The National Task Force on Prostitution estimates that approximately one percent of American women participates in prostitution (Prostitution, 2004). This includes prostitutes who work on the street and those who work off the street. A common factor among prostitutes working on the street is drug abuse, which affects about 50 percent of these women, most of whom used drugs before becoming prostitutes. Drug use is much less common among prostitutes who work off the streets. The ratio of on-street to off-street prostitution varies with the city, on-street prostitution being from 10 percent to 20 percent in larger cities such as Los Angeles and New York, but as high as 50 percent in smaller towns which have fewer indoor venues such as saunas, massage parlors, and in-call escort services.
It is estimated that between 35 percent to 85 percent of prostitutes are survivors of incest or early sexual abuse (Prostitution, 2004). A study of 130 street workers who engaged in prostitution for survival found that 80 percent had been physically abused. Researchers suggest that in general, prostitutes suffer from negative identities or lack of self-esteem. However, other studies have shown that call girls and brothel workers often have higher self-esteem after they become prostitutes. As many as 97 percent of call girls in one study liked themselves better after taking up the profession.
A disproportionate number of prostitutes who are arrested are women of color, although only a minority of female prostitutes are women of color (Prostitution, 2004). From 70 percent to 80 percent of prostitutes in most cities are female, and the remainder male, although in San Francisco it has been estimated that roughly 25 percent of the female prostitutes are transgender. Only from three percent to five percent of sexually transmitted diseases are passed on by prostitutes, and there is no evidence that HIV/AIDS is transmitted from prostitutes to...