Independent Domestic Violence Advocates: information briefing
December 2010
Prostitution and domestic violence
This is the seventh in a series of briefings specifically written for IDVAs to update you on latest
developments and to explore particular topics affecting the different client groups you may work with.
AVA has been funded by the Government Office for London to produce these briefings.
This briefing focuses on prostitution and domestic violence. For further information on any of the
issues covered in this briefing please contact sophie.taylor@avaproject.org.uk
Overview
The aim of this briefing is to discuss the issues faced by women involved in prostitution and the links
between prostitution and domestic violence. 85% of women in prostitution report experiencing
physical abuse by a family member, 45% report being sexually abused by a family member and at
least three-quarters have been physically assaulted by someone other than a family member. (Home
Office Paying the price 2004). This demonstrates how, as with all forms of violence against women,
prostitution cannot be viewed in isolation and thus this briefing will examine the ways that women in
prostitution experience violence and how prostitution may affect your client groups.
This briefing will also examine current legislation, the relation between problematic substance use
and prostitution and diversity considerations.
What is prostitution?
Prostitution is the exchange of sexual acts, usually for money, accommodation or drugs.
It is vital to remember that women’s involvement in prostitution may take different forms and not
always appear how we might expect. Women may exchange sex for a variety of reasons: because of
force/coercion from their partner, homelessness, lack of income or problematic substance use. For
example a woman may be coerced into having sex with her partner’s ‘friend(s)’ in exchange for
substances, money, or out of fear of violence; homeless women may exchange sex for somewhere to
stay; women with problematic substance use may exchange sexual acts for substances. Women may
not consider themselves involved in prostitution as their experiences don’t marry up with the images
portrayed in the media.
There are many barriers to women safely exiting prostitution such as problematic substance use,
homelessness, fear of retaliation for pimps/partners, lack of alternative sources of income, criminal
convictions causing the need to generate income to pay fines, an abusive partner, lack of opportunity
for gainful employment as well as the loss of belonging to a community of women.
80,000 women work in 'on-street'
prostitution in the UK. The average age
women become involved being just 12
years old.
Only 19% of women working as
prostitutes in flats, parlours and saunas
are originally from the UK.
Home Office, Paying the Price 04
The Poppy Project 04
,
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Key statistics
Up to 75% of women involved in prostitution began when they were under 18 years of age and most
teenage prostitutes are involved in street prostitution, which is estimated to be ten times more
dangerous than working from houses or flats. (Benson, C. and Matthews, R, 1995)
Almost 10% of the adult male population in London is thought to have paid for sex. (Ward, H. et
al.2005)
UK data on men arrested for ‘kerb crawling’ profiled the average customer as 35 years old, in full time
employment with no criminal convictions. Nearly half of the sample were married and owned their
own home. (Farley and Bindel, 2009)
Victims of child sexual abuse are 27.7 times more likely to be arrested for prostitution as adults than
non-victims. (Widom, C.S. 1995)
85% of women in prostitution report physical abuse in the family, with 45% reporting familial sexual
abuse. (Home Office, Paying the Price, 2004)
More than half of UK women in prostitution have been raped and/or seriously sexually assaulted. At
least three-quarters have been physically assaulted. (Home Office, Paying the Price, 2004)
Women in prostitution in London suffer from a mortality rate that is 12 times the national average.
(Home Office Solutions and Strategies, 2004)
87% of women in street-based prostitution use heroin. (Hester & Westmarland, 2004)
Up to 95% of women involved in on-street prostitution are problematic drug users, including around
78% heroin users and rising numbers of crack cocaine addicts. (Home Office, Paying the Price, 2004)
Women in prostitution are 18 times more likely to be murdered than the general population. (New
Philanthropy Capital, 2007)
Almost 10% of the adult male population in
London is thought to have paid
for sex.
Ward, 05
Men arrested for ‘kerb crawling’ show the
average customer as 35 years old, in full
time employment with no criminal
convictions. Nearly half are married and
own their own home.
Hester and Westmarland, 04
Links between prostitution and domestic violence
The primary link between domestic violence and prostitution is that for some women involved in
prostitution, their partner is the person who encourages their entry into prostitution, profits from it
and/or prevents their exit. Therefore the perpetrator can be both an abuser and ‘pimp’, which means
that both issues will need to be addressed in order to increase her safety.
Safe Exit and Toynbee Hall have created a Power and Control wheel for women involved in street
prostitution who are controlled by a partner/pimp. This allows us to see the similarities in methods of
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power and control experienced by both women involved in prostitution and survivors of domestic
violence.
Power and control wheel produced by Safe Exit and Toynbee Hall
This wheel can be used as a tool when working with a service user to help her understand her
experiences, put them into context and understand the links with other types of abuse she may be
experiencing from a partner or family member.
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Legislation
Current law
“Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 introduced section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act
2003. This creates a new criminal offence in England and Wales of paying for the sexual services of a
prostitute who is or has been subject to force. An offence under section 53A (64A) is committed if:
A person (A) makes or promises payment for the sexual services of a prostitute (B) and; b) a third
person (C) has engaged in exploitative conduct of a kind likely to have induced or encouraged B to
provide the sexual services for which A has made or promised payment and; C engaged in that
conduct for or in the expectation of gain for C or another person (apart from A or B).”
[From Rights of Women briefing ‘Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 - A Crucial Step
Towards Ending Commercial Sexual Exploitation’]
This new section to the Policing and Crime Act was passed this year and makes it a criminal offence
(punishable with up to 7 years imprisonment) for a person to pay, or promise to pay, for sexual
services if the person ‘selling’ those services is controlled by a third person. This third person can be
anyone e.g. boyfriend, parent, brother, husband, pimp, brothel manager.
Diversion schemes
Women involved in prostitution are most commonly charged for ‘soliciting’ and/or ‘loitering’. This
criminalisation of women in prostitution can cause a cycle of arrests, fines and imprisonment for short
sentences; neither a criminal record nor owing money for fines is helpful to a woman’s ability to exit
prostitution. Diversion schemes attempt to divert women from the criminal justice system in order to
prevent them from being caught in this cycle. Diversion schemes offer women the opportunity to
attend appointments with a particular scheme; if they do so before their court date, they are not
required to attend court.
Diversion schemes in London are delivered by Safe Exit in Tower Hamlets, Trust in Lambeth and the
Open Door Arrest Referral Scheme in Hackney.
ASBOs (Anti Social Behaviour Orders)
Local authorities, police forces and registered social landlords and housing action trusts can apply to
courts to issue women with ASBOs for behaviour relating to their involvement in prostitution. Whilst
the ASBO does not create a criminal record, if she breaches the ASBO it is a criminal offence and
she may be fined or imprisoned. An ASBO can put restrictions on a woman’s movements in a
particular area and this can subsequently prevent women from entering an area where she may feel
safe ‘working’ or where she may be having contact with support services.
An ASBO is not a useful remedy to ‘tackle’ prostitution and if they are being used in this way in your
borough it would be beneficial to work with the police and local authorities to ensure they understand
the issues surrounding prostitution and how ASBOs can work to decrease women’s safety. If you
have any clients who have received cautions, then you can go to the police and talk to them about
their approach, before they resort to applying for an ASBO; for example, Newham Police are working
in partnership with women’s organisations to use preventative measures to support women involved
in prostitution in order to avoid the use of ASBOs. If police are aware that you are providing advocacy
support they may be willing to work in partnership with you in order to put measures in place to avoid
issuing an ASBO.
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Women in prostitution are 18 times more
likely to be murdered than the general
population.
The conviction rate of 75% for murder
drops to 26% when it comes to killings of
women in prostitution.
New Philanthropy Capital, 07
Home Office, 04
Diversity considerations
There are many issues to consider in regards to the diversity of women that make-up your client
groups and the barriers that these may create. In particular it can be our own assumptions about
women in prostitution that make it difficult for some women to disclose their experiences.
If a woman presents as lesbian it may be an incorrect assumption that she could not participate in
heterosexual sex in the form of prostitution; similarly just because a woman is involved in prostitution
including heterosexual sex does not mean she is not lesbian. Questions in general regarding sexual
activity may also be overlooked when working with women with disabilities; practitioners should be
conscious of not seeing such women as asexual beings and hence avoiding these questions.
Similarly if clients are young women or older women, whom you might not consider sexually active,
this does not prohibit the possibility of involvement in prostitution.
Whilst many women are trafficked into the UK from abroad for the purpose of prostitution, a woman
may also be an economic migrant, residing in this country legally or illegally, and involved in
prostitution. If a women has insecure immigration status this can cause her to face additional
isolation such as not being able to speak English, a lack of knowledge of where to seek help, threats
of deportation from her abuser etc. Women’s immigration status will cause serious barriers to
accessing services and we recommend that you contact Rights of Women helpline [020 7251 8887
(telephone) or 020 7490 2562 (textphone) on Mondays 11am-1pm and Tuesdays 10am-12 noon].
Prostitution, substance use and psychological distress
A number of studies show that there are dramatic links between prostitution and substance use. Not
only do sex and drugs markets often overlap, particularly in relation to organised crime, but women
involved in prostitution (particularly on-street) tend to have extremely high levels of substance use.
One study of women involved in on-street prostitution found that 63% were involved in order to fund a
drug habit, with 92% saying they had used drugs in the last three months (Church et al 2001). The
Home Office have stated that up to 95% of women involved in on-street prostitution are problematic
drug users, including around 78% heroin users and rising numbers of crack cocaine addicts [Home
Office Paying the Price (2004)]. However, it should be noted that these studies focus on on-street
prostitution, with a lack of available data for women involved in off-street prostitution.
Involvement in prostitution can provide an income with which to purchase drugs and alcohol (or
exchange directly for) where other sources of income, or sufficient income, is not available. Drugs
and alcohol can be used to groom young girls into the sex industry or can be used to pacify young
girls once they have been groomed and entered the sex industry. As with any form of violence
against women, women involved in prostitution may use substances as a coping mechanism for the
violence they experience and/or their involvement in prostitution. Research has found that post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common amongst women involved in prostitution; one study
interviewed 130 people and found 68% met DSM III-R criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD (Farley, 1998).
Drugs and alcohol are well known coping mechanisms for dealing with the symptoms of PTSD and it
is unlikely that a women will be able to address her drinking or drug use until her trauma is
addressed.
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Experiencing the overlapping issues of problematic substance use, psychological distress,
prostitution and domestic violence make it a difficult cycle to break in order to safely exit; they also
create numerous barriers to help-seeking. It is therefore vital to ensure that substance use and
mental health is something that you include in your screening procedures.
For more information please see AVA’s Stella Project toolkit and Mental Health Toolkit.
It is estimated that as many as 95% of
women involved in prostitution have a
drug or alcohol addiction.
In London, found 10% of their sample of
women working in a variety of locations,
were current or past injecting drug users.
Melrose,03
Ward, 03
Sexual Health
Research has shown that repeat terminations are a strong indicator of sexual abuse (Aston, 2009)
and STIs can be particularly prevalent for women in prostitution due to the pressure faced by women
to provide sex without condoms. It is useful to have a basic understanding of STI’s and issues around
sexual health and it may be worth considering providing condoms in the toilets of premises where you
work.
For information on sexually transmitted diseases: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Sexually-transmittedinfections/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Prostitution and trafficking
It is important to be aware of the difference between prostitution and trafficking.
Trafficking is defined by the Council of Europe as involving three things:
1) recruiting and moving a person
2) in particular ways, such as by using force, deception, the abuse of power or the abuse of a
position of vulnerability
3) for the purpose of exploitation, like forcing someone to be involved in prostitution.
Note that trafficking does not need to involve crossing national borders.
For more information on trafficking see Rights of Women Seeking Refuge? Trafficking, sexual
exploitation and the law or AVA’s trafficking statistics or briefing.
Support organisations
Door of Hope, London
http://www.doorofhope.org.uk/
Door of Hope is a Christian Project providing outreach services for women involved in street
prostitution in Spitalfields in East London.
Eaves – in particular the Poppy Project and the LEA Project, London
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http://www.eaves4women.co.uk/
Eaves is a London-based charity that provides housing and support to vulnerable women. The Poppy
Project supports women who have been trafficked into prostitution or domestic servitude and the LEA
Project (London Exiting Action Project) provides advice and assistance to women in London who are
involved in prostitution.
For referrals call Poppy Project on 020 7735 2062.
For referrals call LEA Project on 020 7735 2062.
ECPAT International
http://www.ecpat.net/
ECPAT International is a global network of organisations and individuals working together for the
elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
NSWP – The Global Network of Sex Work Projects
http://iac.nswp.org/
NSWP as an informal alliance of sex worker rights activists working within sex work projects around
the world. They focus on harm minimisation and safety for those involved in prostitution.
Safe Exit Partnership Initiative at Toynbee Hall, London
http://www.toynbeehall.org.uk/page.asp?section=000100010001000800040005
Safe Exit at Toynbee Hall brings together voluntary and statutory agencies in partnership including
the Metropolitan Police and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, to develop better services for
people in prostitution and to reduce the impact of prostitution on communities.
Call Safe Exit on 0207 392 2982
U-turn, London
http://uturnproject.co.uk/
U-Turn Project works with vulnerable and hard to reach women of all ages who have been trapped
in cycles of prostitution, drug addiction, physical abuse and homelessness from a young age.
Tel: 020 7739 2950
Trust, London
Trust provides outreach services to women involved in prostitution as well as operating the court
diversion scheme in Lambeth.
Tel: 0208 7699156
References
Aston G, Bewley S. Abortion and domestic violence. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2009;11:163–
168.
Benson, C. and Matthews, R. Street prostitution: Ten facts in search of a policy in International
Journal of Sociology of the Law, Vol. 23 (1995)
Church, S., Henderson, M., Barnard, M. and Hart, G. Violence by clients towards female prostitutes in
different work settings: questionnaire survey, British Medical Journal, 322, 524–5. (2001)
Farley, M & Barkan, H Prostitution, Violence, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Women & Health,
27 (3): 37-49
Farley and Bindel Men who buy sex – who they buy and what they know – Eaves (2009)
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Hester, M. and Westmarland, N., Tackling Street Prostitution: Towards an Holistic Approach, Home
Office Research Study 279, London, 2004)
Home Office Solutions and Strategies: Drug Problems and Street Sex Markets (2004)
Home Office Paying the price (2004)
New Philanthropy Capital Hard Knock Life (2007)
Melrose, M. (2002), Ties that bind - Young People and the Prostitution Labour Market in Britain
presented at Fourth Feminist Research Conference, Bologna: September 2000
The Poppy Project Sex in the City: Mapping Commercial Sex Across London (2004)
Ward, H. et al (2005). Who Pays for Sex? An analysis of the increasing prevalence of female
commercial sex contacts among men in Britain. Sexually Transmitted Infections 2005;81:467-471;
doi:10.1136/sti.2005.014985.
Widom, C.S. Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse-Later Criminal Consequences (1995)
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