A case for a health promotion framework: the psychosocial experiences of female, migrant sex workers in Ireland

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh-Ann Sweeney ◽  
Sharron FitzGerald
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Relational Model ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Migrant Women ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
Psychosocial Experiences ◽  
The Republic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers preventing women in prostitution from accessing co-ordinated health services in the Republic of Ireland. By examining the experiences of migrant women engaged in prostitution, the research contributes to knowledge pertaining to the psychosocial experiences of female sex workers’ access to healthcare. Design/methodology/approach The study interviewed migrant women across Ireland, using a biographical narrative approach and an adapted voice-centred relational model of analysis to determine the necessity for a health promotion strategy for this demographic. Findings The findings indicate migrant women work primarily indoors, hold precarious legal status and are in Ireland due to processes of globalisation, migration and economic necessity. The women discussed their entry into prostitution and their experiences within prostitution in the context of their psychosocial experiences. Research limitations/implications While the findings are from a small qualitative sample confined to the Republic of Ireland, it is the first study to prioritise migrant sex workers’ psychosocial experiences in Ireland. Practical implications The research concludes education and service development that respects the various social determinants impacting women in prostitution is missing but remains necessary in Ireland. It finds a gendered reform of policies using an ecological framework for health that can address issues of poverty, migration and the global trends of the sex industry. Social implications This means a national review of current services in health, social work and community development fields is timely. Originality/value This paper gives insight into the lives of migrant women involved in the sex industry and can make an important contribution to future research directions and practice in Irish and European prostitution contexts.

scholarly journals Apprehension and interest

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Linnane ◽  
Alison Warren
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Occupational Therapy Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
Occupational Therapy Students ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Time Basis ◽  
Therapy Education

Purpose Role-emerging placements have been used internationally within occupational therapy education but are relatively new to Ireland. At times, there has been a debate in the profession regarding the use of this placement model. This paper aims to generate views from both occupational therapists and occupational therapy students on the use of role-emerging placements in the Republic of Ireland. Design/methodology/approach Electronic surveys were administered to occupational therapy students and occupational therapists in Ireland. Quantitative data were analysed using the SPSS Statistics software package and the content of the open question responses were analysed into themes. Findings Occupational therapists (n = 60) and occupational therapy students (n = 45) indicated that there were inconsistent views surrounding role-emerging placements. It is deemed as an effective method for student learning, but apprehension exists around inclusion within occupational therapy programmes in the Republic of Ireland. Preference was indicated towards inclusion of role-emerging placements on a part-time basis within formal occupational therapy education. Originality/value Both respondent groups viewed that role-emerging placements can positively influence new areas of occupational therapy practice and concern over the use of the placement model requires further exploration and debate. This study is from an Irish context, although there are similarities with other countries’ use of the placement model. There is a need for research through an in-depth exploration of the learning experience of undertaking role-emerging placements from the students’ perspective and identification of supports required to promote an optimal learning experience.

Social justice for sex workers as a ‘politics of doing’: Research, policy and practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-279
Author(s):  
Sharron FitzGerald ◽  
Maggie O’Neill ◽  
Gillian Wylie
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
The Republic

The Republic of Ireland is a good case study to highlight the problems associated with uncritical appeals to criminal law as the only appropriate tool to tackle demand and protect sex workers from harm. In 2017, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act came into force in the Republic of Ireland (hereafter Ireland) making it a criminal offence to purchase sex in the jurisdiction. Ireland’s decision to introduce Swedish-style laws followed a protracted public campaign instigated in 2009 by the Irish and radical feminist inspired neo-abolitionist organisation, Turn off the Red Light. In this article, we confront and de-centre the Turn off the Red Light campaign’s hegemonic narrative that the criminal rather than social justice responses provide a more effective vehicle for sex workers’ empowerment. Undertaking our intervention in Irish feminist prostitution politics as a ‘politics of doing’ social justice through our separate and combined research, we extend our analysis by invoking Nancy Fraser and Barbara Hudson’s theoretical work on social and restorative justice. We wish to develop a theoretical framework that can serve as a roadmap for restorative social justice – the process of achieving rights, recognition and redistribution through relational, reflective and discursive interventions in sex work research, policy and practice. We argue that by ‘thinking’ sex workers’ positionality in social relations differently, the ‘doings’ of restorative social justice for sex workers can begin or take place.

scholarly journals “Same same, but different”

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 550-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarrett D. Davis ◽  
Glenn Michael Miles ◽  
John H. Quinley III
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Physical Assault ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transgender Persons ◽  
Male To Female ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose This paper is a part of a series of papers seeking insight into a holistic perspective into the lives, experiences and vulnerabilities of male-to-female transgender persons (from here on referred to as “transgender persons”/“Ladyboys”) within the sex industry in Southeast Asia. “Ladyboy” in Thai context specifically refers to the cultural subgroup, rather than the person’s gender identity and is not seen as an offensive term. Among the minimal studies that have been conducted, the majority have focused on sexual health and the likelihood of contracting or spreading HIV/AIDS, while often ignoring the possibility of other vulnerabilities. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The study interviews 60 transgender persons working within red light areas of Bangkok. The final research instrument was a questionnaire of 11 sub-themes, containing both multiple choice and open-ended questions. Findings This study found that 81 percent of participants had entered the sex industry due to financial necessity. There was also a high vulnerability among transgender sex workers to physical and sexual violence. This includes nearly a quarter (24 percent) who cite being forced to have sex and 26 percent who cite physical assault within the last 12 months. Social implications These findings can aid the development of programs and social services that address the needs of ladyboys, looking beyond gender expression and social identity to meet needs and vulnerabilities that often go overlooked. Originality/value This survey provides deeper understanding of the vulnerability of transgender sex workers, including their trajectory into sex work and potential alternatives.

Survey of the research capacity of clinical psychologists in Ireland

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-192
Author(s):  
Patrick McHugh ◽  
Mark Corcoran ◽  
Michael Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Clinical Psychologists ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Work Time ◽  
Research Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
The Republic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to profile the research activity, research skills and enablers of research of clinical psychologists in the Republic of Ireland. Design/methodology/approach – All clinical psychologists working in the Health Service Executive (HSE) or HSE-funded organisations were requested to complete an online survey examining their research capacity. A total of 170 clinical psychologists completed the survey, with an estimated response rate of 20-25 per cent. Findings – Within the preceding two years, 60 per cent (n=102) of the clinical psychologists sampled had engaged in research. These research active participants were involved with a median of three projects and the majority spent 10 per cent or less of their work time engaged in research. The weakest research skills of research active and research inactive participants were applying for research funding and publishing research. Research active participants indicated a reliance on their own personal motivation to maintain their research activity and indicated a need for more protected time for research. Practical implications – Managers within the health service need to be incentivised to allocate protected work time for research that directly contributes to service provision. Greater collaboration with academic institutions is needed with regard to targeting the research skills development of clinical psychologists, as well as identifying opportunities for collaborative research. Originality/value – This is the first survey to profile the research activity and skills of clinical psychologists in the Republic of Ireland and provides an evidence base for future research capacity development.

Peasant Sex Workers in Metropolitan China and the Pivotal Concept of Money

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Yuk-ha Tsang ◽  
John Lowe ◽  
Jeffrey S. Wilkinson ◽  
Graham Scambler
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Migrant Women ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Peasant Workers

Abstract This article is a theoretically informed empirical investigation of breadwinning peasant workers in China’s urban metropolis of Guangdong and the values they ascribe to money acquired through sex work. The existing literature about money sits at the very core of modernity, individualisation and mobility providing endless opportunities to explore its variegated meanings in China’s global commercial sex industry. We situate the women’s desires and endeavours to escape from rural poverty in relation to the nuances of economic and class location in the urban context of post-reform China. We, then, argue that the rural poor migrant women interpret sex work and money as “contradictory” properties of individualism that enhance their personal options, as well as meeting their costs. We introduce a typology of the multiple roles that money plays in their lives. Our findings, we suggest, have significant “general” resonance and ramifications for the ongoing de-collectivisation of rural Chinese society.

scholarly journals Ocuparse en la industria del sexo: ¿Una estrategia de supervivencia frente a la crisis?

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra María Ríos Marín
Keyword(s):  
Sex Workers ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Migrant Women ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Trabajadoras Sexuales ◽  
El Estigma

Introducción: El artículo presentado forma parte de un estudio más amplio sobre el trabajo en prostitución por mujeres migrantes extranjeras en la provincia de Almería, España. El objetivo particular del artículo es analizar los diferentes discursos de las personas trabajadoras sexuales, que encuentran en esta actividad una estrategia económica frente a la crisis y un medio para alcanzar sus objetivos migratorios, a pesar de las desigualdades sociales que enfrentan.Método: La investigación de carácter etnográfico, se desarrolló en diferentes escenarios de desempeño de la industria sexual (clubes, pisos privados, bares, asentamientos de migrantes y prostitución de calle), entre 2009 y 2012 en el marco del programa de “Reducción de Daños y Promoción de la Salud” de la organización no gubernamental Médicos del Mundo (MDM). Los instrumentos de investigación han sido las entrevistas estandarizada y en profundidad, a las trabajadoras sexuales y la observación en escenarios de la industria sexual, dentro la provincia de Almería.Resultados: La industria sexual en la provincia de Almería la dinamizan mujeres, varones, y transexuales de diversos orígenes -África, Europa y Latinoamérica; siendo mayor la representación del colectivo femenino, el cual acumula una serie de desigualdades sociales que dificultan la inserción laboral en otros sectores productivos de la provincia. Enfrentadas a las duras circunstancias personales y sociales, en las cuales trascurren sus trayectorias migratorias, tengan o no permiso de residencia y trabajo, emplearse en la industria del sexo, dentro de la provincia, constituye también una estrategia de supervivencia para algunas mujeres migrantes extranjeras que no encuentran otra fuente de empleo.Discusión o Conclusión: El estado alegal de la prostitución en algunos países de la Unión Europea, incluyendo España, fomenta la explotación laboral y agudiza la vulnerabilidad de este colectivo. La prostitución no está prohibida ni reconocida como trabajo, por lo tanto, los derechos sociales y laborales de las personas trabajadoras del sexo no son reconocidos, lo que tiene consecuencias directas en otros factores de vulnerabilidad, tales como: la estigmatización, el acoso policial y el aislamiento social. Ocuparse en la industria del sexo: ¿Una estrategia de supervivencia frente a la crisis? Revista Internacional de Estudios Migratorios, ISSN: 2173-1950, 2016, Vol.6 (2), pp. 269-291. - 271 - Las trabajadoras sexuales son mujeres con capacidad de agencia, con capacidad de transformación, aunque encorsetadas por el estigma social que las margina y excluye. Introduction: The paper presented is part of a larger study on work in prostitution by foreign migrant women in the province of Almeria, Spain. The main objective of this article is to analyze the different discourses of individuals engaged in sex work who use this activity, as an economic strategy and an alternative against financial crisis and means to achieve their immigration goals, despite the social inequalities they face.Method: Ethnographic research, developed in different stages and at different settings where the individuals working on the sex industry perform (clubs, private homes, bars, settlement of migrants and street prostitution), between 2009 and 2012 under the program "Harm Reduction and Health Promotion "of the Non-Governmental Office Doctors of the World. The research instruments were the in-depth and standardized interview with individuals working on the sex industry and observation of different sex industry scenarios within the province of Almeria.Results: The dynamics of the sex industry in the province of Almeria is comprised by women, men, and transgender people from diverse backgrounds-Africa, Europe, and Latin America; however, the greater representation still comes from women's collective, this group accrues a range of social inequalities that hinder employment in other productive sectors of the province. Challenged by the harsh personal and social circumstances in which their migratory paths elapse, with or without residence and or work permits and being employed in the sex industry in the province, also constitutes a survival strategy for some foreign migrant women who have no other source of employment. Alexandra Mª Ríos Marín - 272 - Revista Internacional de Estudios Migratorios, ISSN: 2173-1950, 2016, Vol.6 (2), pp. 269-291.Discussion or Conclusion: The lawless state of prostitution in some countries of the European Union, including Spain, promotes labor exploitation and increases the vulnerability of this group. Prostitution is not prohibited or recognized as work, therefore, social and labor rights of people working on the sex industry are not recognized, which has direct consequences for other vulnerabilities, such as stigmatization, police harassment, and social isolation. Sex workers are women capable of agency, with processing capacity, though corseted by the social stigma that marginalized and excluded them.

scholarly journals Sex work and online platforms: what should regulation do?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Cowen ◽  
Rachela Colosi
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Personal Services ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Shed Light

PurposeThe purpose is to assess the impact of online platforms on the sex industry, focusing specifically on direct sex work, and evaluate what approaches to platform regulation is likely to align with the interests of sex workers.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a review of interdisciplinary conceptual and empirical literature on sex work combined with analysis of key issues using a transaction cost framework.FindingsOnline platforms generally make sex work safer. Regulation aimed at preventing platforms from serving sex workers is likely to harm their welfare.Research limitations/implicationsRegulation of online platforms should take great care to differentiate coercive sex from consensual sex work, and allow sex workers to experiment with governance mechanisms provided by entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates how a transactions costs approach to market behaviour as applied to personal services like ridesharing can also shed light on the challenges that sex workers face, partly as a result of criminalisation, and the dangers of over-regulation.

scholarly journals An exploratory study of discharge planning home visits within an Irish context – investigating nationwide practice and nationwide perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-113
Author(s):  
Aisling Jane Davis ◽  
Patricia Mc Clure
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Discharge Planning ◽  
Home Visits ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Survey Questionnaire ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hospital Size ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
Irish Context ◽  
The Republic

Purpose Discharge planning home visits (DPHVs) are a routine part of occupational therapy clinical practice. However, there is a dearth of evidence to support or refute their efficacy and limited policies or standards to guide clinical practice. This study aims to investigate current clinical practice during home visits and the value that occupational therapists’ attribute to home visits within an Irish context. Design/methodology/approach Data collection was carried out by using a survey questionnaire (postal and electronic options). The study population comprised occupational therapists across 52 sites including acute, rehabilitation and convalescence settings within the Republic of Ireland. In total, 122 occupational therapists that completed the survey questionnaire were recruited for the study. Findings Quantitative data identified time spent per visit, departmental size, hospital size, number of visits and report writing times. Information was gathered regarding clinical areas assessed during visits in a Likert scale format. Qualitative data identified benefits, risks, recommendations to improve home visit practice and clinical criteria for home visits. Findings conclude that DPHVs are routinely carried out by occupational therapists and that there is consistency in clinical practice within an Irish setting. Occupational therapists value home visits as clinical assessments and have identified risks during practice, benefits of visits and ways to improve practice. Originality/value This study has provided a reflection of clinical practice in the Republic of Ireland. It is the only study of its kind in an Irish setting, and it could be used as a knowledge base regarding current practice on DPHV and occupational therapists’ clinical reasoning regarding home visits. The information gathered in this study could influence policies regarding DPHV and could serve as a comparison to standardise practice and justify the need for DPHV.

scholarly journals Exploring community perceptions of the relationship between age and social exclusion in rural areas

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eamon O'Shea ◽  
Kieran Walsh ◽  
Tom Scharf
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Older People ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Community Perceptions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
Community Stakeholders ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis paper aims to explore, for the first time, community perceptions of the relationship between age and social exclusion in rural areas of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.Design/methodology/approachThe paper builds on learning from a previous baseline cross‐border rural ageing study and draws its methodology from a broader ecological multi‐level approach. The research was conducted through focus groups with community stakeholders, which were undertaken in ten communities in different rural settings (village, near‐urban, island, dispersed, and remote) in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.FindingsIn total, four interconnecting thematic areas emerged as important in determining exclusion or inclusion for older people living in rural areas: place, economic circumstances, social provision, and social connectedness. Within these themes, various tipping points emerged as important for pathways into and out of exclusion, most notably local systems of social support and the mindset of older people themselves in relation to participation.Originality/valueThis research lays the foundations for understanding the lived experiences of older people on the island of Ireland and the pathways for their inclusion and exclusion in diverse rural areas, as seen through the lens of community stakeholders.

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