Sample characteristics of the baseline and follow-up respondents by work setting
| Off-street | Street | |||
| Baseline (n=107) | Follow-up (n=60) | Baseline (n=90) | Follow-up (n=35) | |
| Demographic characteristics | ||||
| Age in years, median, (IQR) | 30.0 (25.0–37.5) | 31.0 (26.0–37.3) | 38.0 (32.3–45.0) | 39.0 (33.5–47.5) |
| Race/Ethnicity | ||||
| People of colour (Asian, black, mixed/multiple ethnicities, other) | 20/106 (19%) | 7/58 (12%) | 30/88 (34%) | 16/34 (47%) |
| White | 86/106 (81%) | 51/58 (85%) | 58/88 (63%) | 18/34 (51%) |
| Nationality status | ||||
| Overseas national/refugee/asylum seeker/unknown | 42/106 (40%) | 16/58 (29%) | 9/89 (10%) | 3/35 (9%) |
| UK nationality/permanent residence/indefinite leave to remain | 64/106 (60%) | 41/58 (71%) | 80/89 (90%) | 32/35 (91%) |
| Sexuality | ||||
| Homosexual/Bisexual/Other terms/I do not use a term* | 52/105 (50%) | 33/55 (58%) | 29/88 (32%) | 11/34 (31%) |
| Heterosexual | 53/105 (50%) | 25/55 (42%) | 59/88 (68%) | 24/34 (69%) |
| Sex working characteristics | ||||
| Mainly work in East London (Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets) | 45/106 (43%) | 20/59 (34%) | 84/90 (93%) | 33/35 (94%) |
| Age at first sex work, median (IQR) | 24.0 (20.0–30.0) | 23.5 (19.0–31.0) | 20.0 (17.0–25.8) | 23.0 (18.0–27.5) |
| Years in sex work, median (IQR) | 5.0 (2.0–9.0) | 5.0 (3.0–11.0) | 16.0 (7.0–23.0) | 17.0 (11.5–22.0) |
| Number of days worked in last week, median (IQR) | 3.0 (2.0–5.0) | 2.0 (1.0–4.0) | 5.0 (2.3–7.0) | 3.0 (0.5–6.5) |
| Number of hours worked in last working day, median (IQR) | 6.0 (3.0–11.0) | 5.0 (3.0–7.3) | 6.0 (2.0–10.0) | 6.0 (2.5–8.0) |
| Safety strategies used in last 6 months | ||||
| Always work alone | 53/95 (56%) | 37/60 (62%) | 59/83 (71%) | 24/35 (69%) |
| Always screen and refuse clients | 38/95 (40%) | 22/60 (37%) | 31/83 (37%) | 9/35 (26%) |
| Always work where there is CCTV | 25/85 (29%) | 15/51 (29%) | 22/80 (28%) | 9/33 (27%) |
| Health indicators | ||||
| Depression and anxiety (PHQ-4 cut-point ≥6) in last 2 weeks | 37/107 (35%) | 30/60 (50%) | 64/90 (71%) | 24/35 (69%) |
| Ever attempted suicide | 25/103 (24%) | 13/57 (23%) | 49/88 (56%) | 22/31 (71%) 10 |
| Physical or mental impairment limiting daily activities in last 6 months | 32/103 (31%) | 25/60 (42%) | 50/88 (57%) | 20/35 (56%) |
| Alcohol use (AUDIT-C cut-point ≥5) | 40/105 (38%) | 26/60 (43%) | 31/89 (35%) | 11/35 (32%) |
| Current drug use (used recreational drugs in the last 4 weeks) | 43/104 (41%) | 29/58 (50%) | 82/90 (91%) | 33/33 (100%) |
| Daily crack or heroin use | <5/107 | <5/60 | 66/90 (73%) | 25/35 (71%) |
| Any STI among those testing | 9/46 (20%) | <5/6 | 8/51 (17%) | <5/11 |
| Chlamydia among those testing | 8/46 (17%) | <5/6 | <5/51 | <5/11 |
| Gonorrhoea among those testing | <5/45 | 0/6 | 7/51 (14%) | <5/11 |
| Violence by perpetrator in last 6 months | ||||
| Physical/Sexual violence from clients† | 38/105 (36%) | 18/60 (30%) | 65/89 (73%) | 23/34 (68%) |
| Any violence from intimate partners‡‡ | 19/105 (18%) | 14/59 (24%) | 49/88 (56%) | 14/34 (41%) |
| Any violence from other perpetrators‡ | 18/104 (17%) | 16/60 (27%) | 58/87 (67%) | 20/33 (61%) |
| Any police violence§ | 7/105 (7%) | <5/60 | 37/89 (42%) | 12/34 (35%) |
| Reported violence to police in last 6 months (n=any recent violence) | 7/69 (10%) | <5/43 | 14/80 (18%) | 6/29 (21%) |
| Historical police enforcement | ||||
| Ever arrested | 24/103 (23%) | 18/60 (30%) | 80/88 (90%) | 31/34 (91%) |
| Ever been to prison | 6/105 (6%) | 7/59 (12%) | 61/88 (69%) | 23/32 (72%) |
| Ever detained by immigration officers | 8/105 (8%) | <5/60 | 5/88 (6%) | <5/33 |
| Recent police enforcement variables (last 6 months) | ||||
| Displaced from working premises/area¶ | 7/106 (7%) | <5/58 | 68/88 (77%) | 22/35 (63%) |
| Items confiscated by police | 0 (0%) | <5/60 | 33/89 (37%) | 10/34 (29%) |
| Client arrested | <5/106 | 0/59 (0%) | 28/87 (32%) | 8/31 (26%) |
| Been referred to social or health services** | <5/104 | <5/59 | 14/86 (16%) | 9/35 (26%) |
| Stopped, interviewed or detained by immigration services/officers in the UK | <5/105 | 0/60 (0%) | <5/88 | <5/32 |
| Arrested, detained or charged for any reason by UK police | <5/103 | <5/60 | 43/87 (48%) | 14/33 (42%) |
| Arrested/cautioned/received warning/notice (sanctioned) | 6/106 (6%) | <5/60 | 62/89 (70%) | 19/35 (54%) |
| Experienced any law enforcement†† | 10/107 (9%) | 7/59 (12%) | 78/90 (87%) | 26/35 (74%) |
| Police presence in the area affected work in last 6 months through: | 6/101 (6%) | <5/59 | 67/89 (74%) | 24/33 (71%) |
| Deterred clients | <5/101 | <5/59 | 50/89 (56%) | 21/33 (64%) |
| Meant I had to rush negotiations with clients | <5/101 | 0/59 (0%) | 45/89 (51%) | 17/33 (52%) |
| Moved to new location/provided services away from main roads/in secluded places | <5/101 | <5/59 | 42/89 (47%) | 12/33 (36%) |
| Other structural determinants | ||||
| Homeless§§ in last 4 weeks | 7/106 (7%) | 10/60 (17%) | 58/89 (65%) | 19/34 (56%) |
| Ever evicted | 15/104 (14%) | 13/60 (22%) | 45/87 (52%) | 19/33 (58%) |
| Child taken into care (ever) | <5/104 | 5/58 (9%) | 30/85 (35%) | 8/31 (26%) |
| In arrears (at time of survey) | 36/98 (37%) | 29/59 (49%) | 39/68 (57%) | 14/27 (52%) |
| Difficulty paying usual expenses (at time of survey) | 57/107 (53%) | 33/60 (55%) | 66/90 (73%) | 24/35 (69%) |
| Healthcare access in the last 6 months | ||||
| Visited a sex worker support project | 36/107 (34%) | 22/60 (37%) | 43/90 (48%) | 21/35 (60%) |
| Receiving support for a mental health problem | 32/103 (31%) | 22/58 (38%) | 37/87 (43%) | 14/34 (41%) |
| Unmet mental health need (wanted treatment, but had not received it) | 29/101 (29%) | 20/59 (34%) | 46/87 (53%) | 19/35 (54%) |
<5 refers to categories with fewer than five individuals that cannot be combined. Denominators do not always sum to total due to missing data.
*Numbers in different categories across follow-up were too small to present separately without disclosure.
†Combines physical violence, hostage taking, removal of condom without consent, sexual assault, forced sexually degrading acts, rape.
‡Combines verbal abuse, physical violence and rape.
§Combines verbal abuse and intimidation from police, and police damage to property, physical violence, sexual assault from police, police demanding sex in exchange for no arrest or to avoid trouble, and rape by police officers.
¶Combines displacement from area where working and raided or evicted from living or working premises.
**Referral to services by police includes mandatory service referrals to avoid arrest (court diversion schemes) and is criticised as a policy of enforced welfare.32
††Combines displacement, sanction (issued with caution, notice, warning by police), confiscation of valuables, drug paraphernalia or condoms, referral to services, stopped/detained/interviewed by immigration officers, arrest, client arrest.
‡‡Combines abusive language, belittling or humiliating, scaring/intimidation, stalking, outing/threats to out, theft, physical violence, hostage taking, removal of condom without consent, sexual assault, forced sexually.
§§Homeless is defined as sleeping rough or living in unstable accommodation (eg, parent’s or friend’s home, sheltered or homeless accommodation).
AUDIT-C, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for Consumption; PHQ-4, Patient Health Questionnaire-4.