Survivors present the evidence alongside their experiences [upsetting content]
Those harmed in porn & prostitution are often told ‘it’s just work’. How do you square that with the extreme trauma experienced (even by those few women who weren’t groomed or trafficked and never encountered an abusive punter)?
The only possible explanation for this trauma then is that they just ‘weren’t strong enough’ to handle 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.
'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
Escaping - The Real Choice?
The data clearly indicates that the only real choice (ie: free, informed and made by an adult) is 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 unable to) 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, as it always has been, 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
Paying the Ultimate Price
- Women in street prostitution 60-100 times more likely to be murdered than average
- Murder rate highest where pimps & buyers legitimised Sex Industry Kills
- 60% say: ‘legitimising pimps/buyers did not improve safety’ Germany
The Buyers & Sellers
- Appalling attitudes/violence 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 sex is unwanted or coerced
The Wider Impact
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 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