PERPETRATION OF VIOLENCE BY FEMALE SEX WORKERS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA: 'WE WILL CRUSH THEIR BONES'

Br J Criminol. 2020 Sep 10;61(1):104-122. doi: 10.1093/bjc/azaa058.

Abstract

There is a small but important body of literature on female sex workers' (FSWs) violence towards others, but little of that focused on low- and middle-income countries. Drawn from a larger biobehavioural study of FSWs in three cities in Papua New Guinea, we analyse the interviews from 19 FSWs who reported having perpetrated physical violence towards four major groups: (1) ex-husbands; (2) clients; (3) other sex workers and (4) other people (mainly women). Our study demonstrates that FSWs' use of violence arises from a complex set of social, material and gendered circumstances and cannot be addressed in isolation from other aspects of their lives.

Keywords: Papua New Guinea; female sex workers; perpetrator of violence; violence; women.