Executive Summary
The Williams Institute analyzed data from the state of Pennsylvania about individuals with criminal cases alleging HIV-related Prostitution and Related Offenses: “prostitution,” “promoting prostitution,” and “patronizing prostitutes.” Our analysis reveals that
- Since 2015, there have been at least 78 HIV-related criminal cases for prostitution or patronizing prostitutes, averaging 7.8 cases per year over 10 years. Cases declined from 10 per year in 2015 to zero cases in 2022 but rose again in 2023 and 2024, averaging eight cases per year across those two years.
- Of the three offense types, prostitution (targeting the alleged person selling sex) constituted nearly all (94%) of the cases. The remainder (6%) was for patronizing prostitutes (targeting the alleged client).
- Due to limitations with the available data, we were unable to determine if the HIV-specific promoting prostitution charge has been used.
- About one in seven (14%) cases with a final disposition (closed cases) resulted in a conviction of some kind.
- All of the cases that ended in a conviction began with an HIV-related prostitution charge. None of the cases alleging patronizing prostitutes led to a conviction of any kind.
- Among the nine cases that resulted in convictions, two-thirds had at least one HIV-related conviction; the remainder had non-HIV-related convictions.
- The average age at arrest for individuals convicted of HIV-related offenses was 46 years old, compared to 30 years old for those convicted solely of non-HIV-related offenses arising from HIV-related Prostitution and Related Offenses.
- Cases were roughly evenly divided between white and Black defendants, who together made up about 80% of all cases. An additional 12% of cases involved Asian/Pacific Islander (API) defendants, while 8% had missing or incomplete race information. (Hispanic/Latino ethnicity was collected separately from race information. We are unable to separately count non- Hispanic white people in the data.)
- Across cases with a conviction, 53% of people were white, 22% were Black, and 22% were API.
- White (56%) and API (22%) defendants were overrepresented in convictions for HIV-related offenses relative to their share of PLWH in Pennsylvania (29% and 1%, respectively).
- Women were the majority of people accused in Prostitution and Related Offenses cases— making up 53% of all individuals with criminal cases and 67% of convictions stemming from HIV-related offenses, despite representing only 28% of people living with HIV (PLWH) in Pennsylvania.
- Women accounted for the majority of HIV-related prostitution cases (56%) and were overrepresented relative to their share of the PLWH population. However, men were disproportionately impacted by HIV enhancements in prostitution cases. Although men made up only 14% of prostitution cases overall, they represented 37% of cases with HIV enhancements.
- All cases including a charge for patronizing prostitutes with available gender information involved men. None of these cases resulted in standing convictions.
- Six of the nine people with a conviction of any kind stemming from Prostitution and Related Offenses cases were women. When looking just at convictions involving HIV-related charges, the split was even between women (50%) and men (50%).
- White and API women were disproportionately represented in HIV-related Prostitution and Other Related Offenses cases. Despite comprising only 5% of PLWH in the state, white women accounted for 29% of prostitution-specific HIV criminal cases. Similarly, API women made up just 0.2% of PLWH but represented 10% of HIV criminal cases.
- These disparities continue at the conviction stage, where white women account for 33% of total convictions and 33% of convictions for HIV-related offenses specifically. Additionally, API women accounted for 22% of all convictions and 17% of convictions for HIV-related offenses.
- Enforcement is geographically concentrated in southeastern Pennsylvania, with Philadelphia, the state’s most populous county, accounting for the largest share (40%) of all cases.