Table 1.

Select factors describing the sample of female sex workers in Vancouver, Canada, with valid responses to the outcome ‘average sex work income earned per week’ at their first survey administered. Median sex work income (interquartile range) is also provided, across social and environmental factors and sex work and drug use patterns.

Factors	Percent (N) N = 129	Median sex work income
Median amount earned from sex work per weekb		$300 ($100–$560)
Median amount spent on drugs per weekb		$400 ($150–$780)
Median amount earned per week through other incomea,b		$700 ($525–$1000)
Median numbers of clients per weekb		5.5 (2–13)
Age
<25 years	39.5 (51)	$500 ($200–$800)
25+ years	60.5 (78)	$200 ($100–$500)
Ethnicity
Caucasian	46.5 (60)	$435 ($145–$600)
Ethnic minority	53.5 (69)	$200 ($100–$500)
Currently homeless
Yes	40.3 (52)	$200 ($100–$650)
No	59.7 (77)	$300 ($140–$500)
Inject heroinb
Yes	44.2 (57)	$500 ($200–$800)
No	55.8 (72)	$200 ($100–$500)
Inject cocaineb
Yes	32.6 (42)	$300 ($100–$600)
No	67.4 (87)	$250 ($100–$500)
Inject/smoke crystal methb
Yes	18.6 (24)	$290 ($100–$800)
No	81.4 (105)	$300 ($150–$500)
Daily intensive crack smokingb
Yes	35.7 (46)	$500 ($200–$600)
No	64.3 (83)	$200 ($100–$560)
Receptive sharing of used pipe and/or syringeb
Yes	51.9 (67)	$225 ($150–$700)
No	48.1 (62)	$300 ($100–$500)
Had an intimate partnerb
Yes	45.8 (54)	$300 ($150–$500)
No	54.2 (64)	$300 ($100–$750)
Pressured into unprotected sex by clientb
Yes	29.4 (32)	$300 ($175–$580)
No	70.6 (77)	$300 ($200–$600)
Condoms always used by clientb
Yes	17.1 (21)	$350 ($200–$800)
No	82.9 (102)	$275 ($100–$560)
Exchange sex while on crackb
Yes	59.1 (65)	$300 ($150–$500)
No	40.9 (45)	$200 ($100–$500)
Solicit in main/commercial areasb
Yes	32.6 (42)	$500 ($200–$800)
No	67.4 (87)	$200 ($100–$500)
Solicit in alleys/industrial areasb
Yes	31.0 (40)	$300 ($100–$500)
No	69.0 (89)	$300 ($150–$600)
Service clients mainly in indoor public placesb
Yes	51.2 (66)	$212 ($100–$560)
No	48.8 (63)	$350 ($150–$600)
Service clients mainly in outdoor public placesb
Yes	33.3 (43)	$420 ($200–$600)
No	67.7 (86)	$200 ($100–$560)

^aIncludes government-administered income (welfare, disability, nutritional supplement), legal informal sources (binning, panhandling, partner’s income, under-the-table job), legal formal sources (temporary job, regular job) as well as non-legal sources (drug-related, i.e. dealing).

^bLast six months.