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. 2014 May;104(5):e42-54.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.301909. Epub 2014 Mar 13.

A systematic review of the correlates of violence against sex workers

Kathleen N Deering  1 , Avni Amin, Jean Shoveller, Ariel Nesbitt, Claudia Garcia-Moreno, Putu Duff, Elena Argento, Kate Shannon
Affiliations

A systematic review of the correlates of violence against sex workers

Kathleen N Deering et al. Am J Public Health. 2014 May.

Abstract

We conducted a systematic review in June 2012 (updated September 2013) to examine the prevalence and factors shaping sexual or physical violence against sex workers globally. We identified 1536 (update = 340) unique articles. We included 28 studies, with 14 more contributing to violence prevalence estimates. Lifetime prevalence of any or combined workplace violence ranged from 45% to 75% and over the past year, 32% to 55%. Growing research links contextual factors with violence against sex workers, alongside known interpersonal and individual risks. This high burden of violence against sex workers globally and large gaps in epidemiological data support the need for research and structural interventions to better document and respond to the contextual factors shaping this violence. Measurement and methodological innovation, in partnership with sex work communities, are critical.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Screening flowcharts of how studies were chosen to examine the prevalence and factors shaping risk of sexual or physical violence against sex workers globally, by (a) the original set of studies in June 2012 and (b) the updated set of studies in September 2013.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Violence prevalence estimates for all included studies, including violence committed against sex workers by any or combined perpetrators. Note. All prevalence estimates came from studies that assessed correlates of violence bivariately or multivariably; studies that included only prevalence estimates were not specifically searched for, and thus this set of studies is an underestimate of the total violence prevalence estimates available in the literature.
FIGURE 3—
FIGURE 3—
Violence prevalence estimates for all included studies, including (a) workplace violence committed against sex workers (i.e., violence committed within the context of sex work, such as by police, clients, pimps, madams, etc.) and (b) violence committed against sex workers by an intimate or other nonpaying partner. Note. All prevalence estimates came from studies that assessed correlates of violence bivariately or multivariably; studies that included only prevalence estimates were not specifically searched for, and thus this set of studies is an underestimate of the total violence prevalence estimates available in the literature.
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References

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