Over 90% of women in prostitution see it as their only means of survival
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Over 90% of women in prostitution see it as their only means of survival


Researchers from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) specializing in criminal law and criminology have published a study that breaks down stereotypes and shows the diverse and complex reality of the experiences of women (both cis and transsexual) who are sex workers. The research, entitled Mujeres cis y transexuales que practican sexo de pago: involucración y consecuencias (Cis and transsexual women sex workers: involvement and consequences), has been published in open access in the journal Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología and is part of a project funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities that includes several studies on the victimization suffered by sex workers, both women and men.

The project, Victimization of sex workers: risk factors, consequences and response of the criminal justice system, carried out in the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the UOC, also examines the response of the criminal justice system to crimes related to prostitution.

Josep Maria Tamarit, full professor of Criminal Law at the UOC and leader of the Empirical and Applied Victimology research group (VICRIM), who led the study, says that "there is great need for research in this area because it is especially sensitive to conceptions based on stereotypes or ideological positions. Political decisions about sex work must be based on an understanding of the social reality. It is also important because in Europe there are widely diverging national policies."
The diverse and complex experience of seventy-six women

Tamarit, together with Antonia Linde, professor of Criminology at the UOC and also a VICRIM researcher, and criminologists Patricia Martín Escribano and América Machado, interviewed 76 women who are or have been sex workers in the past in Barcelona and two other Catalan cities. The majority (84%) are of foreign origin, mainly from Latin America (more than 60%), although there are some from European countries, especially from Eastern Europe. The women are between 25 and 63 years old. 75% have at least secondary education, 20% have completed high school and almost 11% have a university education.

The study has addressed aspects such as the causes of their involvement in paid sex, the consequences it has for their physical and mental health and the violence they have suffered as a result. The main conclusion is that, despite the stereotypes surrounding sex work, the women's experience is very diverse, although there is a common denominator: being a sex worker has significant adverse consequences, with 90% of those interviewed having suffered violence. The study also reveals the unique challenges faced by transsexual women, whose problems are different from those of other women, both in terms of the consequences of sex work for them and the way in which they are drawn into it and begin working.


Violence and drugs: common denominators

Most of the women had suffered some form of violence – physical, sexual or psychological – from clients or pimps in the course of their work. But not only in this area, as Tamarit explains: "A very interesting aspect revealed by the research is that, in addition to the violence related to sex work, they have had other experiences of victimization, such as having suffered sexual abuse in childhood or violence in intimate relationships."

Regular drug use is also a factor: 67% had consumed drugs and 46% had suffered physical or psychological disorders that had affected their health as a result of their occupation. Factors that motivate them to take drugs include the insistence of their clients, or using them as an escape mechanism or to manage the harm caused by their work. "The use of alcohol and drugs, especially cocaine, is explained by the pressure exerted by some clients, who want to experience paying for sex and taking drugs. They may also find drugs are a way to escape from reality," said the UOC researcher.


Avoid making political decisions based on stereotypes

People who call for prostitution to be banned claim that the majority of women who engage in it do so because they are victims of trafficking or exploited. However, the study shows that "only" 30% of those interviewed had been victims of trafficking or exploited; the others had started of their own free will. "The belief that all women sex workers are exploited is based on stereotypes and reductionism, as is the belief that all women who engage in this work do so freely. Making political decisions based on this type of belief is a serious mistake," Tamarit said.

84% of the women in the study decided to become sex workers due to a lack of financial resources and 25% started because they were deceived by another person. What has been demonstrated is that women who engage in sex work "are at great risk of suffering significant consequences for their physical and mental health, and public policies cannot ignore this. Nor can we ignore the importance of individual freedom as an essential principle of our political system. A serious, evidence-based debate is needed," said the UOC researcher.


Transsexual women as sex workers: a different experience

26 of the women interviewed were transsexual, allowing the researchers to gain a different perspective on the experience of sex workers. One difference is their motivation for getting involved in this profession. In the case of cis women, financial need predominates, often after they have migrated but see their expectations frustrated when they arrive in Europe. However, in the case of transsexual women, the decision is often related to a desire to affirm their sexual identity and to a sense of fun. In other cases, they experience difficulty finding work, due to the discrimination they suffer because of their condition.

A significant fact is that 61% of transsexual women began working in paid sex when they were minors, while for cis women the percentage was 20%. The percentage of transsexual women who claim to have experienced health problems is also higher than that of cis women.


Lack of alternative employment, need for regulation

89% of women have tried to leave the profession without success and the vast majority, 94%, see it as their only option for survival, not as something they want to do permanently. Their reasons for continuing in sex work include the precarious nature of alternative types of work, or the impossibility of maintaining the income they receive from providing sexual services. It is also significant that half of the interviewees believe that sex work should be regulated, while only 17% believe it should be banned. The reasons they give for regulation include "having greater protection and security", "so that the money belongs to the woman", and "so that society accepts it and sees us in a less negative light."

Professor Tamarit explained that "many women would like to stop doing this work, because they are aware of its negative effects on them, but they want to have the right to do it if they need to and to be recognized while they are engaged in it. They believe more legal obstacles would mean they would be forced to work in worse conditions."

The next steps in the project will be a study of men who pay for sex, an analysis of sentences in cases of homicide and crimes related to coercive prostitution, and a study of criminal law. The objective is to generate reliable information for political decision-making that is based on evidence and free from the prejudices generated by stereotypes.


This research by the UOC supports the following Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 1, End poverty in all its forms everywhere, SDG 5, Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, SDG 10, Reduce inequality within and among countries, and SDG 16, Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies.


UOC R&I

The UOC's research and innovation (R&I) is helping overcome pressing challenges faced by global societies in the 21st century by studying interactions between technology and human & social sciences with a specific focus on the network society, e-learning and e-health.

Over 500 researchers and more than 50 research groups work in the UOC's seven faculties, its eLearning Research programme and its two research centres: the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) and the eHealth Center (eHC).

The university also develops online learning innovations at its eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC), as well as UOC community entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer via the Hubbik platform.
Open knowledge and the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development serve as strategic pillars for the UOC's teaching, research and innovation. More information: research.uoc.edu.
Tamarit Sumalla, J. M., Linde García, A., Martín Escribano, P., & Machado García, A. (2024). Mujeres cis y transexuales que practican sexo de pago: involucración y consecuencias. Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología, 32(Julio). https://doi.org/10.5944/rdpc.JULIO.2024.42696
Regions: Europe, Spain
Keywords: Humanities, Law, Society, Policy - society

Disclaimer: AlphaGalileo is not responsible for the accuracy of content posted to AlphaGalileo by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the AlphaGalileo system.

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