The Everyday Occurrence: Violence in the Lives of Girls Exploited Through Prostitution

This article reports the results of qualitative interviews with 47 women involved in prostitution from three western Canadian provinces. More than two thirds of the women had become involved at age 15 or younger. The respondents described high rates of violence perpetrated against them. They reporte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Violence against women 2002-09, Vol.8 (9), p.1016-1043
Main Authors: Nixon, Kendra, Tutty, Leslie, Downe, Pamela, Gorkoff, Kelly, Ursel, Jane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canada
Child Sexual Abuse
Childhood sexual abuse
Females
Personal experiences
Prostitutes
Prostitution
Qualitative research
Victimization
Violence
Young women
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Summary:This article reports the results of qualitative interviews with 47 women involved in prostitution from three western Canadian provinces. More than two thirds of the women had become involved at age 15 or younger. The respondents described high rates of violence perpetrated against them. They reported considerable childhood sexual abuse, most often by a family member or by caretakers while they were living in foster care or group homes. The young women continued to experience violence as prostitutes so commonplace that it almost seemed “normal.” They were victimized by pimps, johns, other prostituted women, intimate partners, and representatives from mainstream society and members of the police. This article describes their experiences of violence, the associated health problems, the protective strategies they used, and their attempts to leave the streets. The conclusion suggests ways in which agencies and policies could better address the violence experienced by these young women.
ISSN:1077-8012
1552-8448
DOI:10.1177/107780120200800902