Physical Violence Victimization among Street Female Commercial Sex Workers in Arada sub city
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Date
2018-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study attempts to assess the different violence experiences of street commercial sex
workers, the type of physical violence they encounter, the perpetrators of such acts along with
the coping mechanisms of violence survivors. The study employed phenomenological qualitative
study design. The study is conducted in selected hot spot areas of Arada Sub City, with eight
street based commercial sex workers, aged 18-35 who are survivors of physical violence offence.
In order to collect the desired data, the researcher used in-depth interviews with primary
participants and key informant interviews with concerned stakeholders. The study finding
indicates that street based sex workers face mild to severe forms of physical violence repeated
times from regular clients, police and even intimate partners and other sex workers. Such
violence victimizations are usually associated with alcohol/drug, pornographic movies, client
refusals, nature of working site of street sex workers and the stigmatization and discrimination of
sex workers. The coping mechanisms of survivors after violence encounters seem to be immature
and ineffective. Victims do not report their cases to legal authorities because of the lack of trust
on police measures, absence of supportive evidence, fear of client retaliation, and failure to
trace their perpetrators. The study concludes that violence against sex workers is intensified by
the ambiguous legal status of sex work in the country and the stigmatized attitude towards the
profession, which necessitates improvement at individual, societal and structural levels. It is
recommended that further research should be conducted in the area to understand the different
features of sex work, added to the recurrent focus on the health aspect.
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Keywords
street commercial, sex workers