The experiences of prostitutes have been missing from studies of violence and rape, as has the problem of violence from studies of prostitution. Interviews here with 16 street prostitutes, most of whom are crack users, reveal an enormous amount of rape and violence against these women. Further, it is found that rape myths generally discussed in the literature uniquely come together around prostitutes to fuel both the violence and the devaluation that allows us to ignore such violence. Themes emerging from the interviews include: that people often see prostitutes as unrapeable; that no harm is done; that prostitutes deserve to be raped; and that all prostitutes are the same. This paper sees violence against prostitutes as an extreme case that sheds light on violence against women generally.
Rape myths and violence against street prostitutes
Reprints and Corporate Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:
Academic Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:
If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.
Related research
People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.
Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.
Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.