Contemporary Research on Sex Work

Jeffrey T. Parsons

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9780789029638
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317954804
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Health Care Delivery
• Index: Social Sciences

Gain important insight and a broader perspective on where, why, and how sex workers conduct their business

For years, the focus of sex work research has been on street-based male and female sex workers and the HIV-related risks they pose to their clients. Contemporary Research on Sex Work moves beyond the basic association between sex work and unprotected sex to a fuller description of the varied facets of the industry while still pursuing a better understanding of HIV risk among those working the streets. The diverse approaches in this unique book include targeted sampling, qualitative and quantitative interviews, ethnographic interviews with key informants, using sex workers as recruiters, and quasi-experimental intervention designs.

Contemporary Research on Sex Work dispels the notion that all sex workers are prostitutes working the streets, highlighting instead various aspects of sex work in terms of gender, venue, and context. Social scientists from a variety of disciplines present research collected from across the United States, Cambodia, the Philippines, Argentina, and Canada that reflects the efforts to explore interventions and programs designed to improve the social and physical lives of male, female, and transgender sex workersand their clients. The book examines how different circumstances determine different issues of power, control, health, social functioning, mental health, and HIV/STI risk each sex worker faces.

Contemporary Research on Sex Work examines:

• condom use by transgender female sex workers
  
• the association between mental health issues and unprotected sex
  
• the influence of structural intervention in reducing biologically sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
  
• the hidden population of women who solicit clients in private locations off the street
  
• stigma resistance among male sex workers in Canada
  
• the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and subsequent involvement in sex work
  
• health services among male sex workers in Argentina
  
• how the intersection between race/ethnicity affects female sex workers in Los Angeles
  
• how sex workers deal with the negativity that surrounds their profession
  
• job-related risk and safety for sex workers in Canada
  
• legal concerns and policy issues
  
• and much more!

Contemporary Research on Sex Work is your guide to the next generation of sex work research, highlighting the need to understand sex work as work. The book is an essential resource for researchers in the fields of sex research, sex work, and HIV/AIDS prevention, and for clinicians who work with those involved in the industry.

Index

Page numbers followed by the letter “t” designate tables; page numbers in italics designate figures. See also cross-references designate detailed lists of subtopics.

Abuse. See Childhood sexual abuse; Violent victimization

Adult cabarets, 118–121

Advocacy, 189, 190t

Anxiety disorders, 38

Argentina, health service use in Cordoba, 181–196. See also Health service use

Augusta (Georgia) Department of Veteran Affairs, 131–146

Background and principles, 1–3

Beck Anxiety Inventory, 29–30

Beck Depression Inventory, 29

Brothels, 121–122

(University of) Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 169–179

(University of) California-Los Angeles, Philippines bar worker study, 45–63

Cambodia, Vietnamese sex workers in, 65–82

background and principles, 66–69

discussion, 77–80

evaluation methods, 70–71

family obligations, 72–74

maintaining well-being, 75–77

participants and procedures, 69–71

police harassment, 74–75

results, 71, 71–77

violent victimization, 74–75

Canada

on-job risk management, 147–167. See also Risk management

public vs. private condom use, 83–105. See also Public vs. private risk behavior

stigma resistance among gay-identified sex workers, 169–179. See also Stigma

Cantinas, 120–121

Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), 197–213

Childhood sexual abuse, 36–37, 131–146

background and principles, 132–133

discussion, 141–144

family environment and runaway behavior, 138–140

female samples, 133–135

limitation of studies, 142–143

male samples, 135–137

mixed gender samples, 137–138

non-prostitute sex worker groups...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Researching the World’s Oldest Profession: Introduction
• HIV Seroprevalence and Risk Behaviors Among Transgendered Women Who Exchange Sex in Comparison with Those Who Do Not
• The Connections of Mental Health Problems, Violent Life Experiences, and the Social Milieu of the “Stroll” with the HIV Risk Behaviors of Female Street Sex Workers
• Impact of Social and Structural Influence Interventions on Condom Use and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Establishment-Based Female Bar Workers in the Philippines
• How Does a “Risk Group” Perceive Risk? Voices of Vietnamese Sex Workers in Cambodia
• Female Sex Trade Workers, Condoms, and the Public-Private Divide
• Racial and Ethnic Segmentation of Female Prostitution in Los Angeles County
• Childhood Sexual Abuse as a Risk Factor for Subsequent Involvement in Sex Work: A Review of Empirical Findings
• Managing Risk and Safety on the Job: The Experiences of Canadian Sex Workers
• Strategies of Stigma Resistance Among Canadian Gay-Identified Sex Workers
• Self-Reported Use of Health Services, Contact with Police and Views About Sex Work Organizations Among Male Sex Workers in Cordoba, Argentina
• Exploring Commercial Sex Encounters in an Urban Community Sample of Gay and Bisexual Men: A Preliminary Report
• Index