History of Sex Exchange in Women with a History of Incarceration

Abstract

Sex exchange among incarcerated women is not well-described in the literature. Sex exchange can lead to numerous adverse health outcomes, especially when combined with individual factors (e.g., depression and homelessness) and larger systemic inequalities. The purpose of this study was to explore factors associated with having a history of sex exchange among a sample of incarcerated women. Of 257 women surveyed in this study, 68 women (26.5%) reported a history of sex exchange. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, physical abuse history (p=.05, OR 2.20), history of two or more sexually transmitted infections (p=.01, OR 2.90), injection drug use (p=.04, OR 2.46) and crack-cocaine use (p<.01, OR 3.42) were associated with prior sex exchange. This is one of only two studies to examine factors associated with prior sex exchange among incarcerated women. Our study has important implications for corrections providers to provide more comprehensive care, directly addressing the unique needs of this population.

Identifying Health Experiences of Domestically Sex-Trafficked Women in the USA: A Qualitative Study in Rikers Island Jail

“…A qualitative study regarding jail-based contraception among incarcerated women on Rikers Island found that participants supported such services because incarceration was the only point of access for needed medical care, findings that echo the circumstances of the trafficked population in our study [17]. Furthermore, quantitative studies of the risk factors and health issues associated with incarcerated women with histories of sex exchange (of which trafficking survivors are a potential subset) suggest that identifying this history at the time of incarceration can be critical in coordinating appropriate care and post-release services for these populations [18,19].…”

Awareness and use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among people who engage in sex work presenting to a sexually transmitted infection clinic

“…8 In addition, there is considerable overlap between histories of sex work, substance use, and incarceration among women. 11 Given these risk factors, improved approaches to HIV prevention are needed among individuals who engage in sex work.…”

Linking women experiencing incarceration to community-based HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis care: protocol of a pilot trial

“…Women with criminal-justice involvement are among the most vulnerable and heavily impacted by HIV [1], consistently reporting high rates of both sex and drug risk behavior [2, 3, 62, 63]. The link between risk behavior and incarceration is unsurprising given that many of the behaviors that place women at risk for HIV, such as injection drug use and transactional sex, also put them at risk for incarceration.…”