Citation

Antkowiak L, Boynton-Jarrett R, Chiang SS, Castellon D, Gilbert PB, Juraska M, Sox CM, Huang CC. Violence Vict. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/VV-2021-0002

PMID

37827582

Abstract

We conducted a comparative cross-sectional study to compare the prevalence of exposure to workplace violence and intimate partner violence (IPV) in 125 female sex workers (FSWs) and 125 age-matched control women working in other professions (non-FSWs) and their children in El Alto, Bolivia. Violence exposure was assessed using the Demographic Health Survey Domestic Violence Module. To determine associations between work type and violence exposure, we conducted multivariate logistic regression. One-third of working mothers experienced sexual IPV, regardless of their profession. FSWs experienced higher rates of severe physical IPV and workplace violence. Children of FSWs were approximately three times more likely to be exposed to violence in the workplace. In Bolivia, strategies to reduce exposure to violence within the home and in FSW workplaces are paramount to minimizing negative impacts on women and their children. These findings have implications for policies to improve education, living wages, and social interventions to prevent and mitigate violence against women and children.

Language: en

Keywords

workplace violence; intimate partner violence; Bolivia; child witness to violence; female sex worker