Well, Vito used the word "women", not prostitutes. In the novel he tells Connie that "she never gave me reason to" in response to Connie's question about his ever hitting her mother. Thus, he considered that there were, indeed, reasons that he would hit her. Also in the novel he states that women are not competent in this world. Thus, his appraisal of women seems to be that women are useful and have their place. I would think that many women today would take umbrage at such an appraisal.