Metrics details. Female sex workers are subjected to intense physical, sexual, and mental abuses that are well documented in the medical and public health literature. However, less well-studied are the mental coping mechanisms that are employed by women in this population to survive. The Stockholm Syndrome has been discussed in the news media as a potential phenomenon in this vulnerable population, but has not been formally studied.
From a previous retrospective qualitative analysis reviewing interviews with women in sex work throughout India, we found that the four main criteria for Stockholm Syndrome perceived threat to survival; showing of kindness from a captor; isolation from other perspectives; perceived inability to escape are present in narrative accounts from this population. Thus, we propose that Stockholm Syndrome should be considered as a contributing phenomenon with regard to the psychological challenges faced by female sex workers, and can likely help guide interventions accordingly.
Peer Review reports. An unusual phenomenon has been observed in female sex workers FSW around the world, many of whom have been kidnapped, trafficked, emotionally abused, sexually violated, physically exploited, and isolated from their families and the public.
When rescued by law enforcement and supported by non-governmental organizations, they refuse to testify in court against their traffickers. This has been reported in both the United States and England, and was a prevalent concern with leading anti-trafficking NGO staff in India, who author AK had interviewed [ 1 , 2 ]. We propose that a further explanation of this behavior is the Stockholm Syndrome, a phenomenon in which those held captive develop bonds with their captors in what is thought to be a survival and coping strategy [ 6 , 7 ].
Of note, the condition also has not been accepted as a true medical syndrome by the medical or psychiatric community, in part because of its rarity and the very specific vulnerable groups among which it has been documented. The Stockholm Syndrome has emerged as a pattern of behavior exhibited by those in situations of captivity, including hostage situations bank robberies; plane hijackings , abusive domestic relationships, and sexual abuse in children [ 8 , 9 ].
