Melissa Farley born is an American clinical psychologist , researcher [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] and radical feminist anti-pornography and anti-prostitution activist. She is the founder and director of the San Francisco-based organization, Prostitution Research and Education.
Farley, a clinical psychologist for over 45 years, has consulted with agencies, governments, medical centers, advocates for women in prostitution and trafficked women. Farley's research on the trafficking and prostitution of Indian women [ 6 ] is the source of a character, Vera in the acclaimed historical novel The Night Watchman.
Since , Farley has researched prostitution and trafficking in 14 countries. She has written many studies reporting high rates of violence and post-traumatic stress disorder among women employed in the sex trade. In a paper summarizing prostitution research in nine countries Canada, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the US and Zambia , Farley and others interviewed people cisgender women and girls, 44 transgender people and 28 cisgender men [ 9 ] currently active in prostitution or having recently left.
In a paper on San Francisco street sex workers one of the populations included in the nine-country study , Farley and co-author Howard Barkan reported a notable history of violence in the lives of those surveyed.
In September , Farley published a book on prostitution and sex trafficking in Nevada. She found Las Vegas in particular a major destination for sex traffickers.
