ABSTRACT
Building on the extensive research documenting the traumatic impact of prostitution on survivors, this paper addresses the opportunities and challenges facing prostituted women who seek public assistance from state family welfare programs and from the federal Social Security disability system. Prostituted women often face complex risks to their safety, must struggle to recover trust in a world that has offered them no protection in the past, and at the same time find a way to survive materially. This paper details the public assistance eligibility issues that may affect prostituted women's ability to gain access to program benefits, how a woman's prostitution history might bear on her ability or willingness to comply with program requirements, and how the process of applying for benefits can serve as a vehicle for a survivor's recovery. The author further recommends reforms of existing assistance programs to better serve the needs and interests of prostitution survivors.