Experiences and HIV risk exposures of trafficked and non-trafficked sex workers in Poland

Objective: To compare the experiences of trafficked and non-trafficked sex-workers in Poland and to examine the relationship between trafficked status and HIV risk.;Methods: Case narratives of 32 Polish women who received services at an NGO in Katowice, Poland, were collected from existing case files. All women included in the study had a history of employment in prostitution either as a trafficked or non-trafficked sex worker. Narratives were analyzed for reoccurring themes among the sample relating to their exposure to known HIV risk factors including history of violence, sexual risk, and substance use. A chart abstraction was also conducted to describe the experiences and demographics of the two populations within the sample and to compare their exposures to known HIV risk factors.;Results: Narratives described the presence of violence from abusive parents in the childhood home, strong financial pressure to participate in commercial sex work and increase sexual risk, regular use of drugs and alcohol, poor mental health status, intimate partner abuse, and various types of violence related to commercial sex work. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between trafficked and non-trafficked sex workers related to the nature of their relationship to their family and their depression status. The two groups also differed significantly in respect to levels of physical abuse in the childhood home and commercial sex risk defined through commercial sex venue (brothel and on the streets), rape, ability to refuse a customer, and whether or not they were employed by a pimp.;Conclusion: While the experiences of trafficked and non-trafficked workers seem to overlap in many aspects, the results of this study suggest that they are distinct in regards to increased commercial sex violence towards trafficked women and the association of depression with the experience of being trafficked. Half of the trafficked population in the study had prior experience as a prostitute, suggesting that trafficking may be an occupational hazard for non-trafficked sex workers. Although the small sample size of this study holds limitations for generalizability, it motivates more research of the experiences of trafficked and non-trafficked women in Poland and greater Central and Eastern Europe.