The experience of “accumulated disadvantages” among women involved in prostitution

Abstract

The negative consequences of prostitution include sexually transmitted infections, all types of violence, psychological trauma and ruined social life. Empirical research demonstrates the high variability of the negative consequences of prostitution, depending on which group of women the researchers have turned their attention to. An increase in negative consequences (“accumulation of disadvantages”) limits future opportunities for conventional development of trajectory and contributes to the stabilization of the deviant life trajectory. We assumed that the amount of the negative consequences depends on the trajectory of entering into prostitution and the actual conditions of being in prostitution. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of child and adolescent experience of women engaged in prostitution on the amount of negative consequences they accumulated, considering other factors (such as age and the circumstances of entering in prostitution and actual conditions of being in prostitution). Women involved in prostitution (n = 896) in St. Petersburg and Orenburg took part in the study. The results demonstrated that the amount of the negative consequences is largely determined by previous events in life, such as the experience of child neglect, early sexual experience, an early start of alcohol and drugs use, and the actual conditions of prostitution (with or without organizer). The accumulation of negative consequences is accompanied by repeated attempts to exit prostitution and the growth of social exclusion of women. The “accumulation of disadvantages” in prostitution is preventable, if the resources of social protection systems are mobilized to prevent the involvement of girls in prostitution and to support women in prostitution.