Caring for sex workers

Rekart, Michael L.

doi:10.1136/bmj.h4011

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 178 publications

(66 reference statements)

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“…Some sex workers are not registered with primary care doctors, and those who are may be reluctant to disclose their profession out of fears over confidentiality and judgment. 8 A growing number of specialist services across the UK have faced substantial funding cuts in recent years, mirroring wider cost savings and shifts in commissioning environments. 9 The withdrawal of local government funding for outreach and key staff positions in London and other UK cities threatens to seriously limit capacity to provide specialist, integrated care to sex workers (personal communication, Rosie Campbell, board member and joint academic representative, National Ugly Mugs).…”

Section: Role Of Specialist Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decriminalising sex work in the UK

Grenfell

Eastham

Perry

et al. 2016

BMJ

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Section: Role Of Specialist Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decriminalising sex work in the UK

Grenfell

Eastham

Perry

et al. 2016

BMJ

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“…Given the sex work industry's precarious nature, the health and well-being of sex workers should be of interest, yet this is frequently overlooked by researchers and policymakers (Reeves et al 2017;Sarafis, Igoumenidis and Tsounis 2013). In most countries, sex work is associated with stigma, trauma and violence (Krumrei-Mancuso 2017;Rekart 2015). It is also associated with health conditions such as sexually transmitted infections, drug dependency and mental health problems, which often amplify each other in an ongoing cycle of vulnerability (Krumrei-Mancuso 2017;Rekart 2015;TAMPEP 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex workers’ self-reported physical and mental health in Greece. A repeated cross-sectional study in 2009, 2013 and 2019

Drydakis

2021

Culture, Health & Sexuality

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Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but IZA takes no institutional policy positions. The IZA research network is committed to the IZA Guiding Principles of Research Integrity. The IZA Institute of Labor Economics is an independent economic research institute that conducts research in labor economics and offers evidence-based policy advice on labor market issues. Supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation, IZA runs the world's largest network of economists, whose research aims to provide answers to the global labor market challenges of our time. Our key objective is to build bridges between academic research, policymakers and society. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author.

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“…Despite high rates of chronic disease, reproductive health need, respiratory disease and health problems related to substance misuse [2,5,6], most clinical services for SSWs (and evaluations) predominantly focus on sexual health [7][8][9]. Street sex workers have often experienced extensive trauma including child abuse and domestic and sexual violence [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access to Healthcare for Street Sex Workers in the UK: Perspectives and Best Practice Guidance from the Frontline

Potter¹,

Horwood²,

Feder³

2021

Preprint

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Background: Street sex workers (SSWs) are a highly marginalised and stigmatised group who carry an extremely high burden of unmet health need. They experience multiple and interdependent health and social problems and extreme health inequality. Despite high levels of chronic physical and mental ill-health, there is little evidence of effective healthcare provision for this group. They are often considered ‘hard to reach’, but many individuals and organisations have extensive experience of working with this group.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of professionals who work with SSWs in the UK on their perspectives on their access to primary care, mental health, sexual health and drug and alcohol services, how well these services met the needs of SSWs and suggestions of best practice.Results: 50 professionals mostly from England, responded. Mainstream general practice and mental health services were found to be largely inaccessible to SSWs. Sexual health, drug and alcohol services and homeless health services better met their needs; this was mostly attributed to flexible services and collaborations with organisations who work closely with SSWs. The main challenges in providing healthcare to SSWs were services being inflexible, under-resourced services and services not being trauma-informed. Best practice in providing healthcare to SSWs includes- seamless partnership working between agencies with case worker support; peer-involvement in service development and engagement, a range of health provision including outreach, presence in community spaces and fast-track access into mainstream services; trauma-informed, gender-sensitive health services in a welcoming environment with flexible, responsive appointment and drop-in systems and consistent clinicians with specialist knowledge of substance misuse, mental health, domestic violence and homelessness.Conclusions: Access to healthcare for SSWs in the UK is highly variable but largely inadequate with regards to primary care and mental health provision. The examples of positive healthcare provision and partnership working presented here demonstrate the feasibility of accessible healthcare that meets the needs of SSWs. These need to be systematically implemented and evaluated to understand their impact and implications. As we build back from COVID-19 there is an urgent need to make accessible healthcare provision the norm, not the exception.

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Caring for sex workers

Cited by 17 publications

References 178 publications

Decriminalising sex work in the UK

Decriminalising sex work in the UK

Sex workers’ self-reported physical and mental health in Greece. A repeated cross-sectional study in 2009, 2013 and 2019

Access to Healthcare for Street Sex Workers in the UK: Perspectives and Best Practice Guidance from the Frontline

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