Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Urban female exotic dancers are thought to experience unique risk for violence and barriers to care, though limited research has focused on this aspect of urban sex industries.
Both forms of violence were correlated with arrest, sex trade, substance use, and childhood abuse. Violence-related help-seeking intentions were highest for club management.
Intentions to seek help from police and violence-related support hotlines were lowest among those with recent experiences of violence. Recent violence, particularly from intimate partners, was pervasive in this sample of female exotic dancers, and enabled by substance use, criminal history, and sex trade. Preferences for help within venues, rather than the justice sector and publicly funded support services, indicate the need for systems reform to meet the needs of this high-risk group of women.
The USA is home to approximately exotic dance clubs with an annual revenue of over 15 billion dollars [ 1 , 2 ]. EDCs are unique occupational settings that generally feature stage dancing with no physical contact and can be home to illegal activity including drug activity and purchase of sexual services [ 3 ].
Research focused on the health and safety of exotic dancers or entertainment workers in urban settings illustrates hazards spanning substance use and sexual risk behavior [ 3 β 7 ]. A limited body of work suggests that the EDC environment can enable violence victimization and pose barriers to engagement with the public infrastructure for justice and violence-related care.
