Seeing the Shadow Women: The Hidden Victims of Prostitution

Abstract

A group of hidden victims of prostitution has been brought to light by Ingeborg Kraus, a trauma therapist in Germany, and Andrea Heinz, a woman with experience in the sex trade in Canada. Dignity has published four articles by these two writers in the last year. Their nascent body of work is uncovering important new information and perspectives on prostitution. Through their own experience and interviews with wives of sex buyers and women with sex trade experience they show us a more holistic view of the harm of prostitution. They write about the wives and families of men who are involved in prostitution. They describe how the shadow women suffer from the harm of prostitution. By broadening the analysis of the negative impact of prostitution on women and the community they conclude that legitimizing prostitution as sex work is a mistake that undermines our collective regard for women and their personal dignity and genuine sexual integrity.