scholarly journals Masculinities, vulnerability and negotiated identity: Understanding the reporting behaviours of men who experience violence or otherwise harmful behaviour, within a sex work context

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jordan L. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Work Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Male Sex

Context The focus of sex work related discussions most commonly falls on female providers of sexual services, and male purchasers. As a result, the often victim-oriented policy response in England and Wales falls short of truly addressing the needs of men who are involved in the sale of sex, with there being limited support available for them and a systemic approach which does not fully recognise the potential for men to face harm within this context. Methods The aim of this study is to explore experiences of and reactions to violence, and otherwise harmful behaviours, faced by men in the context of their sex working, by understanding the lived realities of a sample of men who engage in this type of work. The study takes a phased approach which combines an initial informative quantitative survey, with three subsequent phases of semi-structured interviews with male sex workers, sex work-focused practitioners and police officers. The method is guided by feminist research principles which suggest that reality is situated within those with lived experience, and also by an element of co-creation which has grounded this study within the perspectives of male sex workers from its conception. Findings The findings of this research suggest that all of the men involved in the study had faced at least one of the violent or otherwise harmful behaviours outlined, though reporting of these behaviours was not at all common. Discussions with the male sex working participants, practitioners and the police highlighted the issues related to the structural influences of authority, such as the police, and the social environment, and the internalisation of these wider factors, which create barriers to reporting for groups such as male sex workers and others who face similar social marginalisation. Conclusions This study challenges existing gendered understandings of violence and otherwise harmful behaviour within a sex work context, by highlighting the harmful experiences of men. By exploring these experiences and the reporting behaviours of those involved, the study also proposes a new framework for understanding barriers to reporting, which suggests that these are formed through the influences of formal and informal measures of social control, and the internalisation of these outside influences by the individual. By better understanding the experiences of men, and the barriers to their reporting, this study attempts to nuance a gendered discussion. Within, I propose that in order to better support male sex workers, responses must begin by appreciating the heterogeneity of those involved in sex work and the influence of their individual circumstances and the social environment on their willingness to seek support.

Sex and the City

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliraza Javaid
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Clients ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
The Social ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Despite the issue that male sex work involves a substantial proportion of the market and is key to making clear the impact of gender in shaping male sex workers' experiences and their oftentimes fleeting relationship with male clients, work on sex work has largely focused on female sex workers to a far greater extent than their male counterparts. Subsequently, we know little of the social relations between male sex workers and their male clients. The interactional dynamics of sellers and clients in such settings are rarely considered. The author's focus, then, is exploring the social interactions between male sex workers and their male clients in particular. I seek to examine the ways in which such interactions could manifest in different settings and contexts within the area of male sex work. For example, I unravel the interactional dynamics in the setting of sexual violence against male sex workers.

scholarly journals Female street sex work in Belgrade as risk environment for a syndemic production: A qualitative study

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 611-617
Author(s):  
Bojan Zikic ◽  
Milos Milenkovic
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Medical Conditions ◽  
Risk Environment ◽  
Environment Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Street Sex Work ◽  
Syndemic Theory

Introduction/Objective. Although female street sex workers are contextually vulnerable to numerous health-endangering factors, they also contribute in re-producing them. This synergetic production is approached by syndemic theory developed within medical anthropology. The objective of the study is to present an analysis of the results of a qualitative ethnographic study conducted in Belgrade, Serbia in 2015, and reflect upon social environment factors influencing syndemic development of medical conditions. Methods. The risk environment factors enhancing possibilities of developing particular medical conditions were investigated by applying qualitative anthropological methodology, emphasizing semi-structured in-depth interviews, a standard qualitative sample, and respondents? self-reporting. Results. Social environment of sex work, generally considered risky due to sexually and blood-transmitted diseases, in this study also proved as receptive for many other illnesses, whose syndemic character has been insufficiently addressed. The study confirmed the syndemic nature of street sex work. Conclusion. The social science perspective should be used in health policy conceptualization and implementation not only during latter stages, i.e. in the interpretation of the social conditions influencing medical related issues, but during early stages of understanding how those conditions and issues circularly constitute each other.

scholarly journals Male sex work and HIV risk among young heroin users in Hanoi, Vietnam

Sexual Health ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Clatts ◽  
Le M. Giang ◽  
Lloyd A. Goldsamt ◽  
Huso Yi
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Sex Partners ◽  
Sexual Encounter ◽  
Anal Sex ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Heroin Users ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Receptive Anal Sex ◽  
Male Sex

The present study describes complex drug and sexual risk in a group of male sex workers (n = 79) who were recruited in the context of a larger study of young heroin users in Hanoi, Vietnam (n = 1270). Male sex workers were significantly more likely than male non-sex workers to be migrants (P < 0.001) and to have unstable housing (P < 0.001), to have lifetime exposure to marijuana (P < 0.001), 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) (P < 0.01), amphetamines (P < 0.05), cocaine (P < 0.01) and morphine (P < 0.001). Male sex workers are more likely to currently use MDMA (P < 0.05), amphetamines (P < 0.001), morphine (P < 0.05) and to ‘smoke’ as their most frequent mode of heroin administration (P < 0.01). Male sex workers are more likely to have both male and female concurrent sex partners (P < 0.001), to have a history of sexual victimisation (P < 0.001), to have had more than three different sex partners in the past 30 days (P < 0.001), and to have had partners who injected drugs before sex (P < 0.001) or who used drugs during sex (P < 0.01). In their last sexual encounter with a client partner, approximately one-third (31.1%) reported having had receptive anal sex. In nearly three-quarters of these exchanges (71.4%), no condom was used. Similarly, in their last sexual encounter with a client partner, 42.2% reported having had insertive anal sex and in nearly half (47.4%) of these encounters no condom was used. Consistent with recent data from elsewhere in the region, there is an urgent need for additional research on male sex work in South-east Asia in order to properly situate behavioural interventions for male sex workers in this region.

scholarly journals Violence and Victimization in Interactions Between Male Sex Workers and Male Clients in Mombasa, Kenya

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052092236
Author(s):  
Pablo K. Valente ◽  
Alberto Edeza, BS ◽  
Tsitsi B. Masvawure ◽  
Theo G. M. Sandfort ◽  
Peter B. Gichangi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Peer Networks ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Clients ◽  
Sexual Exchange ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Sex Practices

Male sex workers (MSWs) and male clients (MCMs) who engage their services face increased vulnerability to violence in Kenya, where same-sex practices and sex work are criminalized. However, little is known about how violence might arise in negotiations between MSWs and MCMs. This study explored the types of victimization experienced by MSWs and MCMs, the contexts in which these experiences occurred, and the responses to violence among these groups. We conducted in-depth interviews with 25 MSWs and 11 MCMs recruited at bars and clubs identified by peer sex worker educators as “hotspots” for sex work in Mombasa, Kenya. Violence against MSWs frequently included physical or sexual assault and theft, whereas MCMs’ experiences of victimization usually involved theft, extortion, or other forms of economic violence. Explicitly negotiating the price for the sexual exchange before having sex helped avoid conflict and violence. For many participants, guesthouses that were tolerant of same-sex encounters were perceived as safer places for engaging in sex work. MSWs and MCMs rarely reported incidents of violence to the police due to fear of discrimination and arrests by law enforcement agents. Some MSWs fought back against violence enacted by clients or tapped into peer networks to obtain information about potentially violent clients as a strategy for averting conflicts and violence. Our study contributes to the limited literature examining the perspectives of MSWs and MCMs with respect to violence and victimization, showing that both groups are vulnerable to violence and in need of interventions to mitigate violence and protect their health. Future interventions should consider including existing peer networks of MSWs in efforts to prevent violence in the context of sex work. Moreover, decriminalizing same-sex practices and sex work in Kenya may inhibit violence against MSWs and MCMs and provide individuals with safer spaces for engaging in sex work.

Freelancers, Temporary Wives, and Beach-Boys: Researching Sex Work in the Caribbean

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamala Kempadoo
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Sex Trade ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Beach Boys ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
The Caribbean

This article presents insights from a research project on sex work that took place in the Caribbean region during 1997–8. First it briefly summarizes common themes in historical and contemporary studies of sex work in the region, then describes the aims, methodology, and main trends of the project. It pays particular attention to the differences between definitions and experiences of sex work by female and male sex workers and of male and female sex tourists, as well as describing conditions in the Caribbean sex trade. Finally the article identifies some implications of the complexity in the region that were uncovered through the research project for feminist theorizing about sex work.

scholarly journals A different kind of risky business: Men who manage men in the sex industry

Sexualities ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136346072110263
Author(s):  
Tuulia Law
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Perceptions Of Risk ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Managerial Strategies ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Work Management

Drawing from qualitative interview data, this article examines men who manage men in the sex industry. A gendered lens reveals that male sex work management engages with sexual and gender scripts in ways that are quite distinct from female sex work. These third parties assume that male sex workers can defend their own security but notably also worry about male workers victimizing them, even as they opportunistically deploy hegemonic masculinity in their business and security practices. The article highlights and reflects on how these framings shape managerial strategies, perceptions of risk and the law, and experiences of stigma.

“In Zimbabwe there is nothing for us”: sex work and vulnerability of HIV infection among male sex workers in Zimbabwe

AIDS Care ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 1124-1130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Qiao ◽  
Eileen Yuk-ha Tsang ◽  
Jeffrey S. Wilkinson ◽  
Freddy Lipeleke ◽  
Xiaoming Li
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Sex

scholarly journals Investigating the effects of COVID-19 on global male sex work populations: a longitudinal study of digital data

2020 ◽  
pp. sextrans-2020-054550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denton Callander ◽  
Étienne Meunier ◽  
Ryan DeVeau ◽  
Christian Grov ◽  
Basil Donovan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Male Sex Work ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Risk Reduction Strategies

ObjectivesRecommendations of ‘social distancing’ and home quarantines to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic have implications for sex and intimacy, including sex work. This study examined the effects of COVID-19 on male sex work globally and investigated how men who sold sex responded to and engaged with the virus in the context of work.MethodsThis study made use of an existing database of deidentified data extracted from the online profiles maintained by male sex workers on a large, international website. Website engagement metrics were calculated for the periods before (September to December 2019) and during COVID-19 (January to May 2020); Poisson regression analyses were used to assess changes over time before and after, while a content analysis was undertaken to identify modes of engagement with the virus.ResultsData were collected from 78 399 profiles representing 19 388 individuals. In the ‘before’ period, the number of active profiles was stable (inter-rate ratio (IRR)=1.01, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.01, p=0.339) but during COVID-19 decreased by 26.3% (IRR=0.90, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.91, p<0.001). Newly created profiles also decreased during COVID-19 (59.4%; IRR=0.71, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.74, p<0.001) after a period of stability. In total, 211 unique profiles explicitly referenced COVID-19; 185 (85.8%) evoked risk reduction strategies, including discontinuation of in-person services (41.2%), pivoting to virtual services (38.9%), COVID-19 status disclosure (20.9%), enhanced sanitary and screening requirements (12.3%) and restricted travel (5.2%). Some profiles, however, seemed to downplay the seriousness of COVID-19 or resist protective measures (14.7%).ConclusionsThese findings support the contention that COVID-19 has dramatically impacted the sex industry; globally, male sex workers may be facing considerable economic strain. Targeted education and outreach are needed to support male sex workers grappling with COVID-19, including around the most effective risk reduction strategies. Those involved with the sex industry must have access to state-sponsored COVID-19 financial and other aid programmes to support individual and public health.

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