Survivors present the evidence alongside their experiences [upsetting content]
Those harmed in porn & prostitution are told ‘it’s just work’. How do you square that with the extreme trauma experienced (even by those who freely chose it and never experienced punter violence)?
The only possible explanation is that they just ‘weren’t strong enough’ for this kind of ‘work’.
Knowing the reality, can help reduce this stigma because, unfortunately, being deeply harmed in the sex industries is the norm, not the exception.
Read one Thing
In 2024 the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women compiled a report on prostitution. She had approached the issue with an open mind but focussed (unusually) on speaking with survivors. Her report paints a damning picture of the industry across the world, regardless of how it is regulated or how and why women enter it:
Choice?
The sex trade is usually ‘chosen’ by those already abused and vulnerable – often while underage. It is certainly never an informed choice – not a single person in the industry has ever entered it knowing the harms or risks involved. Is that a genuine, free and informed choice or a total failure to protect the most vulnerable?
- 60% of women in prostitution sexually assaulted as a child Global
- 33% spent time in care Home Office
- 60% beaten to the point of injury by a care giver as a child Global
- 75% of those in prostitution have been homeless Global
- 55%-90% report childhood abuse prior to entry Global
- 45% report childhood sexual abuse in the UK Home Office
- 50% (possibly up to 75%) entered sex trade as a child Home Office
- 70% say childhood abuse influenced their decision to enter Global
The Real Choice
The evidence shows that the only real choice (ie: free, informed and made by an adult) that the vast majority in the sex trade would make is to get out. Although this can be done relatively swiftly with the right support, this is rarely provided. Without this, the barriers can be overwhelming. This leaves many trapped in the industry far longer than they want (or might even survive):
- 50% coerced to remain in sex trade UK
- 50% have debts, making it hard to leave UK
- 40% have no formal qualifications, making it hard to leave UK
- 67% have a criminal record (50% directly due to prostitution) UK
- 50% have a substance dependency UK
- 77% are experiencing homelessness/housing problems UK
- 90% would choose to escape (but feel trapped) Global
- 85% want to escape where pimps & buyers decriminalised New Zealand Government
- Exiting is highly achievable with appropriate support UK
Harm in the industry
Decades of evidence from across the globe clearly shows that ‘the oldest profession’ is, always has been and always will be, inherently harmful and almost invariably violent, regardless of any and all attempts to regulate it:
Violence in prostitution is ‘near pandemic’ APPG on Prostitution
- 50% UK women in prostitution raped/seriously sexually assaulted Home Office
- 50% women in indoor prostitution experience punter violence UK
- 70% of women in prostitution physically assaulted Global
- 65% of women in prostitution threatened with a weapon Global
- 60% of women in prostitution raped Global
- [most raped multiple times]
- 60% of women/transwomen in prostitution endure traumatic brain injury North America
- [The same as for professional boxers]
- Harms of strangulation [normalised in porn/prostitution] J Sex & Marital Therapy
- Harms of anal sex for women [normalised by porn/prostitution] Guardian
- Multiple and extreme physical harms of sex trade Gynaecologist
- How Prostitution “Safety Systems” Fail Women
Paying the Ultimate Price
- Women in street prostitution 60-100 times more likely to be murdered than average
- Murder rate highest where pimps/buyers legalised/decriminalised Sex Industry Kills
- 60% say: ‘legalising pimps & Johns did not improve safety’ Germany
The Buyers & Sellers
- Attitudes of Buyers and Sellers Global
- Pimps control through threat, intimidation & violence J Violence vs Women
- 25% sex buyers feel entitled to anything from women they buy UK
- 50% of sex buyers believe women they buy have no rights UK
- Most sex buyers fully aware the sex they buy is unwanted or coerced
The Wider Impact
- Sex Buyers more abusive towards all women
- USA: Sex buyers 8 times more likely to rape
- South Africa: Sex buyers more likely to rape
- Global: Sex buying – major indicator of rape UN
- Pornography – major contributor to male abuse of women UK Government
Scale & Cost of the Industry
- 100,000+ estimated to be in the UK Sex Trade
- 150 women/week supported by Scottish services
- £2billion/year – cost of prostitution to the UK
- £1.7 billion/year – cost of sexual slavery to the UK
- £200,000/year – cost of ‘decriminalised’ zone in Leeds
- £7,000/woman/year – to end street prostitution in Ipswich
- 2:1 ROI when demand ended and exit support provided
- €2.35mil seized from pimps within 4 years France
The Consequences
The impact of sex without desire and of turning sex into a transaction (let alone the high levels of violence, exploitation and abuse within the industry) are extreme and long term:
- High levels of mental health disorders
- Multiple mental health harms in all forms of industry
- Extreme harm to mental health, even if entered into voluntarily
- Emotional damage persists long after escaping
- 70% experience PTSD – the same level as state torture victims
- Dissociation, denial, cognitive dissonance, trauma bonding
- 95% in street prostitution ‘problematic drug users’ Home Office
- Dissociation – A standard survival mechanism