Critical Issues and New Directions in Sex Work Research

Roth

Hallgrímsdóttir

et al. 2013

Int J Equity Health

Self Cite

IntroductionResearch on the intimate partnerships of female sex workers (FSWs) tends to focus on the risks associated with these relationships. This paper takes as its starting point that the situation of FSWs is better understood by including knowledge of the benefits of their intimate partnerships. Specifically, we employ the conceptual framework provided by emergent research examining intimacy as a complex fusion of affective and instrumental dimensions among sex workers. This perspective allows us to frame information about FSWs’ intimate partnerships within a behaviour-structural approach that is helpful for identifying how intimate partnerships can be a source of both benefit as well as increased risk to FSWs.MethodsOur results are based on a mixed-methods study carried out in the summer of 2011 in Kibera, Kenya. We conducted face-to-face interviews (n=30) with a non-probability sample of FSWs stratified by age who self-identified as Human Immune Virus positive (HIV+). We asked about participants’ involvement in current and past intimate partnerships, and whether these relationships had a positive or negative impact on their health and well‒being.ResultsParticipants currently in intimate partnerships had fewer clients and thus lower incomes than those without intimate partnerships. Participants presently with partners were also more likely to receive some financial support from partners, to report lower intimate partner violence, and to narrate higher partner emotional support and greater assistance with medications. These participants were also more likely to have disclosed their sex work and HIV+ statuses to their partners. Intimate partnerships, on the other hand, showed increased risk of economic vulnerability and emotional dependence for FSWs. This became especially problematic for those participants in fragile relationships. Despite these variations, none of the differences between the two groups were statistically significant.ConclusionsIntimacy and transactional relations are bound up with one another and intersect with the structural realities and vulnerabilities; this is the case for sex workers in well-resourced and resourced-constrained countries alike. Rather than treating intimate partnerships as distinct from transactional relationships, FSWs’ relationships should be viewed on a continuum of risk and support.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits and constraints of intimate partnerships for HIV positive sex workers in Kibera, Kenya

Roth

Hallgrímsdóttir

et al. 2013

Int J Equity Health

Self Cite

“…By emphasising aspects of sex work that resonated with common stereotypes, workers at PEERS gained social support for their work, while they actively participated in the reification of sex work stereotypes. For example, in order to secure funding in the current economic climate, which has prompted cutbacks to health and social services, workers at PEERS had often emphasised how their service group was associated with risks to public health, an assumption which is challenged by the sex industry literature (Benoit and Shaver 2006). Another implication of funding patterns for the organisation was that employment positions at PEERS were experienced as insecure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Courtesy stigma: a hidden health concern among front‐line service providers to sex workers

Phillips

Sociology Health & Illness

Hallgrímsdóttir

et al. 2011

Self Cite

Courtesy stigma, also referred to as 'stigma by association', involves public disapproval evoked as a consequence of associating with a stigmatised individual or group. While a small number of sociological studies have shown how courtesy stigma limits the social support and social opportunities available to family members of stigmatised individuals, there is a paucity of research examining courtesy stigma among the large network of people who provide health and social services to stigmatised groups. This article presents results from a mixed methods study of the workplace experiences of a purposive sample of workers in a nonprofit organisation providing services to sex workers in Canada. The findings demonstrate that courtesy stigma plays a role in workplace health as it shapes both the workplace environment, including the range of resources made available to staff to carry out their work activities, as well as staff perceptions of others' support. At the same time, it was evident that some workers were more vulnerable to courtesy stigma than others depending on their social location. We discuss these results in light of the existing literature on courtesy stigma and conclude that it is an under-studied determinant of workplace health among care providers serving socially denigrated groups.

“…In a situation in which there is no formal list of workers—and thus random sampling is not possible—the unique nature of the research team greatly aided the compilation of a diverse list of potential respondents, especially hard-to-reach indoor sex workers in the metropolitan area. The project has produced a number of peer-reviewed publications (Benoit, Jansson, Millar, & Phillips, 2005; Benoit & Shaver, 2006; Hallgrimsdottir, Phillips, & Benoit, 2006; Hallgrimsdottir, Phillips, Benoit, & Walby, 2008). …”

Section: The Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

In for the Long Haul: Knowledge Translation Between Academic and Nonprofit Organizations

Jansson¹,

Casey

et al. 2009

Qual Health Res

Self Cite

Although scientists are continually refining existing knowledge and producing new evidence to improve health care and health care delivery, far too little scientific output finds its way into the tool kits of practitioners. Likewise, the questions that clinicians would like to be answered all too rarely get taken up by researchers. In this article we focus on knowledge translation challenges accompanying a longitudinal research program with nonprofit organizations providing direct and indirect health and social services to disadvantaged groups in one region of Canada. Three essential factors influencing authentic and reciprocal knowledge transfer and utilization between nonprofit service providers and researchers are discussed: strong institutional partnerships, the use of skilled knowledge brokers, and the meaningful involvement of frontline personnel.