The problems associated with street prostitution affect not only the prostitute, but also the community in which he or she works. Prostitution reinforces the perception of women as objects that can be bought and sold at a price.
Prostitutes often suffer physical and sexual abuse, drug addiction and low self-esteem.
Alienation from society, societal labeling, criminal records, addiction to drugs, lack of marketable skills and low self-esteem all work to prevent prostitutes from leaving the trade. Residential and commercial areas are also subject to problems associated with prostitution. Community groups argue that prostitution creates traffic congestion, noise, litter, and harassment of residents and declining property values. Residents who live in the midst of prostitute-infested areas feel threatened, particularly when johns proposition mothers and daughters who live in those neighborhoods or when sexual transactions are performed in parked cars near schools. It is not only that curb-crawling and prostitution are simply the causes of decline, but it may well be that they are attracted to areas where decline and social disorganization are already taking place.