Reimagining Sex Work Venues: Occupational Health, Safety, and Rights in Indoor Workplaces

Abstract

The setting in which sex workers live and work is a critical element shaping health outcomes, in so far that different venues afford different sets of risk and protective factors. Understanding how contextual factors differ across venue types and influence health outcomes is thus essential to developing and supporting programmes promoting the rights and safety of people in sex work. In this chapter, we focus primarily on indoor workplaces, with the goals of: (1) elucidating unique social, economic, physical, and policy factors that influence the well-being of sex workers in indoor workplaces; (2) highlighting sex worker-led efforts in the Thai context through a case study of the organisation Empower Thailand; (3) describing best practices for indoor settings; and (4) developing a framework of key factors that must be addressed to improve the rights and safety of sex workers in indoor workplaces, and to support their efforts to organise. The chapter draws attention to convergences and divergences in key challenges that sex workers encounter in indoor venues in different global contexts, as well as opportunities to advance comprehensive occupational health and safety programmes. Indoor venues pose important potential for establishing and implementing occupational health and safety standards in sex work and also may provide substantial opportunity for collective organising given the close proximity of people working together. However, any efforts to improve the health and safety of sex workers must explicitly address the structural conditions that lead to power imbalances and which undermine sex worker agency and equality.

Understanding the Diversity of People in Sex Work: Views from Leaders in Sex Worker Organizations

“…Some strategies involve collaborating with supportive allies across sectors, such as youth-serving organizations or substance-use harm-reduction organizations, and drawing on a variety of networks and resources (Belle-Isle et al 2014;Vijayakumar et al 2019). Moreover, sharing resources helps to enhance educational opportunities to learn about labor rights, increasing access to the justice system, advocating against the criminalization of labor, protesting against labor reforms, and building capacity among politicians, medical personnel, and law enforcement on sex workers' occupational needs (Dziuban and Stevenson 2018;Fedorkó et al 2021;Foley 2019;Sex Workers' Rights Advocacy Network 2015;West et al 2021).…”

“…Access to health and social services for people in sex work in their communities is challenged by the stigma of their work; their disadvantaged social locations, which are due to poverty, racial, sexual minority, and disability statuses; their economic marginalization; and the criminalized frameworks that surround their occupation (Benoit et al 2018;Benoit and Unsworth 2022;Foley 2019;Vijayakumar et al 2019). The role of SWOs in supporting the inclusion of sex workers from diverse backgrounds has been shown to effectively address social and health inequities, improve quality of life, and enhance sex workers' wellbeing (Belle-Isle et al 2014;Benoit and Unsworth 2022;Swendeman et al 2015;West et al 2021).…”

An Evaluation of Indoor Sex Workers’ Sexual Health Access in Metro Vancouver: Applying an Occupational Health & Safety Lens in the Context of Criminalization

“…Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is a broad term used to refer to "any issue, task or condition in a workplace that may impact on the health and wellbeing of the people who are working there" [1]. In the context of in-person sex work, OHS is helpful in understanding sex workers' health, safety, and wellbeing in a holistic way and through a labor rights framework.…”

“…In the context of in-person sex work, OHS is helpful in understanding sex workers' health, safety, and wellbeing in a holistic way and through a labor rights framework. Through an OHS lens, we may consider workplace accessibility, adequate work hours and breaks, repetitive stress injuries, mental health, and access to a variety of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), as just a few examples of occupational concerns important to sex work [1]. The use of an OHS lens also provides an opportunity for a more nuanced assessment of sex workers' sexual health concerns and realities.…”

“…Collaborative indoor venues pose significant potential for establishing and implementing occupational health and safety best practices in sex work and may provide substantial opportunity for collective organizing and peer support [1]. Prior Canadian research has demonstrated the potential of indoor work spaces as 'enabling environments' for sex worker collectivization and improved health outcomes (e.g., improved condom access) [10][11][12][13].…”