Sex Work and the Politics of Space: Case Studies of Sex Workers in Argentina and Ecuador

Abstract

While many studies examine how different legal approaches to prostitution affect sex workers' living and working conditions, few studies analyze how sex workers' physical workspaces and the policies regulating these spaces influence sex work conditions. Based on interviews with 109 current or former sex workers, 13 civil society representatives, 12 government officials, and 5 other actors in Ecuador and Argentina, this study describes sex workers' uses of urban space in the two countries and compares how they experience and respond to government regulation of locations of prostitution. Argentina and Ecuador took different approaches to regulating sex work space, which appear to reflect different political ideologies towards prostitution. Sex workers expressed different individual preferences for spaces, and government limitation of these spaces represented one of their major concerns. The results illuminate how sex workers' workspaces influence their working conditions and suggest that governments should consider sex worker preferences in establishing policies that affect their workspaces.

The Role of Place in the Lives of Sex Workers: A Sociospatial Analysis of Two International Case Studies

“…These competing feminisms are components of sociostructural power intertwined within sex work places, as these ideologies—particularly radical feminist views that frame sex work as inherently oppressive and violent—continue to influence the criminality and legislation of sex work (Campbell, 2015; Van Meir, 2017; Zangger, 2010). Academia is also beginning to understand that prior academic research concerning sex work, which often denied sex workers agency and voice (van der Meulen, 2011), has contributed to the significant social stigma that sex workers experience (Sanders, 2016; Weitzer, 2018).…”

“…Legalization models also strive to keep sex workers invisible within the public realm. For example, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where independent sex work is legal, law enforcement severely curtailed the use of bars and cafes for seeking clients (Van Meir, 2017). Similarly, in Australia, where sex work is legal in most states and partially decriminalized in New South Wales, municipalities routinely ban brothels from residential areas and relegate them to industrial zones (Jeffrey & Sullivan, 2009).…”

“…Sex work scholarship continues to expand in the areas of public health, stigma, and human rights (Benoit, Jansson, Smith, & Flagg, 2018; Bowen & Bungay, 2016; Vanwesenbeeck, 2001; Weitzer, 2009). Increased considerations of juridical contexts and advocacy efforts surrounding sex work are becoming more prominent (Benoit, Jansson, Smith, & Flagg, 2017; Campbell, 2015; Comte, 2014; Jeffrey & MacDonald, 2011; Schotten, 2005), and literature exploring sex work and space is broadening (Hubbard & Sanders, 2003; Orchard, Vale, Macphail, Wender, & Oiamo, 2016; Prior & Crofts, 2015; Van Meir, 2017). Spatial research seeks to understand the role of our physical and geographic world divested from personal significance; for a space to become a place, it requires human experience and meaning (Cresswell, 2004).…”

Brothels as Sites of Third-Party Exploitation? Decriminalisation and Sex Workers’ Employment Rights

“…Scoular (2010, p. 38), however, whilst agreeing with Agustin that law should be de-centred, states that it cannot be excluded as "it is imbricated in the everyday world" and "operates alongside other normative ordering practices to shape subjects, identities, practices, and spaces". The ongoing debate that has ensued has resulted in calls for research to consider nuanced experiences and environments that shape sex workers' agency in the labour market, and the broader cultural landscapes and spaces within which sex workers operate (Hammond and Attwood 2014;Bungay et al 2011;Agustín 2005;Weitzer 2012;Van Meir 2017).…”

“…Brothels provide a context of protection through "collective control" (Sanders and Campbell 2007, p. 10), where the physical environment and material resources affords a sense of security and confidence. This includes safety measures such as presence of other staff, security cameras, alarms and opportunities to screen clients thoroughly (Zangger 2015;Brents and Hausbeck 2005;Sanders and Campbell 2007;Sullivan 2010;Van Meir 2017). Nevertheless, brothels also hold the greatest environmental potential for managerial control over sex work labour.…”