Cross-sectional study finds high depression and substance use among female sex workers, highlighting the need for trauma-informed harm-reduction interventions.
Key Points
To examine the prevalence of depression and substance use among female sex workers to inform gender-sensitive, trauma-informed social work interventions.
Assessed N=126 female sex workers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Administered the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test.
Depression prevalence was 73.0% among participants.
High rates of substance use were identified, particularly for tobacco, amphetamines, and opioids.
Depression was significantly associated with the use of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, and opioids (P ≤ 0.05).