Stress disorder is common among prostitutes

BMJ 1998;317:558 ( 29 August )

News

Stress disorder is common among prostitutes

Norra Macready, California

Post-traumatic stress disorder is common among prostitutes, virtually all of whom would leave their profession if they could, according to a study of prostitutes in five countries.

Of 475 people interviewed in South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and Zambia, 67% met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder and 92% stated that they wanted to leave prostitution. Prostitutes working the streets and in brothels were interviewed.

The results of the study were presented at the American Psychological Association meeting in San Francisco last week. Eighty three per cent of the subjects were women, but male prostitutes, transvestites, transsexuals, and biological males presenting themselves as females were also interviewed. Most had histories of childhood abuse, including sexual abuse, as well as more recent accounts of homelessness, rape, other forms of assault, alcoholism, and drug misuse.

Across the five countries the average age of the prostitutes was 28 years, ranging from 12 to 61 years. Rape and physical assault were less common among prostitutes working in brothels, but there was no difference between street and brothel prostitution in the severity of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"These findings lead me to conclude that prostitution is intrinsically traumatising," said lead author Melissa Farley, a clinical and research psychologist at the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute in San Francisco.

SEAN SPRAGUE/PANOS PICTURES Prostitutes can find their work traumatising

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