The mental health of female sex workers.

OBJECTIVE

There is limited information available about the mental health of female sex workers. Therefore, we aimed to make a comprehensive assessment of the mental status of female sex workers over different outdoors and indoors work settings and nationalities.

METHOD

As the prerequisites of a probability sampling were not given, a quota-sampling strategy was the best possible alternative. Sex workers were contacted at different locations in the city of Zurich. They were interviewed with a computerized version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Additional information was assessed in a structured face-to-face interview.

RESULTS

The 193 interviewed female sex workers displayed high rates of mental disorders. These mental disorders were related to violence and the subjectively perceived burden of sex work.

CONCLUSION

Sex work is a major public health problem. It has many faces, but ill mental health of sex workers is primarily related to different forms of violence.