Factors associated with women’s entry into the sex industry: findings from interviews conducted with female sex workers in Chinese detention centres

Background: To date, limited research has been conducted to identify the personal and contextual factors that contribute to women’s entry into the sex industry in China. Methods: The reasons for and factors associated with voluntary entry into the sex industry were explored through in-depth interviews conducted with 38 Chinese women who were held in detention centres for selling sex. Results: Women’s personal accounts reveal that entry into sex work is influenced by life aspirations, family responsibilities and social connections, which facilitate mobility to a new urban environment in which they encounter opportunities and challenges. Findings highlight the complex interactions between individual and contextual factors in relation to women’s entry into sex work. Conclusions: In a rapidly developing country such as China, entry into sex work may appeal to women of low socioeconomic status, particularly young women who have recently migrated to urban areas. For members of this mobile and relatively disadvantaged population, comprehensive social services and support are urgently needed.

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Prostitution Proliferates

Discriminating Sex ◽

10.5622/illinois/9780252041785.003.0005 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Amy Sueyoshi

Keyword(s):

Middle Class ◽

San Francisco ◽

Sex Work ◽

Sex Workers ◽

White Women ◽

Chinese Women ◽

Sex Industry ◽

Sexual Freedom ◽

Public Displays ◽

Economic Opportunities

This chapter links growing sexual freedom for whites to the rise of depictions of Chinese prostitutes in the late 1890s. White sex workers flocked to San Francisco for economic opportunities. Middle-class white women additionally defied earlier conventions of sexuality, by going out on dates, wearing more revealing clothes, and engaging in public displays of affection. As images of Chinese prostitutes mounted, Chinese women involved in sex work remained at an all-time low. American-born whites in fact dominated the sex industry. Depictions of Chinese women as morally bankrupt more accurately reflected white women’s modernizing sexuality as it simultaneously bolstered and justified the policing of Chinese women’s presence in San Francisco.

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Labouring in the Sex Industry: A Conversation with Sex Workers on Consent and Exploitation

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci10030086 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 86

Author(s):

Francine Tremblay

Keyword(s):

Sex Work ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Service Industry ◽

Sex Industry ◽

Cultural Symbol

Sex work in all its forms is an occupation that belongs to the service industry, and like any other work, sexual labour is open to exploitation. However, the reason why sex work is seen to be different from other forms of labour is that it betrays the socially accepted rules of love and intimacy and is exercised within a criminalised environment. As a cultural symbol, sex work remains steadfastly linked to aberration and dangerousness. This article juxtaposes the legal and lay definitions of consent and exploitation based on conversations with fourteen Canadian sex workers. The objective of this exploratory article is to delve within two ill-defined and highly contested notions related to the sex industry—consent and exploitation.

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FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LIKELIHOOD OF FURTHER MOVEMENT AMONG MOBILE FEMALE SEX WORKERS IN INDIA: A MULTINOMIAL LOGIT APPROACH

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s0021932015000267 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 539-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dipak Suryawanshi ◽

Varun Sharma ◽

Niranjan Saggurti ◽

Shalini Bharat

Keyword(s):

Sex Work ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Sexual Coercion ◽

Female Sex Workers ◽

Multinomial Logit ◽

Consistent Condom ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Female Sex

SummaryFemale sex workers (FSWs) are vulnerable to HIV infection. Their socioeconomic and behavioural vulnerabilities are crucial push factors for movement for sex work. This paper assesses the factors associated with the likelihood of movement of sex workers from their current place of work. Data were derived from a cross-sectional survey conducted among 5498 mobile FSWs in 22 districts of high in-migration across four states in southern India. A multinomial logit model was constructed to predict the likelihood of FSWs moving from their current place of work. Ten per cent of the sampled mobile FSWs were planning to move from their current place of sex work. Educational attainment, marital status, income at current place of work, debt, sexual coercion, experience of violence and having tested for HIV and collected the results were found to be significant predictors of the likelihood of movement from the current place of work. Consistent condom use with different clients was significantly low among those planning to move. Likewise, the likelihood of movement was significantly higher among those who had any STI symptom in the last six months and those who had a high self-perceived risk of HIV. The findings highlight the need to address factors associated with movement among mobile FSWs as part of HIV prevention and access to care interventions.

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Precarious or Protected? Evaluating Work Quality in the Legal Sex Industry

Sociological Research Online ◽

10.5153/sro.4136 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 173-187 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alice Orchiston

Keyword(s):

Sex Work ◽

Working Conditions ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Sex Industry ◽

Labour Law ◽

Industry Regulation ◽

Regulatory Model ◽

And Control ◽

The Relationship ◽

Legal Sex

Decriminalising (or legalising) sex work is argued to improve sex workers’ safety and provide access to labour rights. However, there is a paucity of empirical research comparing how different regulatory approaches affect working conditions in the sex industry, especially in relation to venues that are managed by third parties. This article uses a mixed methods study of the Australian legal brothel sector to critically explore the relationship between external regulation and working conditions. Two dominant models of sex industry regulation are compared: decriminalisation and licensing. First, the article documents workplace practices in the Australian legal brothel sector, examining sex workers’ agency, autonomy and control over the labour process. Second, it analyses the capacity of each regulatory model to protect sex workers from unsafe and unfair working conditions. On the basis of these findings, the article concludes that brothel-based sex work is precarious and substantively excluded from the protective mantle of labour law, notwithstanding its legality. It is argued that the key determinant of conditions in the legal brothel sector is the extent to which the state enforces formal labour protections, as distinct from the underlying regulatory model adopted.

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Del paradigma higienista a las teorías de la interseccionalidad. La construcción social de la ocupación de trabajadoras sexuales

La Manzana de la Discordia ◽

10.25100/lamanzanadeladiscordia.v8i1.1548 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Teodora Hurtado Saa

Keyword(s):

Sex Work ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Alternative View ◽

Sex Industry ◽

Industrialized Countries ◽

The Social ◽

Colombian Women ◽

Las Mujeres ◽

Trabajadoras Sexuales ◽

Sex Market

Resumen: Este artículo versa sobre el actual estado de la teorización, de la terminología y del conocimien- to empírico relativo a la producción social y ejercicio del trabajo sexual, con atención especial a las teorías y conceptos que estructuran el tema de la participación diferenciada de las mujeres en general, y de las muje- res con características étnicas/raciales subalternizadas en particular, en el mercado del sexo. Se delinea una postura alternativa a los planteamientos convenciona- les higienistas, criminalistas o victimistas desde donde tradicionalmente se ha analizado la cuestión. Adicio- nalmente, se reflexiona sobre el crecimiento, expansión y modernización de la industria del sexo, en la que algu- nos países post-industrializados asumen la condición de demandantes y los países en vía de desarrollo, la de ofer- tantes de mano de obra para el consumo de experiencias sexuales de diferente índole. De igual modo, se delibera sobre la importancia que tiene la comercialización del sexo, para el desarrollo económico de algunos países y el trabajo sexual como estrategia de “rebusque” frente a los embates de la vida cotidiana. Asimismo, describimos las formas de explotación y de ejercicio del oficio de tra- bajadoras del sexo.Palabras claves: Mercado global del sexo, construcción de la ocupación, interseccionalidad, trabajo sexual, mu- jeres afrocolombianas, sexualidades disidentesFrom the Hygienist Paradigm to Intersectionality. The Social Construction of Sexual WorkAbstract: The present article deals with the current state of the theorizing, the terminology and the empirical knowledge about the social production and exercise of sex work, with special attention to theories and concepts that structure the subject of the different participation in the sex trade of women in general, and of women with subalternized ethnic/racial features in particular. It de- lineates an alternative view to conventional hygienist approaches, or criminal or victimization approaches, traditionally used to analyze the issue. In addition, this paper reflects on the growth, expansion and moderniza- tion of the sex industry, in which some post-industrialized countries provide the demand and developing countries provide the supply of labor for the consumption of sexual experiences. Similarly, it discusses the importance of the commercialization of sex for the economic development of some countries and of sex work as a strategy of look- ing for informal work while coping with the ravages of everyday life. It also describes the forms of exploitation of sex workers in the exercise of their profession. Key words: global sex market, occupation, intersection- ality, sex work, Afro-Colombian women, dissident sexu- alities

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Female Subversion through Sex Work: Transgressive Discourses

Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej ◽

10.18778/1733-8069.14.1.06 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 114-137

Author(s):

Marta Olasik

Keyword(s):

Sex Work ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Sociological Theory ◽

Gender And Sexuality ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

The Other ◽

Sex Industry ◽

Female Sex ◽

Lesbian Studies ◽

The One

The main objective of this article is to provide a multi-faceted and spatially-sensitive reflection on sex work. Taking as a point of departure subversive feminist politics on the one hand and the much contingent notion of citizenship on the other, I intend to present various forms of prostitution as potentially positive and empowering modes of sexual and emotional auto-creation. Informed by the leading research of the subject, as well as inspired and educated by Australia-based Dr Elizabeth Smith from La Trobe University in Melbourne, who had researched and presented female sex workers as self-caring and subversive subjects who make own choices and derive satisfaction from their occupation, I wish to seek academic justice for all those women (and men or trans people, for that matter) in the sex industry who feel stigmatized by political pressure and ultra-feminist circles across Europe. Translating Dr Smith’s significant research into European (and Polish) social realities would be a valuable contribution to the local discussions on gender and sexuality, and axes they intersect with. More importantly, however, a framework of a conceptual interdisciplinary approach needs to be adopted—one in which a specific queer form of lesbian feminist reflection is combined with human geography, both of which have much to offer to various strands of sociological theory and practice. Therefore, as a queer lesbian scholar based in Poland, I would like to diverge a bit from my usual topic in order to pay an academic and activist tribute to the much neglected strand of sociology of sex work. However, my multi-faceted and interdisciplinary academic activity allows me to combine the matter in question with the field of lesbian studies. Both a female sex worker and a lesbian have been culturally positioned through the lens of what so-called femininity is, without a possibility to establish control over their own subjectivities. Hence, on the one hand the article is going to be an academic re-interpretation of sex work as such, but on the other, methodological possibilities of acknowledging and researching lesbian sex workers will be additionally considered with special attention to feminist epistemologies and praxis. While a sensitivity to a given locality is of utmost importance when dealing with gender and sexuality issues, I would like to suggest a somewhat overall approach to investigating both female empowerment through sex work and lesbian studies inclusive of sex workers. Importantly, the more common understandings of the sex industry need to be de-constructed in order for a diversity of transgressive discourses to emerge.

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HIV testing behaviour and HIV prevalence among female sex workers in Ukraine: findings from an Integrated Bio-Behavioural Survey, 2013–2014

Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽

10.1136/sextrans-2018-053684 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 95 (3) ◽

pp. 193-200 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anna Tokar ◽

Iana Sazonova ◽

Sharmistha Mishra ◽

Pavlo Smyrnov ◽

Tetiana Saliuk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hiv Testing ◽

Sex Work ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Sexual Partner ◽

Female Sex Workers ◽

Hiv Prevalence ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Female Sex ◽

Living With Hiv ◽

Test Result

ObjectivesUkraine has one of the largest HIV epidemics in Europe, with high prevalence among female sex workers (FSWs). We aimed to identify factors associated with HIV testing and receipt of the test result in the last 12 months, HIV prevalence and self-reported positive status among FSWs in Ukraine.MethodsWe used data from an Integrated Bio-Behavioural Survey among FSWs conducted in 2013–2014. The survey methodology combined three sampling strategies: time and location sampling, respondent-driven sampling and key informant recruitment. We used multivariable regression to identify factors associated with self-reported HIV testing in the last 12 months, HIV prevalence and self-reported positive status among FSWs living with HIV. Explored factors included: age, age at first sex, age at entry into sex work, education, marital status, employment status beside sex work, condom use with last paying or non-paying sexual partner, drug or alcohol consumption and sex work venue.ResultsRecent HIV testing was low overall with only 63.2% of FSWs reported having tested and received their test result in the last 12 months prior to the survey. HIV prevalence was 7.1% overall, but only 45.0% of FSWs living with HIV were aware of their HIV status. Testing in the last 12 months with receipt of test result was less common among FSWs who used drugs ever in life (adjusted OR (AOR) 0.7, 95% CI 0.6 to 0.9), women soliciting clients indoors (AOR 0.8, 95% CI 0.7 to 0.9) and those not using a condom with last paying sexual partner (AOR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.5). HIV positivity was associated with history of ever using drugs (AOR 2.3, 95% CI 1.4 to 3.6) and soliciting clients outdoors (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.0). Women working indoors were less aware of their positive status (AOR 0.1, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.9).ConclusionHIV prevalence is high among FSWs in Ukraine, and testing and knowledge of one’s status remain insufficient. HIV testing programmes need to expand with strategies to reach specific subgroups of FSWs.

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Introduction: The Cultural Study of Commercial Sex: Taking a policy perspective

Social Policy and Society ◽

10.1017/s147474641400044x ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 79-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Natalie Hammond ◽

Feona Attwood

Keyword(s):

Cultural Study ◽

Sex Work ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Sex Industry ◽

Commercial Sex ◽

Policy Perspective ◽

Cultural Life ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

Sexual Commerce ◽

Selling Sex

The transformation of the sex industry since 2000 has meant that the image of the ‘street prostitute’ touting for business on dark street corners is less representative of sex work or sex workers than it has ever been. Much of our knowledge about the sex industry, and about wider transformations of economic, intimate and cultural life, is out of date (Bernstein, 2007a), and policy processes are taking place within the context of limited or outdated knowledge. The growth in visibility, consumption and diversity of sexual commerce is now well recognised (Weitzer, 2000; Agustín, 2005; Scoular and Sanders, 2010) and commercial sex industries are known to operate across a variety of locations, and within specific modes of production and consumption, which are historically, contextually and culturally contingent and where ‘the meaning of buying and selling sex is not always the same’ (Agustín, 2005: 619).

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