Sex Workers’ Experiences of Screening for Intimate Partner Violence

Objective

To examine experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) screening among women who sell sex.

Design

A qualitative descriptive study.

Setting

Telephone interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2020 to October 2020).

Participants

Women aged 18 to 49 years who sold or traded sex for food, drugs, money, or shelter at least three times during the past 3 months before recruitment (N = 22).

Methods

We used individual, semistructured telephone interviews to collect data about participants’ experiences with IPV and IPV screening during health care encounters. We used reflexive thematic analysis to examine these data.

Results

We identified two overarching themes related to IPV screening experiences: Preferences for IPV Screening and Barriers to Disclosure of IPV Experiences. Participants described a preference for IPV screening done face-to-face with providers who show a genuine interest in their responses. Stigma was a barrier of IPV disclosure.

Conclusion

Health care providers are a trusted safety net for disclosure of IPV experiences. Providing screening in a trauma-informed, nonstigmatizing manner may facilitate disclosure of IPV by women who sell sex. Future research among marginalized populations is needed to examine ways to address IPV in clinical settings with a harm reduction empowerment lens.