The average clinician in almost every discipline will have
consultations with women (and men) who have used sex to acquire money,
goods or services. Which of us gives this much thought - or, come to
that, which of us does that exclude? A number of years ago a qualified
medical practitioner, who had been engaged in prostitution herself, had an
article published in the BMJ - it's beyond belief that she would be
unique. What percentage of the population - or our profession - has
sought or accepted reward for sex?
Having started, cautiously, to ask the relevant questions as part of
a sexual history I have encountered women who have been, who are and who
are considering being prostitutes, as well as those who have been offered
money for sex without having asked for payment.
Being asked for 'career guidance' in advance of going on the game,
was amongst the most uncommon consultations that I have had and, I
confess, my first response was that 'Pretty Woman' was not a recruitment
video.
Our local GUM service offers quarterly screening for sex workers, I
discovered, a frequency that caused one of my patients to circulate around
the region's GUM clinics substantially more frequently than that, as well
as availing herself of screening with us.
Every GP will have a number of past, present and future prostitutes
as patients - do you know who they are? Ought you to know? Are you
prepared to provide the relevant care? What is the relevant care?
The government has failed - again - to make real progress on a
substantive issue and, again, we, amongst others, will have to contribute
to picking up the pieces.
Rapid Response:
The prostitute in front of you.
Sir
The average clinician in almost every discipline will have
consultations with women (and men) who have used sex to acquire money,
goods or services. Which of us gives this much thought - or, come to
that, which of us does that exclude? A number of years ago a qualified
medical practitioner, who had been engaged in prostitution herself, had an
article published in the BMJ - it's beyond belief that she would be
unique. What percentage of the population - or our profession - has
sought or accepted reward for sex?
Having started, cautiously, to ask the relevant questions as part of
a sexual history I have encountered women who have been, who are and who
are considering being prostitutes, as well as those who have been offered
money for sex without having asked for payment.
Being asked for 'career guidance' in advance of going on the game,
was amongst the most uncommon consultations that I have had and, I
confess, my first response was that 'Pretty Woman' was not a recruitment
video.
Our local GUM service offers quarterly screening for sex workers, I
discovered, a frequency that caused one of my patients to circulate around
the region's GUM clinics substantially more frequently than that, as well
as availing herself of screening with us.
Every GP will have a number of past, present and future prostitutes
as patients - do you know who they are? Ought you to know? Are you
prepared to provide the relevant care? What is the relevant care?
The government has failed - again - to make real progress on a
substantive issue and, again, we, amongst others, will have to contribute
to picking up the pieces.
Yours sincerely
Steven Ford
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests