To Report or Not to Report? A Systematic Review of Sex Workers’ Willingness to Report Violence and Victimization to Police

Sample size and characteristics

The sample size of the included studies ranges from 31 to 367 participants, with an average sample of 108.5 participants. The studies varied in terms of the gender of the studied population. Four of the studies researched ciswomen, cismen, and transgender sex workers (Benoit et al., 2016; Klambauer, 2018; Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018; Stardust et al., 2021). Two studies researched ciswomen and transwomen sex workers (Krüsi et al., 2016; McBride et al., 2020). Two studies only researched ciswomen sex workers (Katsulis et al., 2010; South African Litigation Centre, 2016), and the last study exclusively researched transgender sex workers (Lyons et al., 2017). Overall, in all included studies, at least 65% of the participants identified as ciswomen sex workers.

All studies demanded direct physical contact with clients but vary in the type of sex work that is included. Both indoor and outdoor sex workers were included in most studies, except the study of Krüsi et al. (2016), which exclusively researched street-based sex workers.

Research design

The included studies used a variety of research designs. Most of the included studies (n = 6) used a qualitative design with semi-structured in-person interviews and/or focus groups (Benoit et al., 2016; Katsulis et al., 2010; Klambauer, 2018; Krüsi et al., 2016; Lyons et al., 2017; Stardust et al., 2021). Two studies used an exclusively quantitative design with questionnaires (McBride et al., 2020; South African Litigation Centre, 2016). Only one study used a mixed methods design by combining quantitative questionnaires and qualitative in-depth and focus group interviews (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018).

Country and legal system

Almost half of the selected studies (n = 4) were conducted in Canada (Benoit et al., 2016; Krüsi et al., 2016; Lyons et al., 2017; McBride et al., 2020) where end-demand legislation ³ was implemented in 2014. Before 2014, buying ⁴ and selling ⁵ sex in Canada was legal, only organizing ⁶ sex work was penalized by the law. Two of the selected studies were conducted in Europe, more specifically England (Klambauer, 2018) and the Netherlands (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018). At the time of the study, selling sex in the United Kingdom was legal (except for Northern Ireland), while buying and organizing sex work was illegal. In the Netherlands, sex work is legalized, whereby specific regulations are applicable, exclusively for sex workers (e.g., working license). One of the studies was conducted in Australia (Stardust et al., 2021), where states and territories apply a wide variety of prostitution laws and regulations. For example, in New South Wales, sex work is fully decriminalized, whereas brothels in South Australia are fully criminalized. One of the included studies was conducted in Mexico where the sex work industry is legalized but subject to several legislative requirements, such as health cards and licenses for sex work establishments (Katsulis et al., 2010). The final study was conducted in Zambia, where buying and selling sex is legal, but the organization of sex work is a crime (South African Litigation Centre, 2016).

Fear of punishment

Regardless of the prevailing legalities, fear of punishment is one of the most common motivations for not reporting victimization to the police. Sex workers fear that reporting crimes perpetrated against them could result in they themselves being prosecuted, or having to face financial penalties, on account of their own crimes related to their work or for drug use (Benoit et al., 2016; Katsulis et al., 2010; Klambauer, 2018; Lyons et al., 2017). The fear of punishment is also connected to the legal status of the sex worker, inadequate knowledge of the legal system concerning sex work, and/or possible substance abuse. This is especially pertinent for sex workers whose work is illegal, or who are unlicensed, whose fears of prosecution may have greater consequences (Stardust et al., 2021). This is also likely to apply for those with ambiguous immigration status or sex workers who are registered drug users (Katsulis et al., 2010). The discretion of police officers (i.e., the decision whether or not to arrest or fine a sex worker) as well as uncertainty about laws and regulations can cause high levels of insecurity among sex workers (Benoit et al., 2016) and further decreases the likelihood that sex workers would report being the victim of a crime (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018). In the Netherlands, for example, there are very few licensed workplaces for male and transgender sex workers, which decreases the willingness to report victimization for fear of being charged for working illegally in the industry (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018).

Klambauer (2018) showed how all migrant sex workers who were not from the European Union, reported high levels of fear about being deported (Klambauer, 2018). Similarly, Stardust et al. (2021) found that migrant sex workers avoided any contact with police, fearing that disclosing their occupation would lead to the police referring them to the immigration authorities. The results of McBride et al. (2020) also clearly show that migrant sex workers were much less likely to report victimization to the police compared to all other participants (12.7% and 38.2%, respectively), despite experiencing a higher risk of work-related violence (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018).

Fear of maltreatment

Trust in the police among sex workers is very low (Benoit et al., 2016) and is in itself an important factor in the unwillingness to report crimes (McBride et al., 2020). Sex workers do not expect fair treatment by police officers and fear unpredictable and negative outcomes when contacting them (Klambauer, 2018). This fear of maltreatment by police can be categorized as the second main motivation and is strongly linked to the stigma they feel is associated with their occupation (Benoit et al., 2016). It is striking that even in countries where sex work is (partially) legalized, sex workers fear maltreatment at the hands of the police (Katsulis et al., 2010; Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018).

First, sex workers fear that they will not be taken seriously, or helped by police officers, if they were to file a complaint (Benoit et al., 2016; Klambauer, 2018; Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018; Krüsi et al., 2016; South African Litigation Centre, 2016; Stardust et al., 2021). Sex workers are also concerned that police officers would rather believe the statements of clients (or those reported for the crimes) and would therefore be unwilling to help them (Klambauer, 2018). In the studies of Kloek and Dijkstra (2018) and Klambauer (2018), participants even mentioned the refusal of police officers to register a sex workers’ complaint. Participants in the studies of both Lyons et al. (2015) and Stardust et al. (2021) reported that the inaction of police, which they mostly anticipated, reinforced their feelings of being deserving of the violence they encountered. This feeling is strongly linked to the next fear that creates a barrier for sex workers to file a complaint after being the victim of a crime, more specifically, the fear of victim blaming.

The fear of victim blaming was reported by participants in three of the included studies (Krüsi et al., 2016; Lyons et al., 2017; South African Litigation Centre, 2016). As noted above, sex workers often see violence as “part of the job,” a feeling that is likely compounded by a stigmatized and inconsiderate attitude from the police. Stigmatized thinking, such as “sex workers bring that kind of violence on themselves,” “sex workers cannot be raped,” and “it is what they deserve for choosing this occupation,” only contributes to feelings of discrimination and legal alienation. ⁷

Sex workers in several studies reported that police officers treated them as undeserving of citizenship rights and basic dignity (Benoit et al., 2016; Klambauer, 2018; Krüsi et al., 2016; Stardust et al., 2021). Stigmatizing and discriminatory treatment, and attitudes toward, sex workers by police, such as, for example, the myth that sex workers are “unrapeable” (Stardust et al., 2021, p. 9; Sullivan, 2007) undermine sex workers’ confidence in them, and therefore creates a high threshold for sex workers to report victimization (Benoit et al., 2016; Stardust et al., 2021). As one of the participants in the Benoit et al.’s (2016, p. 465) study expressed:

The discredited status afforded to sex workers in the criminal justice system acts as a blue ceiling that stops sex workers from approaching police for help and limits the fair treatment of sex workers who report crimes against them.

A final aspect that conditions the fear of maltreatment was most explicitly reported by the Zambian study, namely the fear of police brutality (South African Litigation Centre, 2016). In this study, 90% of participants reported experiences of violence from police, or other parties, during working hours. Unfortunately, the study is unclear about what the actual prevalence of police violence against sex workers is, as the numbers are conflated with violence from other parties, such as clients; however, the fact that it is highlighted in the study suggests it has some importance. Equally, the study undertaken in Mexico mentions several, mostly outdoor, sex workers who experienced police violence and police corruption. A similar story emerges in Katsulis et al.’s (2010) study of migrant sex workers in Australia who reported police officers demanding free sexual services to avoid any legal consequences, both in respect of sex work and their potentially illegal status (Stardust et al., 2021). This physical, emotional, and sexual victimization of sex workers by police is also confirmed in the study of Dewey and St. Germain (2014, p. 265), where sex workers in Denver, Colorado, notably describe the “unnecessarily rough treatment during arrest.”

Fear of exposure

Sex workers place a high value on their anonymity which serves as a strategy to avoid violence (e.g., stalking and extortion) and stigma from judicial authorities, official institutions, and friends and family. This can be disturbed if a complaint to the police is filed (Stardust et al., 2021) and one’s occupation is revealed to the authorities and possibly to friends and family (Benoit et al., 2016; Klambauer, 2018; Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018; Stardust et al., 2021). In particular, sex workers who do not have a working license find it essential to remain anonymous from judicial authorities and to not risk prosecution, eviction, and/or other legal consequences (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018).

Previous studies have suggested that experiences with, and fear of, stigma and discrimination as a result of concealing one’s involvement in sex work, constitutes an important threshold against sex workers registering for health care and protective services (McCausland et al., 2022). One can assume that this fear of exposure also serves as a barrier to report victimization to the police.

Fear of impunity

Sex workers’ fear of impunity from offenders after reporting victimization was explicitly mentioned in two studies (Katsulis et al., 2010; South African Litigation Centre, 2016). Other studies made reference to this fear more implicitly, noting how “sex workers doubted whether reporting had made any sense at all” (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018, p. 44); or “it’s useless.” Some cited participants’ concerns over reporting crimes with the sentiment, “cause nothing’s gonna be done” (Lyons et al., 2017, p. 4) and because, “the law does not deliver justice” (Stardust et al., 2021, p. 10), all of which confirmed the sense of uselessness with which sex workers regarded reporting of victimization, that was experienced as a threshold that sex workers were unable to meet. The evidence strongly suggests that this feeling of impunity is a consequence of institutional discrimination and is confirmed by the low conviction rates for crimes of violence against sex workers. For example, courts have often interpreted the status of sex workers as one that implies consent for any sexual activities at any time, which denies their right to choose, ruling out the possibility of being the victim of an offence. Consequently, violators are not prosecuted (Anderson, 2004), and justice for the victims of violent crime is denied.

This has an important and perverse effect on the risk of violence against sex workers. Namely, those who commit (commonly violent) crimes against sex workers (namely, clients, other third parties, or police) know that sex workers will be reluctant to file a complaint. Such a situation where offenders have the knowledge that they can act with impunity and get away with it, increases the risk of violence against sex workers (Katsulis et al., 2010; Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018; McBride et al., 2020), and also generates a sense of normalization with regard to violence against sex workers (Krüsi et al., 2016; Lyons et al., 2017).

Being a sex worker

The type of sex work one is engaged in can often determine the levels of violence, trust toward the police, and thresholds that apply when filing a complaint to the police. For example, street-based sex workers are considerably more vulnerable to becoming a victim of violence, in comparison to indoor sex workers (Church et al., 2001; Deering et al., 2014; Kinnell, 2006; Sanders & Campbell, 2007). At the same time, several international studies concluded that street-based sex workers were more willing to contact the police when they were victims of a crime (Brooks-Gordon, 2006; Klambauer, 2018). Klambauer (2018), for example, found that street-based sex workers reported higher levels of trust in police, which arguably explained their increased propensity to report instances of violence. The same conclusion was drawn by Connelly et al. (2018), who suggested that street-based sex workers were more likely to report violence to the UK National Ugly Mugs, ⁸ compared to sex workers who work for escort agencies or with those who work independently. This overrepresentation might be explained by spatial factors: street-based sex workers are more visible to police and aid organizations, creating more opportunities for street-based sex workers to report victimization (Benoit et al., 2016; Connelly et al., 2018). Similarly, in comparison to sex workers that meet their clients at home, those who work in the Red-Light District are more willing to file a complaint or to approach the police in the Netherlands—the former fearing eviction from their homes if they reported victimization to the police (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018).

Being an (un)licensed sex worker

In comparison to illegal sex workers, those who work legally in the sex industry experience a more positive relationship with the police (Katsulis et al., 2010). We might reasonably expect that licensed, or legally working sex workers, are not as exposed to identified fears such as fear of punishment and fear of exposure, thus decreasing their threshold of reporting victimization to the police.

Being a male/female/transgender sex worker

One of the Canadian studies mentions the over-policing of female sex workers relative to those who identify as male and/or transgender (Benoit et al., 2016). Other studies, however, reported a higher risk of violence toward, and a greater reluctance to report crimes to the police, from male and transgender sex workers (Kloek & Dijkstra, 2018; Krüsi et al., 2016; Lyons et al., 2017). As alluded to above, there are few licensed workplaces available for male and transgender sex workers in the Netherlands, which constitutes a structural barrier to contacting the police. According to Lyons et al. (2017), transgender sex workers are confronted with multilayered forms of discrimination: stigma and violence as a sex worker, homophobia, and transphobia, which results in a triple layered intersectional level of discrimination. As Lyons et al. (2015, p. 5) state:

Lack of police response to violence against trans sex workers is firmly rooted within the context of criminalization, where sex workers are considered criminals, and within the context of transphobia, where trans persons are framed as deviant.

Being a migrant sex worker

Migration status is an important barrier to reporting instances of victimization to the police. Ambiguous residency increases the fear of arrest, deportation, related immigration charges, police brutality, and discrimination (Klambauer, 2018; Krüsi et al., 2016; McBride et al., 2020). According to the study of McBride et al. (2020), only 12.7% of im/migrant sex workers reported victimization to the police, in contrast to 38.2% of all participants. According to Fey (2019), this reluctance of migrant sex workers to contact the police can be explained by shorter term involvements, language barriers, and negative experiences with the police in the country of origin or previous countries of employment.

Being an ethnic minority sex worker

According to the studies of Krüsi et al. (2016) and McBride et al. (2020), indigenous sex workers in Canada have the lowest levels of trust in the police due to racialized policing and negative experiences when filing a complaint or contacting the police in the past. Although this group of sex workers in Canada experiences significantly more violence, their colonial experiences of intergenerational poverty and discrimination have led to a historical reluctance to contact the police and report victimization (Krüsi et al., 2016; McBride et al., 2020).

Being a drug-using sex worker

Sex workers who use drugs or other substances report increased levels of fear when considering whether or not to report victimization (Katsulis et al., 2010; Klambauer, 2018). Although they experience higher levels of violence from clients, their fears correlate most strongly with the desire to avoid prosecution for drug-related offenses.