There is a fine line between what is sexual assault and what is not,
but the line gets even thinner in relation to women prostitutes.
Because these women choose to place themselves in risque situations,
many do not believe that sexual assault is possible in their
circumstances. But on the contrary these women are subject to higher
rates of sexual assault than any other women.
Research Findings
As researchers have found, assault and rape in prostitutes as well as
violence is much higher than expected. In a study of one hundred thirty
prostitutes, eighty-two percent reported having been physically
assaulted. Of these fifty-five percent named their attackers as their
customers. Eighty-eight percent had been threatened while working, and
eighty-three percent had been threatened with some form of weapon. Of
these prostitutes sixty-eight percent reported as having been raped at
least once. Nearly half of these women reported being raped five times
or more by their customers.
Studies have also shown that a majority of these women were sexually or
physically abused as children. Usually this happened at a very early
age. Fifty-seven percent of the studied women reported been sexually
assaulted as children, and some by as much as three different attackers.
Sexual Assault Studies
A conducted study of prostitution survivors reported that eight percent
of women that go into prostitution have been raped. Some have reported
to as much as eight to ten times a year. It has even been said that
prostitutes are the most raped women in the world, no matter the
country.
Prostitution Around the World
Prostitution and sexual assault are present all over the world. In a
research study of four hundred seventy-five men, women, and
transgendered prostitutes in South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, the United
States, and Zambia, studies found that prostitution often turns to
sexual assault.
Of those studied sixty-two percent reported being raped in
prostitution. Seventy-three percent reported physical assault during
prostitution. And ninety-two percent reported wanting to leave
prostitution automatically following the attack.
A report in Canada went as far as to say that the rate of mortality in
prostitution is forty times higher than the general population average.
One study showed that seventy-five percent of women in prostitution had
attempted suicide.
Proving Sexual Assault
Proving that there was actually sexual assault or rape in the cases of
prostitution is extremely difficult. This is due to the fact that
prostitution names women as consenting individuals to sexual acts. What
most do not take into consideration is that women are often taken
directly off the street without their consent. A woman must consent to
going with another, when this happens without her consent and a sexual
act is forced, she becomes a victim of rape.
At times sexual assault and rape also include physical assault of
bruises, scratches, and other physical deformities. Sometimes these are
received through self defense. A case of self defense is slightly
easier to convict if the attacker also received scratches and other
physical forms of self defense.
Because there is a very fine line between sexual assault and
prostitution, many cases are not convicted.