The health of female sex workers from three industry sectors in Queensland, Australia

Previous studies have reported poor mental health amongst sex workers without distinguishing the context in which commercial sex is provided. This study describes the self-reported mental and physical health of female sex workers in three industry sectors in Queensland, Australia. In 2003, cross-sectional convenience sampling was used to collect data from 247 female sex workers working in licensed brothels (n = 102), as private sole operators (n = 103) and illegally (n = 42). The average age was 32 years (range 18-57), with most participants being born either in Australia or New Zealand. Overall, there were few differences in the physical health of women from different industry sectors. Illegal (and predominantly street-based) sex workers were four times more likely to report poor mental health with some of this difference attributable to the particular social background of this group. Much of the increased levels of poor mental health among illegal sex workers were associated with more negative experiences before, and subsequent to entering the sex industry. These patterns were not seen among women from the legal industry sectors. This research suggests that illegal, street-based sex workers, from whom many previous results have been derived, may show patterns of disadvantage, and health outcomes not seen in sex workers from other industry sectors.