Female Sex Workers’ Experiences of Violence and Aggression from Sexual Partners

Abstract

Globally, cis-gender female sex workers (FSWs) bear a disproportionate burden of gender-based violence (GBV) with significant consequences on their physical and mental health and risk for mortality. A host of structural factors including norms that condone male violence against women, widespread criminalization of sex work, and lack of access to adequate support and healthcare pose formidable barriers for FSWs’ safety and well-being. There is an urgent need to develop violence prevention programs that recognize the complex factors that contribute to FSWs’ vulnerability while resisting viewing them as hapless victims but as agentic women that choose sex work for livelihood and make autonomous choices about their bodies and lives. This chapter presents a review of FSWs’ multifaceted exposure to violence from various sexual relationships and the impact of the violence on their overall health. Finally, this chapter underscores FSWs’ agency and the myriad strategies that they use to remain resilient in the face of adversity.