Negotiated Safety? Did Backpage.com Reduce Female Homicide Rates

Tjaden, Samantha; Makin, David A.

doi:10.1177/10887679221078966

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Under pressure from the Canadian government, Craigslist.com was forced to remove the erotic services section in 2010 [ 34 ]. In its wake Backpage.com became the dominant venue for sex work advertising in Canada [ 35 ]. In 2014 the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) [ 36 ] was enacted in Canada effectively outlawing online advertising and criminalizing the purchase of sexual services.…”

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confidence: 99%

The changing meaning of “no” in Canadian sex work

Kennedy

2024

PLoS ONE

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With the migration of sex workers to online advertising in Canada, a substantial body of research has emerged on how they communicate with prospective clients. However, given the enormous quantity of archival material available, finding representative ways to identify what sex workers say is a difficult task. Numerical analysis of commonly used phrases allows for the analysis of large numbers of documents potentially identifying themes that may be missed using other techniques. This study considers how Canadian sex workers communicate by examining how the word “no” was used by online advertisers over a 15-year period. Source materials consisted of three collections of online classified advertising containing over 4.2 million ads collected between 2007 and 2022 representing 214456 advertisers. Advertisers and demographic variables were extracted from ad metadata. Common terms surrounding the word “no” were used to identify themes. The word “no” was used by 115127 advertisers. Five major themes were identified: client reassurance (54084 advertisers), communication (47130 advertisers), client race (32612 advertisers), client behavior (23863 advertisers), and service restrictions (8545 advertisers). The probability of there being an association between an advertiser and a major theme was found to vary in response to several variables, including: time period, region, advertiser gender, and advertiser ethnicity. Results are compared with previous work on race and risk messaging in sex work advertising and factors influencing client race restrictions are considered. Over time, the restriction related themes of client behavior, service restrictions, and client race became more prominent. Collectives, multi-regional, cis-female, and Black or Mixed ancestry advertisers were more likely to use restrictions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The changing meaning of “no” in Canadian sex work

Kennedy

2024

PLoS ONE

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“…Online classified sites, for the first time, provided low cost or free advertising for independent sex workers which was correlated with a measurable reduction in violence against women (Buckmaster, 2009;Tjaden & Makin, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What was the effect of end demand legislation on Canadian sex worker populations?

Kennedy

2023

Preprint

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Sex work in Canada is rapidly evolving and this is reflected in where and how frequently sex workers advertise. The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) criminalized the purchase of sexual services in 2014. This study looks at the effect of this law using estimated sex worker populations based on classified advertising data. Data collected between December 9, 2022 and November 30, 2023 from one prominent classified advertising site used by contact sex workers in Canada is compared with data collected between November 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016 the two years following the introduction of PCEPA. Collected ads were analyzed to identify advertisers, names, and other demographic data such as ethnicity, gender, location and rates charged. Monthly and yearly population estimates are compared. Monthly, the mean estimated number of workers represented 84% of 2015 and 60% of 2016 estimates and, yearly, 88% and 77% respectively. In 2023, workers were typically White (52% of ads and 44% of advertisers) and cis female (89% of ads and 82% of advertisers). However, between 2016 and 2023 there were notable increases in the number of BIPOC and trans female advertisers. Advertisers increased in eastern Canada and the far north but decreased elsewhere. Median hourly rates increased from CAD$200 (IQR 160-250) in 2014-2016 to CAD$250, IQR 200-300) in 2022-2023. While most workers still engaged in contact sex work, a large majority of advertisers (61%, N=29308) have branched out to offer online services as well.

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Negotiated Safety? Did Backpage.com Reduce Female Homicide Rates

Cited by 2 publications

References 71 publications

The changing meaning of “no” in Canadian sex work

The changing meaning of “no” in Canadian sex work

What was the effect of end demand legislation on Canadian sex worker populations?

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