scholarly journals Increased burden of suicidality among young street-involved sex workers who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. e152-e157
Author(s):  
Brittany Barker ◽  
Scott E Hadland ◽  
Huiru Dong ◽  
Kate Shannon ◽  
Thomas Kerr ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundThe risks of suicidality among street-involved youth who use drugs and engage in sex work are not well described. This study sought to evaluate if street-involved youth who engage in sex work were at an elevated risk for attempting suicide.MethodsData were derived from the At-Risk Youth Study, a prospective cohort of street-involved youth who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada. Multivariable generalized estimating equation analyses were employed to examine whether youth who engaged in sex work were at elevated risk of attempting suicide, controlling for possible confounders.ResultsBetween September 2005 and May 2015, 1210 youth were recruited into the cohort, of whom, 173 (14.3%) reported recently attempting suicide at some point during the study period. In multivariable analysis, youth who engaged in sex work were significantly more likely to report a recent suicide attempt (adjusted odds ratio = 1.93; 95% confidence interval: 1.28–2.91).ConclusionsStreet-involved youth who engage in sex work were observed to be at a significantly higher risk for suicidality. Systematic discrimination and unaddressed trauma may contribute to the observed increased burden of suicidality among this population. Interventions that support the mental health and well-being of street-involved youth who engage in sex work are urgently needed.

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 1627-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiro Ito ◽  
Aurélia Lépine ◽  
Carole Treibich

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hudson Reddon ◽  
M.-J. Milloy ◽  
Evan Wood ◽  
Ekaterina Nosova ◽  
Thomas Kerr ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There is concern that cannabis use negatively affects vulnerable groups such as youth; however, the relationship between cannabis use and health care utilization has not been well characterized in this population. We longitudinally evaluated the association between daily cannabis use and hospitalization among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth. Methods Data were collected from the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS) in Vancouver, Canada, from September 2005 to May 2015. Participants were interviewed semi-annually and multivariable generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between daily cannabis use and hospitalization. Results A total of 1216 participants (31.2% female) were included in this analysis, and 373 (30.7%) individuals reported hospitalization at some point during the study period. In a multivariable GEE analysis, daily cannabis use was not significantly associated with hospitalization (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.17, 95% Confidence interval [CI] = 0.84, 1.65). We did observe a significant interaction between daily cannabis use and sex (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.34, 0.77), whereby cannabis use was associated with a decreased odds of hospitalization among males (AOR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.47, 0.78), yet was not significantly associated with hospitalization among females (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.84, 1.67). Conclusions The finding that daily cannabis use was not associated with hospitalization among street-involved youth is encouraging given the high rates of cannabis use in this population and the expansion of cannabis legalization and regulation. Future studies, however, are warranted to monitor possible changes in the consequences of cannabis use as cannabis legalization and regulation increase internationally.


2019 ◽  
pp. 169-241
Author(s):  
Jessica Flanigan
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  

Sex work should be decriminalized because the criminalization of sex work violates the rights of sex workers and their clients and it has bad consequences. The case for decriminalization has three parts. First, criminalization violates the rights of sex workers and their clients. Second, decriminalization would be better on balance for sex workers’ and clients’ well-being. Third, criminalization is inegalitarian, especially because laws that prohibit the sale or purchase of sex subordinate both sex workers and their clients to fines and incarceration. Throughout this analysis, arguments are developed that fall along a spectrum of idealization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-94
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Syvertsen

Sharing our research with participants and communities is a standard and critically important ethical practice in anthropology, but do we use such opportunities to their full potential? In this article, I reflect on the possibilities generated by a community dissemination event to share my research with men who have sex with men and engage in sex work in Kisumu, Kenya. Drawing on Arjun Apaddurai’s concept of an “ethics of possibility” that pushes beyond ordinary ethical practice, I reflect upon engagement with participants in the research process and advocate for greater emphasis on research dissemination events as a strategy to make research more meaningful to communities. Although my project was initially framed around HIV, what emerged were men’s desire for spirituality, belonging, and new possibilities of inclusive citizenship that better attend to men’s health and well-being. Research dissemination creates a critical space to generate ethnographic insight and guide theoretically rich applied health research.


Author(s):  
Brooke S. West ◽  
◽  
Anne M. Montgomery ◽  
Allison R. Ebben

AbstractThe 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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  

Abstract Research studies from many parts of the world have demonstrated significantly elevated risk of poor mental health among lesbian, gay, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) individuals compared to cisgender and heterosexual individuals. A growing body of evidence suggests that the elevated risk of poor mental health among LGBT people can be partly attributed to greater exposure to stigma-related stress and institutional barriers, such as, limited access to adequate health care, discriminatory legislation (e.g., regarding recognition of same-sex unions), and limitations in open expression of identity. Today many governmental public health agencies call for policy and intervention programs addressing specific needs of LGBT individuals. Still, the public health consequences of discrimination towards LGBT individuals have only recently been a topic of investigation and current knowledge in the area is limited. This workshop will include presentations of studies on strategies to reduce healthcare inequalities including the barriers LGBT individuals face when they access care and give examples of how institutional support can be provided. Laetitia Zeeman and Nigel Sherriff from University of Brighton, will present results from a European Union funded pilot project. Dr Corina Lelutiu-Weinberger from Rutgers University will present results from a study of the influence of gender affirmation and discrimination on transgender individuals mental health in a large US sample. Next, Daniel Hagen from New York University will present data analysing the protective effects of legal same-sex unions on the mental health of lesbian and gay couples. Lovro Markovic will present a study of predictors of being open with an LGBT identity in the workplace among employees in Austria. Key messages Although encouraging promising practices to reduce LGBT healthcare inequalities have been initiated in many parts of the world, much remains to be done to ensure equal access to care for all. Barriers to social integration in the form of discriminatory marriage legislation and work-place discrimination can have a negatively influence on LGBT individual's health and well-being.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 373-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M. Bayer ◽  
Mijail Garvich ◽  
David A. Díaz ◽  
Hugo Sánchez ◽  
Patricia J. García ◽  
...  

In Peru, there are few studies on male sex workers (MSWs), and existing studies explore limited subgroups or offer limited information about MSWs’ perspectives. This study provides in-depth perspectives from 40 MSWs who work in downtown Lima ( Cercado) and in surrounding urban neighborhoods (non- Cercado) through interviews on their identities, lives, and HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infection) risks and vulnerabilities. Findings are that entry into sex work links economy and affection, particularly among Cercado MSWs. Continued sex work cements this link, making it difficult to exit sex work and establish goals. Ties between economics and affections influence MSWs’ perceived HIV/STI risks, vulnerabilities, and prevention practices. Although Cercado MSWs report higher HIV/STI risks and vulnerabilities than non- Cercado peers, they report fewer prevention practices given inability to buy condoms and acceptance of client offers of higher payment, especially clients they feel affection for. MSWs need support to strengthen their self-perceptions and define and pursue their goals in order to improve their HIV/STI prevention practices, health, and well-being.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Perri ◽  
Martine Shareck ◽  
Pearl Buhariwala ◽  
Maha Hassan ◽  
Patricia O’Campo

Abstract IntroductionIndividuals who engage with sex work face barriers to maintaining overall health and well-being such as criminalization, stigmatization, and violence. An emerging approach to facilitating exiting sex work for individuals is through programs applying the Critical Time Intervention (CTI) model. CTI represents a time-limited practice that supports vulnerable individuals during periods of transition. The objectives of this study were to apply an existing CTI fidelity assessment to the sex work exiting program Exit Doors Here (EDH) to (1) report on the program’s fidelity and (2) discuss the effectiveness of CTI for supporting these groups. MethodsTo determine the applicability to the EDH of an existing fidelity assessment tool, we consulted with program staff through in person meetings. Staff highlighted areas for adaptation. We adapted the tool based on this feedback and used it to assess program fidelity by analyzing data from 8 participants’ CTI notes. Fidelity ratings were computed and interpreted according to established guidelines. ResultsConsultations with program staff resulted in adaptations to seven items out of the 12 comprising the fidelity assessment tool. The majority of adaptations surrounded the time-limited nature of CTI and unique needs of the program participants. In regards to the fidelity assessment using the adapted tool, half of the items were ideally implemented, one was well implemented, one was fairly implemented and two were respectively found to be poorly implemented and not implemented at all. Conclusions Difficulties in implementing selected program components with high fidelity can be attributed to specificities of the target population and to contextual factors, which are hard to control from a staff and program standpoint. This assessment reiterates the importance of considering such factors when developing and implementing programs aimed at improving the health and well-being of marginalized women such as those who engage in sex work.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon S Oselin ◽  
Katie Hail-Jares ◽  
Melanie Kushida

Abstract Research reveals mixed findings regarding gentrification’s effects on longtime residents and legal small businesses. There is only minimal examination of the ways in which urban redevelopment impacts illicit outdoor marketplaces, and the studies that do rarely employ a comparative analysis or focus on individual perceptions regarding such changes. Using the case of street-based sex work, this study illuminates how workers in the outdoor trade assess changing work conditions and establishes that such evaluations color workers’ decision-making. We draw on interviews with 51 sex workers of color who are familiar with two divergent sex work “strolls” in Washington, DC. Our findings suggest that participants perceive gentrification as a multifaceted phenomenon that reconfigures their work by altering social support, environmental conditions, and competition, changes which ultimately inform where they ply their trade. This research shows that individuals in illicit outdoor markets consider the ramifications of urban redevelopment on their work and make strategic decisions that have implications for their emotional, physical, and financial well-being.


Affilia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 088610992098513
Author(s):  
Nicole F. Bromfield ◽  
Meg Panichelli ◽  
Moshoula Capous-Desyllas

The emergence of COVID-19 in the United States in early 2020 has severely disrupted the lives of most Americans, and people engaged in sex trade are no exception. People in sex work encounter multiple challenges when trying to access the services they need, particularly as they fear arrest, stigma, and pathology related to their work. These barriers have been amplified during the global COVID-19 pandemic, as sex trade workers may further lack access to crucially needed health care and may not have a mechanism for generating a basic income to meet their daily survival needs. Using an intersectional feminist lens, in this article, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on people in sex work while highlighting sex workers’ resiliency and community action in the face of the pandemic. We highlight empowerment work led by black and brown sex worker communities. As authors and advocates, we call for critical feminist social work action that situates social workers as advocates for the human rights, well-being, and health of individuals in sex work, with a focus on centering the voices of those with lived experience and a focus on harm reduction, during and in the lingering aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.


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