413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

what you work so hard to get. They try to bring you down, and rob you and hurt you” (L1). Not all of the
sex workers experienced these types of threats from clients, however, and some stated that they felt safe
with johns. One sex worker from Denver, who traded sex since the 1990s, stated that johns were “nonthreatening”
throughout the course of her career (J9).
The demand for sex work has remained high across cities and time, and respondents indicated being able
to rely on clients as sources of income or other necessities. However, it was also noted that changes in the
street-based sex market caused sex workers to broaden their client base beyond those with preferred
financial circumstances. As the following section explores, interactions with clients—and specifically the
possibility of violence and abuse from clients—is one factor that make sex work particularly risky.
Risks and Violence Over Time
Existing literature has documented many of the hazards and risks sex workers are exposed to in their
work, and particularly those involving threats to their physical and emotional well-being (Brewer et al.
2006; Campbell et al. 2003; Farley and Kelly 2000; Farley et al. 2004; Kurtz et al. 2004; Maher and Daly
1996; Moses 2006; Potterat et al. 2004; Raphael and Shapiro 2004; Shively et al. 2008; Thukral and
Ditmore 2003; Wood et al. 2007).
Sex workers in this study were asked to identify the riskiest aspects of their sex work. By order of
frequency the following components were identified: law enforcement and the threat of detection; the
unpredictability of clients; the possibility of violence, rape, and death; sexually transmitted diseases and
other health hazards; and the risks involved with drug use and dependency.
Many sex workers felt that one particular risk was not more severe than others and instead pointed to a
combination of factors. A 36-year-old from Denver was asked, “What was the scariest thing: STDs, police,
violence or abuse” She responded, “They are all the same—all risky—because you never know. I’ve had
the guy take off the condom without telling me. And [law enforcement] stings, ‘cause I’ve had fourteen
convictions. I’ve gotten caught fourteen times” (J9). To the same question, another sex worker responded,
“It was the police and [the] tricks. One wasn’t scarier than another” (J3).
According to respondents, many of these risks have persisted over time. However, those working only in
the 1990s and 2000s resoundingly pointed to the threat of exposure to and arrest by law enforcement, the
unpredictability of clients, and the possibility of experiencing violence and abuse before, during, and after
dates as the primary risks they faced.
Health Risks
Respondents who worked in cities across the country discussed the health risks of their work, primarily
the threat of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS. Many witnessed the tragic
effect that AIDS had on their fellow sex workers’ lives. One Washington, DC-based sex worker described:
“I saw a lot of girls dying from AIDS, getting killed. The generation before me got sick and was dying. The
only medicine they had [at the time] was [azidothymidine]. But they didn’t want to take it. It was rough”
(L1).
Some individuals, including a 43-year-old from Dallas, attempted to intervene when she knew sex
workers were trading sex while STD- and HIV-infected. She explained, “If [young girls on street] are
spreading AIDS, then I would call the police on them. I saw a lot of girls spreading HIV and herpes and
syphilis in south Dallas.” When asked whether these young girls were using condoms, she responded “no.”
She added that these same sex workers “used IV drugs.” For this reason, she “[didn’t] really trick with
someone they done tricks with” (M4).
Many respondents relied on condoms as a precaution against contracting transmittable diseases and
viruses. As a 37-year-old sex worker from Seattle, who began trading sex in the 1990s, explained, “I feared
catching AIDS. I always used condoms, except with my regulars. But then I started making [regular
clients] do it [wear condoms], because of the AIDS epidemic. I never asked [clients] to see STD results; no
one does that” (K3).
The temptation to conduct sex work without a condom was real for a number of participants, since johns
typically paid more for sex acts in which no protection was used. As one participant from Denver
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