Thread by @CollectiveShout

*Content warning* Firsthand records of the physical damage to women in the sex trade.

Gynaecologist Liane Bissinger documented the wide range of serious physical impacts on the prostituted women she treated at her practice in Germany: prostitutionresearch.com/wp-content/upl… @DanielAndrewsMP

Prostituted women, far more often than the general population, are diagnosed with STIs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomonads, genital warts, syphilis, hepatitis and HIV @DanielAndrewsMP

Frequent vaginal rinsing led to destroyed pH levels in the vagina and destroyed vaginal fluid, resulting in infections, inflammation and an increased risk in cervical carcinoma @DanielAndrewsMP

Prostituted women often presented with tears, injuries, fissures and tearing of the anus and inside the rectum. Cystitis was a “daily occurrence” for many women, with some women reportedly taking antibiotics as a preventative measure @DanielAndrewsMP

Damage to the pelvic floor left some women with difficulty in retaining urine or faeces, irreversible damage due to repeated overextension and rapes @DanielAndrewsMP

Inflammation of the abdomen and ovarian tubes, which was so common Bissinger’s practice had special insurance forms for it, could cause so much pain it required hospitalisation, and often led to infertility @DanielAndrewsMP

Prostituted women would get pregnant by sex buyers, and some continued to ‘work’ until they gave birth @DanielAndrewsMP

Prostituted women face serious damage to their bowels, from frequent enema use in preparation for anal sex, an “inflamed digestive system” due to “frequent vomiting because of revulsion”, poor nutrition, eating disorders and nervous disorders @DanielAndrewsMP

Women in the sex trade suffered from oral illnesses affecting teeth, mouth and jawbone, as well as skin eczema, attributed to sex buyers’ lack of hygiene and “psychological revulsion” @DanielAndrewsMP

Women in the sex trade regularly experienced pain:

"Pain. Basically always and everywhere. Headaches. Through battering, tenseness, especially the cramping up of the shoulders and jaws through unendingly repeated oral practices (blow jobs). Throat ache. Pains from 'top to toe'."

"Often, women complained of pains in their hip joints (hours of the heavy weight of the punters and their violent thrusts)." @DanielAndrewsMP

"'Unclear abdominal pains', unclear, because the pain cannot be located in any specific organ or trigger, but is excruciating enough to consider surgery." @DanielAndrewsMP

Sleeping disorders were common, as the women did not have regular sleeping times. They often self-medicated with sleeping pills. Substance abuse was also commonplace, with women relying on nicotine, alcohol, medication & drugs in order to get through the day @DanielAndrewsMP

The violation of women’s health and safety is compounded, Bissinger says, “by the effects on their psyche, the traumatising, is often deeper, longer lasting, and harder to treat in comparison to the physical damage.” @DanielAndrewsMP

"The system of prostitution is contemptuous of women and of humanity, built on exploitation and cruelty, and it is mostly about exertion of power by men and about a maximum of profits." - Liane Bissinger

Does this sound like a job like any other? Why does the Vic government believe this abuse is legitimate work for Victorian women? @DanielAndrewsMP