Published 30 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a908
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a908

Editorials

State violence towards sex workers

Police power should be reduced and sex workers’ autonomy and status raised

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Stigma affects health in many ways, and this is exemplified in sex workers, who are seen as suitable targets for violence.¹ Studies on transgender sex workers show they are routinely subjected to violence, public humiliation, and, not infrequently, murder.² Male transvestite sex workers are difficult to access³ and vulnerable in terms of public health and criminal justice policy; both of these facts have implications for the control of sexually transmitted diseases.⁴

The transvestite population is also vulnerable to HIV from silicon implanting and drug misuse,⁵ and to multidrug resistant tuberculosis.⁶ Few data are available on police violence towards female or transvestite sex workers, but non-governmental organisations in developing countries have reported police harassment or "social cleansing" of transvestite sex workers.⁷ Rigorous research is therefore needed to understand the precise context of this multiple vulnerability.

The linked qualitative study by Rhodes and colleagues (doi: 10.1136/bmj.a811) analysed 31 interviews with 24 . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Shannon, K., Kerr, T, Strathdee, S A, Shoveller, J, Montaner, J S, Tyndall, M W (2009). Prevalence and structural correlates of gender based violence among a prospective cohort of female sex workers. BMJ 339: b2939-b2939 [Abstract] [Full text]  

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