PREVICT-SW: Protocol for a Quasi-Experimental Participatory Study to Prevent Violence Against Sex Workers
BP2-STS
- Molnar, Lorena ORCID University of Fribourg
- Hashimoto, Yuji Z. ORCID University of Fribourg
- 2026
Published in:
- Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work. - Informa UK Limited. - 2026, p. 1-28
English
Background: Sex workers experience disproportionately high levels of victimization, specifically violent and property-related offenses. However, victimological theory and empirically tested prevention strategies tailored to this population remain limited. While traditional frameworks, such as lifestyle and routine activity theories, provide population-level explanations, they insufficiently capture the structural, situational, and cumulative risks faced by highly vulnerable groups.
Methods: This study presents the protocol for a mixed-methods, longitudinal quasi-experiment conducted in the Swiss cantons of Fribourg and Neuchâtel, where no targeted victimization prevention programs for sex workers exist at the time of implementation. The project pursues two objectives: first, to identify risk factors and victimization trajectories in order to refine victimological theory; and second, to evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored, needs-based prevention program. Codeveloped with sex workers and stakeholders, the intervention integrates a multi-level approach based on sensitization, crime prevention, legal education, and psychosocial support.
By combining longitudinal and quasi-experimental methods, the study aims to advance victimological theory and provide critical evidence to inform practice, policy, and scalable prevention efforts.
Methods: This study presents the protocol for a mixed-methods, longitudinal quasi-experiment conducted in the Swiss cantons of Fribourg and Neuchâtel, where no targeted victimization prevention programs for sex workers exist at the time of implementation. The project pursues two objectives: first, to identify risk factors and victimization trajectories in order to refine victimological theory; and second, to evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored, needs-based prevention program. Codeveloped with sex workers and stakeholders, the intervention integrates a multi-level approach based on sensitization, crime prevention, legal education, and psychosocial support.
By combining longitudinal and quasi-experimental methods, the study aims to advance victimological theory and provide critical evidence to inform practice, policy, and scalable prevention efforts.
- Faculty
- Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines
- Department
- Département de travail social, politiques sociales et développement global
- Language
-
- English
- Classification
- Social work
- License
-
CC BY
- Open access status
- green
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1080/26408066.2026.2654498
- ISSN 2640-8066
- Persistent URL
- https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/335277
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