Factors associated with violence against female sex workers in ten Brazilian cities Fatores associados à violência contra mulheres profissionais do sexo de dez cidades brasileiras Factores asociados a la violencia contra mujeres profesionales del sexo de diez ciudades brasileñas

Few studies in Brazil have focused on violence against female sex workers, a theme that has attracted researchers’ attention worldwide, especially due to possible associations with HIV. The current study aims to estimate the prevalence of violence against female sex workers according to type and perpetrator and to identify associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted with data on 2,523 female sex workers from ten Brazilian cities, and with the respondent-driven sampling (RDS). Prevalence of verbal violence was 59.5%, physical violence 38.1%, sexual violence 37.8%, intimate partner physical violence 25.2%, and violence by clients 11.7%. Factors associated with physical violence were age < 30 years (aOR = 2.27; 95%CI: 1.56-3.29), drug use (aOR = 2.02; 95%CI: 1.54-2.65), and price of trick ≤ BRL 29.00 or USD 9.00 (aOR = 1.51; 95%CI: 1.07-2.13). In conclusion, Brazilian female sex workers suffer a disproportional burden of violence. The identification of vulnerability factors is essential for interventions to safeguard human rights and control HIV. Sex Workers; Workplace Violence; Violence Against Women; HIV Correspondence F. S. S. Lima SQN 307, bloco F, apto. 307, Brasília, DF 70746-060, Brasil. [email protected] 1 Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brasil. 2 Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. ARTIGO ARTICLE doi: 10.1590/0102-311X00157815 Cad. Saúde Pública 2017; 33(2):e00157815 This article is published in Open Access under the Creative Commons Attribution license, which allows use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, without restrictions, as long as the original work is correctly cited.