413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

And I've had people, I've had to jump out of the car going on the freeway before to get out.
(M4)
Incidents like these led sex workers to conclude that sex work became more violent over the years. A sex
worker from Washington, DC who traded sex from the 1980s–2000s reflected upon how the levels of
violence have changed over time:
In 1990s, nobody was being killed. Back then, you were afraid of being beaten up and
robbed, but now they shoot you. To me, it’s much worse today. They used to throw bottles
at you and beat you up, but today, they have guns. If you weren’t afraid back then, you
should be afraid today. Today you hear through word of mouth about the killings. (L6)
Another sex worker, who worked from the 1970s to the late 2000s, compared the conditions of her early
work to the conditions of today’s street-based sex market. She noted that incidents of physical violence
grew over the years:
In my era, girls might get into a little fight. But lately, a lot of girls lose their life to the
street. I’ve been to more than ten funerals in the past few years. Back when I was out, they
were beat up maybe, but today there are girls getting murdered … Today its more of a
possibility that you’ll be murdered than in past. (L3)
For these reasons and more, many sex workers concluded that clients and street-based violence posed the
biggest threat to their well-being while trading sex. A 19-year-old individual who worked primarily in
Atlanta was asked what she was most afraid of while conducting this work. She responded, “The client,
really. I don’t know what’s coming through that door; I don’t know what they have in their pocket. They
can be nice and cool, and when done, flip out. I can’t get away. I’m naked” (N2).
These conditions also compelled a number of—though not all—sex workers to carry weapons of some kind
while on dates. Four had knives, two had guns, two had a taser, two had a stick or a bat, one had mace,
and one used other forms of security (figure 8.6). Many of the respondents who reported having or
stashing these weapons on dates also noted that they never had to use these weapons.
Figure 8.6 Protection and Security Used
Seven sex workers relied on other individuals to serve as security. A 22-year-old from Atlanta described
the system she used: “I always had security. It could’ve been a friend, homeboy, or another female …
They’d wait outside.” If a date was taking too long, she explained, the individual providing security would
bang on the door (N1).
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