments thereof), the average incidence of these mental conditions across segments is clearly high (see Rössler et al, 2010 for an interesting study using clusters). It has to be noted, however, that prostitutes in specific segments do appear to be perfectly healthy.…”

“…Statistics also reveal something in this regard. In their Zurich study, Rössler et al (2010) found that about 40% of the prostitutes they studied declared that they actually liked the job. Abel similarly comments that "some participants in this [New Zealand] study spoke of being 5 See, e.g., Hoigard and Finstad (1992), Abel (2010) and Rössler et al (2010).…”

“…In their Zurich study, Rössler et al (2010) found that about 40% of the prostitutes they studied declared that they actually liked the job. Abel similarly comments that "some participants in this [New Zealand] study spoke of being 5 See, e.g., Hoigard and Finstad (1992), Abel (2010) and Rössler et al (2010). The study by Hoigard and Finstad is controversial because it is said to be biased towards a radical feminist point of view and because it focuses on prostitution on the street and in brothels.…”

“…If such people ever did get to practice prostitution with any continuity, the experience could well be devastating for them, in the way Dworkin describes, leaving a wake of self-hatred and shame in their lives (Rössler et al (2010) report that mental problems associated with prostitution tend to be long-lasting) 8 . My point, then, is that even if prostitutes were not marginalized and stigmatized, as they no doubt are, the practice itself would surely still have the consequences it has, at least for many people;…”