clinical psychologist and researcher and feminist anti-pornography and anti-prostitution activist. Farley is best known for her studies of the effects of prostitution
, trafficking
, and sexual violence
.
Since 1993, Farley has researched prostitution and trafficking in several countries. She is the author of several studies of prostitutes, which claim high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder
among the women studied.
In a 2003 paper summarizing prostitution research carried out in locales in nine countries (Canada, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United States, and Zambia), Farley and others interviewed 854 people (782 women and girls, 44 transgendered individuals, and 28 men) currently active in prostitution or having recently exited.
For many women, the experience of prostitution stems from the historical trauma of colonization. --Farley, M, Lynne, J, and Cotton, A (2005) Prostitution in Vancouver: Violence and the Colonization of First Nations Women. Transcultural Psychiatry 42: 242-271.
Within the gendered institution of prostitution, race and class create a hierarchy with indigenous women at its lowest point. --Farley, M, Lynne, J, and Cotton, A (2005) Prostitution in Vancouver: Violence and the Colonization of First Nations Women. Transcultural Psychiatry 42: 242-271.
Prostitution myths justify the existence of prostitution, promote misinformation about prostitution, and contribute to a social climate that exploits and harms not only prostituted women but all women. - Cotton, A, Farley, M and Baron, R (2002) Attitudes toward Prostitution and Acceptance of Rape Myths. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32 (9): 1790-1796.