IV Jornada de Victimologia. Victimització en col·lectius de risc: prostitució Universitat de Barcelona, 16 de maig de 2013

1. Roger Matthews
University of Kent

2. •Wikipedialists prostitution as ‘A low‐level
victimless crime’
• Draws on liberal and libertarian approaches
that want to normalise prostitution
• Carole Pateman has provided an incisive
critique of liberal contract theorists
• Women involved in prostitution are amongst
the most victimised group of people in society
• Degree and type of victimisation experienced
will depend on whether they work on street or
off street or whether they are trafficked

3. 1. Violence from pimps partners and
punters.
2. Estimated 20‐40 more likely to be
murdered than women in the same age
group.
3. An estimated 70 women in UK
murdered over the last twenty years.
4. Violence not limited to women working
off street

4. 1. An estimated 60 per cent of women
involved in prostitution have experienced
child abuse
2. Child abuse linked to prostitution in two
ways
‐ devaluing of body and self
‐ runaways in order to avoid abuse and make
themselves vulnerable
3. Approximately one quarter of women
involved in street prostitution in the UK
have been through local authority care –
already marginalised and stigmatised

5. Sexual Health – Recurring problems
‐ Neurological
‐ Gastrointestinal
‐ Cardiovascular
Mental Health – Recurring reports
‐ Emotional distress
‐ Depression
‐ PTSD
‐ Intensification of drug use

6. Victimisation is socially and
geographically concentrated
One of the best predictors of future
victimisation is past victimisation
Women involved in prostitution tend to
experience a wide range of victimisation and
re‐victimisation over time
The disadvantage is that victimisation
tends to be compounded
The advantage is that there is a certain
predictablility that allows us to tackle
victimisation effectively

7. • The application of the label ‘victim’ is seen to
essentialise the person and removes agency
• In response some have suggested that the term
‘survivors’ is more appropriate
• The term survivors is no less essentialising and
importantly loses sight of the process of
victimisation.
• Taking on victim status is important for a number
of reasons:
‐ to develop a response and take action
‐ without victim status no culpability
Victimisation is not an act but a process of
action and reaction in which the person
becomes the primary definer

8. Nils Christie’s notion of the ‘ideal victim’
‐ weak in relation to the offender
‐ engaged in a legitimate activity
‐ unknown to the perpetrator
‐ essentially blameless
Richard Sparks’ notion of ‘victim proneness’
‐Regularly exposed to risky situations
‐ high visibility
‐ accessibility
‐ vulnerability
‐ impunity
The paradox is that women involved in prostitution tend
to score very highly on Sparks criteria but are less likely
to be seen as legitimate victims for the reasons outlined
by Christie.

9. • It has been argued that prostitution is more to with power than sex.
•As in cases of rape the key ingredients that determine whether sexual
intercourse was legitimate or an example of rape is determined by
considerations of coercion and consent.
•It has been assumed historically that women involved in prostitution give their
consent de facto
• Recently the issues of coercion and consent have been to be critical in
definitions of trafficking, and trafficked women have been identified as victims
in need of support
• Also, having sex with a trafficked woman has become a criminal offence in
some countries
• However there are many examples of the use of different forms of coercion and
situations in which the consent is not given freely
• It remains the case that many women involved in prostitution are subject to
forms of coercion and a lack of consent but are not recognised as victims and
purchasers are not seen as offenders.
• Women who are mentally ill and drug addicts or who are under 18 (children)
are hardly in a position to give their consent
• As Sparks has pointed out the sense of impunity is a key factor in this equation

10. 1. Decriminalise soliciting
2. Seeing women involved in prostitution as
victims rather than offenders in need of support
3. Increase sanctions against those who procure,
deceive or force women into prostitution
4. Make it illegal for any woman under 21 to be
involved in prostitution
5. Increasing sanctions against those who exploit,
coerce, intimidate or threaten women
6. Responsibilise and reduce male demand
7. Promote exiting programmes
8. Enforce existing legislation properly that is
designed to limit the abuses associated with
prostitution.