A study conducted by researchers from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) has gathered 76 interviews with women engaged in prostitution, 26 of whom are transgender, revealing that 90% of the surveyed women have experienced violence.
The research, titled ‘Cisgender and transgender women practicing paid sex: involvement and consequences,’ has been published openly in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, as part of a project funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, which includes several studies on the victimization experienced by individuals engaged in paid sex, both women and men.
Josep Maria Tamarit, a professor of Criminal Law at UOC and leader of the Empirical and Applied Victimology research group (VICRIM), who led the study, stated, «Research in this area is very necessary because it is particularly sensitive to conceptions based on stereotypes or ideological positions.»
«Policy decisions about this activity need to be made with an understanding of the social reality. It is also important because there are highly divergent national policies in Europe,» he noted.
Tamarit, along with UOC Criminology professor and VICRIM researcher Antonia Linde, as well as criminologists Patricia Martín Escribano and América Machado, interviewed 76 women who currently or previously engaged in paid sex in Barcelona and two other Catalan cities.
The majority of the interviewees (84%) are of foreign origin, mainly from Latin America (over 60%), although some are from European countries, especially Eastern Europe. The women’s ages range from 25 to 63 years, with 75% having at least secondary education, 20% having completed high school, and almost 11% having university education.
The study addressed aspects such as the reasons for their involvement in paid sex, the consequences for their physical and mental health, and the violence they have experienced as a result of this activity.
The main conclusion, as pointed out by the researchers, is that, contrary to the stereotypes surrounding this practice, the women’s experiences are very diverse, although there is a common denominator: 90% of the interviewees have suffered violence.
«An aspect of great interest revealed by the research is that, in addition to the violence related to engaging in paid sex, there are other victimization experiences, such as having suffered sexual abuse in childhood or violence in partner relationships,» Tamarit stated.
DRUG USE IS COMMON
Furthermore, the report reveals that regular drug use linked to this activity is common. Thus, 67% of the interviewees had used drugs, and 46% had experienced physical or psychological alterations that had affected their health as a result of their occupation.
Factors motivating drug use include client pressure or using substances as an escape mechanism or to manage the harm caused by the activity.
«The use of alcohol and drugs, especially cocaine, is explained by the pressure exerted by some clients seeking paid sex and consumption experiences. They may also see drugs as a way to escape from reality,» explained the UOC researcher.
Additionally, in contrast to the «abolitionist current» of prostitution that claims that most women engaged in it are victims of trafficking or exploitation, the study indicates that «only» 30% of the interviewees had been, while the rest started voluntarily.
«The notion that all women engaged in paid sex are exploited is based on a stereotype and reductionism, just as believing that they all engage in this practice entirely freely would be. Making policy decisions based on these views is a serious mistake,» Tamarit explained.
The report also reveals that 84% of the women in the study chose to engage in paid sex due to lack of economic resources, and 25% started as a result of deception by another person.
The study also highlights that women engaged in this practice «are exposed to a high risk of significant consequences for their physical and mental health.»
On the other hand, the research reveals differences in the motivation to engage in this profession between transgender women. While for cisgender women, economic necessity predominates after a migration process where their expectations are frustrated upon arrival in Europe, for transgender women, the decision is often related to affirming their sexual identity and recreational experiences. In other cases, the difficulties in finding work due to the discrimination they face because of their condition also play a role.
Specifically, it shows that 61% of transgender women interviewed started working in paid sex when they were minors, while for cisgender women, this percentage was 20%. Likewise, the percentage of transgender women reporting health alterations is also higher than that of cisgender women.
94% SEE IT AS A SURVIVAL OPTION
Furthermore, the study reveals that 89% of the interviewees have tried to leave paid sex without success, and the vast majority, 94%, see this activity as their only survival option.
As they express, the precarity of other job alternatives or the inability to maintain the income provided by the provision of sexual services have prevented them from leaving this occupation.
In addition, half of the interviewees believe that paid sex should be regulated, compared to 17% who think it should be prohibited. Reasons given for regulation include «having more protection and security,» as well as «ensuring the money goes to the woman,» and «for society to accept it» and view it «in a less negative way.»
Professor Tamarit explains that «many women would like to leave this activity, as they are aware of the costs it has for them, but at the same time, they want to have the right to engage in it if they need to and to be recognized while they are involved.» «They believe that if obstacles are put in place, they are forced to engage in the activity under worse conditions,» he pointed out.
The next steps of the project will involve a study with men engaged in paid sex, an analysis of sentences in cases of homicide and crimes of coercive prostitution, and a third legal-criminal study. The goal is to generate reliable information for making policy decisions based on evidence and free from the prejudices generated by stereotypes.
