TY - JOUR
T1 - Exposure to Police and Client Violence among Incarcerated Female Sex Workers in Baltimore City, Maryland
AU - Fehrenbacher, Anne E.
AU - Park, Ju Nyeong
AU - Footer, Katherine H.A.
AU - Silberzahn, Bradley E.
AU - Allen, Sean T.
AU - Sherman, Susan G.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA038499). The first author was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center and the University of California Global Health Institute (D43TW009343), as well as National Institute of Mental Health grants awarded to the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior (T32MH109205) and the UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (P30MH058107). Supplementary support was provided by the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research (P30AI094189). We thank the Sex Workers and Police Promoting Health in Risky Environments (SAPPHIRE) research staff, community advisory board, and the sex workers who participated in the study. We acknowledge the statistical support provided by Noya Galai, W. Scott Comulada, and Vania Wang; data collection and entry support provided by Miles Morris and Katelyn Riegger; and bibliographic support provided by Dhara Patel and Whitney Akabike.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Public Health Association Inc.. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/1
Y1 - 2020/1
N2 - Objectives. To determine the rate and correlates of incarceration among street-based female sex workers (FSWs). Methods. From April 2016 to January 2017, FSWs (n = 250) in Baltimore City, Maryland, were enrolled in a 12-month prospective cohort study. We analyzed baseline data and used zero-inflated negative binomial regression to model the incarceration rate. Results. Overall, 70% of FSWs had ever been incarcerated (mean = 15 times). In the multivariable analysis, incarceration rate was higher for FSWs exposed to police violence, non-Hispanic White FSWs, and women who used injection drugs daily. Risk for ever being incarcerated was higher for FSWs exposed to police or client violence, non-Hispanic Black FSWs, women who used injection or noninjection drugs daily, and those with longer time in sex work. Conclusions. Incarceration was associated with exposure to violence from both police and clients. Daily drug use and time in sex work appeared to amplify these risks. Although non-Hispanic Black women were at greater risk for ever being incarcerated, non-Hispanic White women were incarcerated more frequently. Public Health Implications. Decriminalization of sex work and drug use should be prioritized to reduce violence against FSWs. (Am J Public Health. 2020;110:S152-S159. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2019.305451).
AB - Objectives. To determine the rate and correlates of incarceration among street-based female sex workers (FSWs). Methods. From April 2016 to January 2017, FSWs (n = 250) in Baltimore City, Maryland, were enrolled in a 12-month prospective cohort study. We analyzed baseline data and used zero-inflated negative binomial regression to model the incarceration rate. Results. Overall, 70% of FSWs had ever been incarcerated (mean = 15 times). In the multivariable analysis, incarceration rate was higher for FSWs exposed to police violence, non-Hispanic White FSWs, and women who used injection drugs daily. Risk for ever being incarcerated was higher for FSWs exposed to police or client violence, non-Hispanic Black FSWs, women who used injection or noninjection drugs daily, and those with longer time in sex work. Conclusions. Incarceration was associated with exposure to violence from both police and clients. Daily drug use and time in sex work appeared to amplify these risks. Although non-Hispanic Black women were at greater risk for ever being incarcerated, non-Hispanic White women were incarcerated more frequently. Public Health Implications. Decriminalization of sex work and drug use should be prioritized to reduce violence against FSWs. (Am J Public Health. 2020;110:S152-S159. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2019.305451).
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U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.2019.305451
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.2019.305451
M3 - Article
C2 - 31967867
AN - SCOPUS:85078306627
SN - 0090-0036
VL - 110
SP - S152-S159
JO - American Journal of Public Health
JF - American Journal of Public Health
ER -