Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress

Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress offers the reader an analysis of prostitution and trafficking as organized interpersonal violence. Even in academia, law, and public health, prostitution is often misunderstood as "sex work." The book's 32 contributors offer clinical examples, analysis, and original research that counteract common myths about the harmlessness of prostitution. Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress extensively documents the violence that runs like a constant thread throughout all types of prostitution, including escort, brothel, trafficking, strip club, and street prostitution. Prostitutes are always subjected to verbal sexual harassment and often have a lengthy history of trauma, including childhood sexual abuse and emotional neglect, economic discrimination, rape, and racism. International in scope, the book contains cutting-edge contributions from clinical experts in traumatic stress, from attorneys and advocates who work with trafficked women and children and prostituted women. A number of chapters address the complexity of treating the psychological symptoms resulting from prostitution. Others address the survivor's need for social supports, substance abuse treatment, peer support and culturally relevant services. Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress examines: The connections between prostitution, incest, sexual harassment, rape, and battering Clinical symptoms common among those in prostitution, including dissociation, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and substance abuse Peer support programs for women escaping prostitution Culturally relevant services for women escaping prostitution The connection between prostitution and trafficking, including trafficking from Mexico to the United States, and prostitution of adolescents in Cambodian brothels Online prostitution How gay male pornography harms gay men Accessing public assistance funds for survivors