CAHSS Faculty Articles
Sex Work and Drug Use in a Subculture of Violence
ORCID ID
0000-0003-4027-7840
ResearcherID
K-3072-2014, H-3010-2014
Publication Title
Crime and Delinquency
ISSN
1552-387X
Publication Date
2004
Abstract
This article examines the subculture of violence thesis as it relates to female street sex workers in Miami. Interview and focus group methods were used to study the intersections of childhood trauma, drug use, and violent victimization among 325 women. Using targeted sampling, crack- and heroin-using sex workers were recruited through street outreach into an HIV-prevention research program. Interviews used standard instrumentation and focused on drug-related and sexual risk for HIV, sex work, violence, childhood trauma, and health status. Nearly half of the respondents reported physical (44.9%) and/ or sexual (50.5%) abuse as children, and over 40% experienced violence from clients in the prior year: 24.9% were beaten, 12.9% were raped, and 13.8% were threatened with weapons. Consistent relationships between historical and current victimization suggest that female sex workers experience a continuing cycle of violence throughout their lives. The policy and research implications of these findings are discussed.
DOI
10.1177/0011128703258875
Volume
50
Issue
1
First Page
43
Last Page
59
NSUWorks Citation
Surratt, H. L., Inciardi, J., Kurtz, S. P., & Kiley, M. C. (2004). Sex Work and Drug Use in a Subculture of Violence. Crime and Delinquency, 50 (1), 43-59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128703258875
