Sexual Exploitation as a Minor, Violence, and HIV/STI Risk among Women Trading Sex in St. Petersburg and Orenburg, Russia

Lianne A. Urada, Maia Rusakova, Veronika Odinokova, Kiyomi Tsuyuki, Anita Raj and Jay G. Silverman
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Lianne A. Urada: Department of Medicine, Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0507, La Jolla, CA 92093-050, USA
Maia Rusakova: Department of Sociology, St Petersburg University, Universitetskaya Emb., 7–9, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia
Veronika Odinokova: Sociological Institute, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, st. 7th Krasnoarmeyskaya, 25/14, St. Petersburg 190005, Russia
Kiyomi Tsuyuki: Department of Medicine, Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0507, La Jolla, CA 92093-050, USA
Anita Raj: Department of Medicine, Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0507, La Jolla, CA 92093-050, USA
Jay G. Silverman: Department of Medicine, Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0507, La Jolla, CA 92093-050, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a major risk factor for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted infections (HIV/STI), violence and other health concerns, yet few studies have examined these associations in Russia until now. This study examines the prevalence of CSE (those entering the sex trade as a minor) among women in the sex trade in Russia and how exposures and behaviors related to violence and HIV/STI structural risks differ from those who entered the sex trade as an adult. Women in the sex trade ( N = 896) in St. Petersburg and Orenburg, Russia were recruited via time-location sampling and completed structured surveys. Adjusted logistic regression analyses assessed associations between CSE victimization and HIV risk-related exposures. Of the 654 participants who provided their age at first sexual exploitation, 11% reported CSE prior to age 18. Those who reported CSE were more likely to be organized by others and to be prohibited from leaving a room or house and from using condoms; three-quarters experienced rape when trading sex; a third were involved in pornography before age 18 and they had less education if they entered the sex trade as a minor. In adjusted analyses, those entering the sex trade as a minor were significantly more likely than those entering the sex trade as an adult to report drug use prior to age 18 (AOR = 5.75, 95% CI = 2.53–13.09) to have ≥5 clients/day (past 12 months; AOR = 3.55, 95% CI = 1.56–8.08), to report receiving police assistance (AOR: 3.10, 95% CI = 1.26–7.54), and to have fewer experiences of police extortion (AOR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.10–1.24). They were four times more likely to participate in pornography before the age of 18 (AOR = 4.08, 95% CI = 1.32, 12.60) and three times more likely to have been sexually abused as child (AOR = 2.93, 95% CI = 1.27, 7.54). Overall, entry as a minor was related to greater risk for victimization and an inability to protect oneself from STI/HIV.

Keywords: child sexual exploitation; human trafficking; sex trade; violence victimization; HIV; Russia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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