Abstract
Women who trade sex for money or drugs experience extensive victimization and criminalization and could benefit from legal services. In this study, 91 women currently trading sex disclosed experiences of community, intimate partner, societal, and police abuse, and a history of arrests and incarcerations. The majority of respondents indicated a need for services to help with abuse, violence, and/or legal problems, yet they reported a low perceived need and even lower use of legal services. The women revealed a higher tendency of disclosing their legal and abuse history to spiritual, mental health, and addiction service providers, than to legal service providers. The most frequently reported barrier to their legal service utilization was mistrust of the police and legal system, in part due to prior negative experiences and their own criminal status. Other barriers included fearing and protecting their perpetrators, wanting privacy, and using substances. The implications of the criminalization of sex work are discussed with regard to its impact on female sex traders’ vulnerability to abuse and their use of legal services.
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