Risks to Women in Prostitution
Four main risks to women involved in prostitution on the streets of Toledo have been identified. The risk of contracting and spreading HIV/AIDS, drug addiction, customer-related and pimp-related violence, and the deterioration of emotional, mental, and physical well-being.
*HIV-Sexually transmitted diseases vary depending on the work setting, type of sexual contact, relationship between partners, and consistency of condom use. Prostitutes are most at risk from transmission occurring from personal relationships, as most women in Toledo report not using a condom with their significant other. However, drug-addicted women in need of more drugs are most likely to allow customers to negotiate condom use.
*Drug Addiction-Drug addiction in this population is high. Crack-cocaine, in particular, is popular among street prostitutes. Whether drug use began as a way of coping with the act of prostitution (functional use) or whether prostitution is a means of supporting a drug habit (casual use), an estimated 70% of women involved in street prostitution are/or become drug addicted. The influx of crack-cocaine has dealt a devastating blow to women involved in prostitution. The lowest cost for drugs on the streets always equals the lowest cost for sex. In the 1970's, heroine was the drug of choice. A hit of heroin cost its buyer $20, therefore the lowest cost for sex on the streets also equaled $20. Today, the drug of choice is crack-cocaine and can be purchased for as low as $5. In order to compete in today's prostitution market, women have to work more, for less, and often under riskier circumstances. Working more often can be interpreted to mean more client contact, which increases the risk of both customer-related violence and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
*Customer-Related and Pimp-Related Violence- Despite apparent health risks to women in terms of contracting HIV, the greatest risk to the health of women in Toledo comes not from a deadly virus, but from violent actions of many of their customers and pimps. The result of a year long study by Williamson (2000) revealed that both customer-related and pimp-related violence is brutal, frequent, and pervasive. Rape, beatings, and robbery were among the more common occurrences. Over 90% had experienced one or more of the following: being thrown or jumping from a moving vehicle, being stabbed or slashed, kidnaped and held against their will, threatened with a gun, shot at, beaten with a blunt object, being thrown or throwing themselves through glass to escape, and being branded and tortured. Since the beginning of this year, four prostitutes were murdered on Toledo streets.
*Deterioration of Mental Health-As demonstrated, street prostitutes live under extremely negative conditions. Experiences with violence, drugs, and HIV risks contribute to decreased emotional, mental, and physical well-being (Miller, 1993; Vanwesenbeeck, 1994; Williamson, 2000). Over time, women in street prostitution experience profound depression (Williamson, 2000). Mental health may suffer as a result of the traumatic effects of violence in street work. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome has been diagnosed in this population (Farley & Hotaling, 1995). Concentrated prostitution-focused solutions are needed to decrease risk and prevent further harm to this population.
All of these risk are preventable. However, there are currently no known programs designed to effectively address the problem of street prostitution in Toledo. The traditional response to prostitution has been arrest and incarceration. Legal responses have been costly and, without coordination and support of social services, have ben largely ineffective. Controlling prostitution holds little promise so long as law enforcement alone continues to bear the responsibliltyfor the continued presence of prostitution. The conditions by which young girls and women will succumb to selling their bodies to strangers extends criminal boundaries. Prostitution involves social issues which require social service responses. The antecedents to prostitution are often childhood trauma defined as sexual abuse and/or physical abuse. Poor coping skills are developed as a result of family dysfunction. Prostitution often begins in adolescence and is characterized by runaway behavior, general delinquency, and eventual entrance into prostitution. Once involved in street prostitution, drug addiction and violence threaten the physical and emotional well-being of women in prostitution.