The slayings of 22-year-old Christiana Fesmire and another woman in Lewiston this summer reveal an ugly problem that remains largely hidden — violence against women in the sex trade.

Lewiston and State Police arrested Buddy Robinson on Friday and charged him with Fesmire’s murder. Her body has not been recovered.

While there is no indication in court records that Robinson had sex with Fesmire, his sister was reportedly her “madame” and ran a small prostitution ring.

Police say crime-scene analysis revealed Fesmire was killed in her apartment and that Robinson wrapped her in a blanket and dumped her in a swamp.

In July, another Lewiston man was charged with killing a 38-year-old woman whose body was stuffed into the basement of the man’s apartment building.

Police say Bob W. Ryder, 20, killed 38-year-old Danita Brown of New Gloucester. Ryder told police he became enraged when he caught Brown stealing money from his wallet.

Both Fesmire and Brown were drug users and prostitutes, according to police and court records.

Early this year, the remains of another Maine woman working as a prostitute around New York City were found on a Long Island, N.Y., beach, along with the bodies of several other women.

The public image of prostitutes is most often shaped by TV and the motion-picture industry.

The 1990 movie Pretty Woman told the story of a dashing businessman who falls in love with a beautiful but unpolished prostitute. He emerges a better, more balanced person and she gets the opportunity for a new life.

The fairytale ending couldn’t be more improbable. The life of a prostitute is usually a deepening cycle of fear, violence, drug abuse, arrest, homelessness and illness.

Meanwhile, crimes against sex workers — including beatings, rapes and kidnappings — are rarely reported to police. When they are, studies show many police departments do not take complaints by prostitutes seriously.

One study found that women who had been sexually abused as children are nearly 28 times more likely to become prostitutes.

Drug abuse and prostitution are nearly inseparable. Studies have found that 40 to 85 percent of prostitutes were either trading sex directly for drugs or for money to buy drugs.

According to court documents, both Fesmire and Brown’s lives roughly fit the pattern of drug use and prostitution. Both also seemed to have had many real friends who cared about them and worried when they disappeared.

Two similar deaths in such a short period is likely a warning that a growing drug problem will lead to increased violence against women.

What’s more, breaking the cycle of drugs, prostitution and violence is extremely difficult. Jail becomes a revolving door that tends to reinforce rather than change behavior.

We desperately need more research and better information to gauge the dimensions of the problem in Maine.

These two deaths suggest the money and time would be well-spent.

rrhoades@sunjournal.com

The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.