Prostitution and It’s Unfortunate AftermathLife. . . the greatest adventure. This statement, so powerful yet for many teens whoenter the dark world of prostitution, it happens to be the furthest thing from the truth.
This life of despair can lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering (Farleywww. prostitutionresearch. com). Many teenagers resort to prostitution out of desperation.
The unfortunate popularity of teen prostitution has led to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,physical and emotional scars and health problems in the lives of these teens. The dark sideto the world of prostitution holds a no-win situation for most teens. Years filled with thescars left by suicide attempts, physical and mental abuse and the longing to get out of thespiraling web of this dark and lonely world. For most there are few answers, but for theones who truly seek to find the help maybe there still can be that great adventure calledProstitutes suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as CombatDisorder, thought by many to only be suffered by war veterans.
In reality though,prostitutes more commonly suffer from PTSD than war veterans(Zuger NY Times). “Theworld’s oldest profession may also be among it’s most traumatizing,” found Abigail Zugerof the New York Times. Studies show PTSD to be a direct result of sexual abuse(Giobbewww. prostitutionresearch. com).
Almost all prostitutes suffer some sort of sexual abusewhile working in the commercial sex industry. Very few say that their pimps andcustomers never use violence and abuse as a form of control(Bracy 36). For their own,morbid, entertainment, pimps will often force prostitutes to have sex with them or others,while they watch(Giobbe www. prostitutionresearch.
com). Furthermore, having manysexual partners does not help the situation any. Plenty of people have many sexualpartners, but prostitutes have hundreds of sexual partners. Many having five or more inone night. This in itself can be traumatizing and dehumanizing to anyone(Farleywww. prostitutionresearch.
com). Along with having many sexual partners, studies showthat 80% of prostitutes have been raped. Also, studies show an even more dejecting fact,the average prostitute gets raped eight to ten times a year(FarleyMoreover, emotional abuse also results in PTSD. This type of abuse can,sometimes, traumatize and be even more psychologically scarring than sexual and physicalabuse. In the world of prostitution, the pimps frequently emotionally abuse theprostitutes. The multiple threats on their lives and the constant humiliation that they sufferleads 75% of prostitutes in the escort service to attempt suicide, 15% of which completeit(Farley www.
prostitutionresearch. com). The pimps place fear in the prostitute tointimidate them as a form of control. They may also threaten the lives or threaten to injurethe lives of the prostitutes’ loved ones(Giobbe www. prostitutionresearch.
com). As manypeople already know, becoming a prostitute causes them to lower or compromise theirmoral standards. Along those same lines, when prostitutes get emotionally abused, theybecome stripped of all physical and emotional dignity and integrity that they oncehad(Giobbe www. prostitutionresearch.
com). In conclusion, studies show PTSD to be adirect result of both sexual and emotional abuse. When people choose to become prostitutes, they also choose to suffer the physicaland emotional scars of the profession with out even knowing it. People in the ring ofprostitution have to endure the pain of overwhelming amounts of abuse. They see a worldthat most of us never have to see.
These prostitutes suffer through numerous rapes bytheir pimps and customers. Along these same lines, prostitutes are also sexually harassed,suffer domestic violence and battery(Farley www. prostitutionresearch. com).
Dr. MelissaFarley Ph. D. , found that, “women who use cocaine and other drugs are lesspsychologically distressed than prostitutes who do not use drugs at all. ” Emotional scarstend to be left not only by rape, but also by the threats made on the prostitutes’ lives. Thepimps use male domination and take advantage of their “male privileges.
“Most pimpsabuse prostitutes as a form of punishment or “ownership). After the prostitutes have been”punished,” the pimps put feelings of guilt in them for whatever it was that they may havedone wrong”(Giobbe www. prostitutionresearch. com). Forced sexual activity has become another huge factor of the physical andemotional scars left by prostitution.
Pimps force their prostitutes to watch pornographyso that they may better learn the strategies of the job. Also, the pimps also force them tomake pornography for their entertainment and the entertainment of the customers. Furthermore, the pimps can be so sick that they force their prostitutes to have sex withthem .
