FEMALE STREETWORKER PROSTITUTES IN GLASGOW - A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF THEIR LIFE-STYLE

The objective of this study is to describe the lifestyle of a group of female prostitutes. The collection of information was achieved by: (i ) using a self administered questionnaire; and (ii) conducting convers ational type interviews. Of 85 women attending a health care drop-in c entre for female street prostitutes in Glasgow, 63 completed the quest ionnaire and 72 participated in conversational interviews. For 63 wome n the mean age of commencement of prostitution was 21 years. Fifty-one (81%) were injecting drug users, their most commonly used drugs being heroin and temazepam. They worked a mean of 5.5 evenings per week and provided sexual services to a mean of 6.4 clients per working day. Le ss than half of these services were estimated to be vaginal intercours e. While 59/60 women indicated that they always used condoms during va ginal intercourse, this only applied to commercial sex; only 8147 (17% ) always used condoms with their regular sexual partners. Unconvention al sexual services, eg. voyeurism and physical abuse, were commonly pr ovided and clients were often violent. A typical female streetworking- prostitute in Glasgow was aged 25, unemployed, an injecting drug user and had commenced prostitution 4 years before. Her knowledge of HIV/AI DS was good and for vaginal intercourse she almost always used condoms with clients, though probably not with her regular partner. Her main concern was likely to be violence from clients.