A Border Context of Violence

Cepeda, Alice; Nowotny, Kathryn M.

doi:10.1177/1077801214557955

Cited by 19 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Juarez’s downtown area, known as the Zona Centro . 19 The Zona Centro is a commercial zone for the whole city, not just sex work. The bars and hotels where most of the sex work is done are scattered between markets, hair salons, restaurants, and other retail shops.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motherhood and Risk for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Female Sex Workers in the Mexico-US Border Region

Servin¹,

Reed

Brouwer³

et al. 2017

Sexual Trans Dis

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Background Globally, female sex workers (FSWs) have been identified as a high-risk group for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, as women of reproductive age, FSWs also have children. Few studies have investigated if financial responsibilities associated with motherhood increase women’s vulnerability to HIV and STIs among FSWs. Methods From March 2013 to March 2014, 603 FSWs ≥18 years of age were recruited from Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez (Mexico) to participate in a study assessing HIV/STI risk environments. Results Findings from logistic regression models indicate that FSWs who reported motherhood were more likely to report (in the past 30 days): a higher client volume (>30 clients) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]= 1.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.27–2.87) and always using alcohol right before or during sex with clients in the past 30 days (AOR=1.77; 95%CI 1.19–2.61). In contrast, they were more likely to report consistent condom use for vaginal or anal sex with clients (AOR-1.68; 95% CI 1.10–2.55), less likely to report using drugs right before or during sex with clients (AOR=0.38; 95%CI 0.26–0.56) and less likely to have tested positive for STIs at baseline (AOR=0.63; 95% CI: 0.43–0.91). Conclusions These results provide a glimpse of the complex relationship between motherhood and women who are sex workers. Understanding the convergence of motherhood and sex work and how this can influence a woman’s decision when engaging in sex work and affect her health, is essential to designing effective programs addressing reduce risk for HIV and STIs among FSWs in this region and elsewhere.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motherhood and Risk for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Female Sex Workers in the Mexico-US Border Region

Servin¹,

Reed

Brouwer³

et al. 2017

Sexual Trans Dis

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“…Addressing violence against FSWs is a global public health priority [10]. FSWs routinely encounter both intimate partner violence and gender-based violence [10][11][12][13]. In the context of FSWs' lives, violence is not only initiated by clients and non-commercial partners, but other key actors in the sex work industry also commit such abusive acts, namely bar owners, police, and even other FSW [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…FSWs routinely encounter both intimate partner violence and gender-based violence [10][11][12][13]. In the context of FSWs' lives, violence is not only initiated by clients and non-commercial partners, but other key actors in the sex work industry also commit such abusive acts, namely bar owners, police, and even other FSW [12]. For FSWs working at geographic borders, financial need is often a major motivation to initiate sex work; in fact, many women that engage in commercial sex work are mothers with limited options for work, making the sex work industry a pathway to financial independence [12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the context of FSWs' lives, violence is not only initiated by clients and non-commercial partners, but other key actors in the sex work industry also commit such abusive acts, namely bar owners, police, and even other FSW [12]. For FSWs working at geographic borders, financial need is often a major motivation to initiate sex work; in fact, many women that engage in commercial sex work are mothers with limited options for work, making the sex work industry a pathway to financial independence [12][13][14][15]. However, to continue in sex work, these women may partake in alcohol and drug use to initiate encounters, as well as to help them cope with their experiences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Female Sex Workers’ Experiences of Violence and Substance Use on the Haitian, Dominican Republic Border

Hearld

Budhwani

Martínez-Órdenes

et al. 2020

Annals of Global Health

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Background: Female sex workers (FSW) are socially and economically marginalized, and this vulnerability can be exacerbated when they hold the intersectional identity of also being an immigrant, such as in the case of Haitian FSWs in the Dominican Republic. Objective: Considering that half of migratory young women and girls relocating across the Latin American and Caribbean region do so without their families, increasing the likelihood of experiencing abuses, our primary objective was to test the hypothesis that Haitian FSWs in the Dominican Republic have higher odds of being physically abused by sexual partners compared to Haitian FSWs in Haiti. Methods: We conducted bivariate analyses and multivariate analyses on 2014 Hispaniola Sex Workers Study (N = 232). Findings: Approximately 80% of Haitian FSWs in the Dominican Republic reported experiencing violence by a regular partner (80.3%), compared with 60.0% of Haitian FSWs in Haiti (χ 2 = 11.34, p < 0.001). Controlling for socio-demographics, substance use, childhood abuse, and sexual behaviors, Haitian FSWs in Haiti maintained lower odds of experiencing violence by a regular partner (OR:0.37, p < 0.01) and higher odds of experiencing violence from a coworker (OR:6.38, p < 0.001) compared to FSWs in the Dominican Republic. Using sex to avoid arrest is associated with higher odds of experiencing violence by a client and violence by a coworker (OR:2.18, p < 0.05; OR:3.74, p < 0.001; respectively). Accepting payment in the form of drugs/alcohol is associated with higher odds of experiencing physical violence by a regular partner but lower odds of experiencing violence by a client (OR:3.99, p < 0.05; OR:0.43, p < 0.05; respectively). Conclusions: Assuming health is a human right, then practitioners and scholars must actively collaborate to fortify vulnerable populations against injurious structural and sociocultural forces examining the intersectionality and compound effects of multiple stigmatized identities, in this study being an FSW and an immigrant, that moderate the potential positive effects of public health interventions.

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“…In Tijuana, women engaging in survival sex face an array of social problems that impede them from finding community. Research findings have indicated that two-thirds of women along the Mexico-U.S. border may be confronted by violent encounters with clients [6]. Drug use is also common within this population, and those who inject drugs have a high prevalence of STIs [12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women Trading Sex in a U.S.-Mexico Border City: A Qualitative Study of the Barriers and Facilitators to Finding Community and Voice

González

Brouwer

Reed

et al. 2020

Sexes

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Poverty and income inequality can increase a woman’s decision to engage in risky transactional sex, and may lead to unimaginable harms, such as violence, substance use, and human trafficking. This study examines the facilitators and barriers to finding community and voice among women trading sex in Tijuana, Mexico, and what factors, such as socio-structural support, violence, and substance use, may impact their potential to engage with others, including human service providers. Sixty qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with women trading sex in Tijuana, Mexico. Researchers met with participants for in-depth-face-to-face structured interviews. Data were coded using ATLAS.ti. Participants were aged 19–73 (mean: 37), 98% were of Mexican nationality, 90% reported trading sex independent of the control of others, with 58% identified as independent and street-based. Thirty percent of women trading sex reported substance use (excluding marijuana) and 20% reported injection drug use within 30 days. The majority reported no involvement in mobilization activities, but 85% expressed interest. However, barriers included stigma, cultural gender norms, partner violence, and privacy in regards to disclosure of sex trade involvement, moral conflict (revealing one’s involvement in sex trade), involvement in substance use, human trafficking, and feeling powerless. Facilitators were having a safe space to meet, peer support, self-esteem, feeling heard, knowledge of rights, economic need to support families, and staying healthy. Findings imply the potential to go beyond mobilizing limited groups of women in the sex trade and instead involve whole community mobilization; that is, to reach and include the more vulnerable women (substance use, trafficked) in supportive services (social services, exit strategies, better healthcare opportunities, and/or education for healthcare providers to help break societal stigmas regarding women in the sex trade) and to change the status of women in society in general.

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A Border Context of Violence

Cited by 19 publications

References 48 publications

Motherhood and Risk for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Female Sex Workers in the Mexico-US Border Region

Motherhood and Risk for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Female Sex Workers in the Mexico-US Border Region

Female Sex Workers’ Experiences of Violence and Substance Use on the Haitian, Dominican Republic Border

Women Trading Sex in a U.S.-Mexico Border City: A Qualitative Study of the Barriers and Facilitators to Finding Community and Voice

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