142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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“What makes you think you have special privileges because you're a police officer?” A qualitative exploration of police's role in the risk environment of female sex workers

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Susan Sherman, PhD, MPH , Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Katherine Footer, MsC, LLB , Epidemiology, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Samantha Illangasekare, PhD, MPH , Population Family Reproducitve Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Erin Pearson, MPH , Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Family Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Erin Clark, MPH, MBA , Population Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore
Michele R. Decker, ScD , Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Background: Globally, female sex workers (FSWs) have high rates of HIV.  Many factors that escalate their risk lay in the very environments in which they sell sex.  Police are a powerful contributor to their risk environment.

Objectives: To qualitatively explore FSWs’ interactions with police in their personal and professional lives, examining how this escalates HIV risk behaviors. 

Methods: In 2012, adult women in sex work (n = 35) in Baltimore, MD participated in an  open-ended structured interview. Topics discussed included entry into sex work, the nature of their sexual relationships, sexual behaviors, violence, and police. 

Results: The study found 20% reporting police harassment (e.g., followed/pestered, entrapment, extorted for information and sex) in the month prior to being interviewed. Women described significant tension in police interactions, with police often sexually propositioning FSWs both on and off-duty. Additionally, FSWs experienced significant barriers to justice for crimes committed against them. As described by one participant, “I'm very afraid to get into those situations [sexual violence] because the police don't look at us as victims when we're raped and when we're beaten.”

Discussion: This work confirms the role of police in the structural risk profile of FSWs.  The study underscores the need for targeting police in reducing sex workers’ HIV and other risks, necessitating discussions between public health and public safety.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Explain the nature of female sex workers encounters with police that contribute to their HIV risk environment.

Keyword(s): Violence & Injury Prevention, Police Brutality

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I helped to analyze the data and wrote the abstract. I have 15 years of experience with qualitative data analysis and HIV prevention research with drug users and sex workers.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4093.0: Privilege, power and partnership: Sexual identity, public safety and transactional sex