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Benoit C, Koenig B, Mellor A, Jansson M, Magnuson D, Vetrone L. Navigating Stigma in Romantic Relationships Where One or Both Partners Sell Sexual Services. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 2024; 61:1037-1049. [PMID: 38270936 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2024.2302974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Romantic relationships are an important part of our social identities and well-being. In this paper, we report on qualitative findings with thirty Canadian couples, interviewed together, where it was known that one or both partners sell sexual services for a living. We asked a series of open-ended questions related to the background of the couple's relationship, their day-to-day interactions and work-related stressors. Participants talked about the ongoing negotiations they engage in as a couple, the benefits of being open to each other about working in the sex industry, and how they manage its emotional toll on their partnership. We conclude that there are various ways that sex workers are able to maintain intimacy in their romantic relationships after sex work has been disclosed. Widespread social stigma attached to sex work, complicated by criminalization in countries such as Canada, nevertheless threatens relationship quality in the long run.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Benoit
- Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research & Department of Sociology, University of Victoria
| | - Brett Koenig
- Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research & Department of Sociology, University of Victoria
| | - Andrea Mellor
- Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research & Department of Sociology, University of Victoria
| | - Mikael Jansson
- Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research & Department of Sociology, University of Victoria
| | - Doug Magnuson
- Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies, University of Victoria
| | - Laura Vetrone
- Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research & Department of Sociology, University of Victoria
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Machat S, McBride B, Murphy A, Mo M, Goldenberg S, Krüsi A. AN EVALUATION OF INDOOR SEX WORKERS' PSYCHOSOCIAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN METRO VANCOUVER, CANADA. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SCIENCE 2024; 8:383-406. [PMID: 39148898 PMCID: PMC11323036 DOI: 10.1007/s41542-023-00169-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Criminalization of sex work is linked to increased risk of violence and lack of workplace protections for sex workers. Most jurisdictions globally prohibit some or all aspects of sex work with New Zealand constituting a notable exception, where sex work has been decriminalized and regulated via OHS guidelines. We used the Guide to Occupational Health and Safety in the New Zealand Sex Industry (NZ Guide) as an analytical framework to examine the lived-experiences of psychosocial OHS conditions of indoor sex workers in Metro Vancouver under end-demand criminalization. We drew on 47 semi-structured interviews, conducted in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese in 2017-2018, with indoor sex workers and third parties providing services for them. Participants' narratives were analyzed using a coding framework based on the NZ Guide's psychosocial factors section, including safety and security from violence and complaints processes, which highlighted specific OHS shortcomings in the context of end-demand sex work legislation in indoor sex work environments. Participants identified a significant lack of OHS support, including a lack of safety training, right to refuse services, and access to justice in the context of labour rights violations or fraud, robbery or violence. Our findings emphasize the benefits of full decriminalization of sex work to facilitate sex workers' access to OHS through development and implementation of OHS guidelines designed by and for the indoor sex industry. OHS guidelines should focus on labour rights and protections, including development of sex workers' right to refuse services and access to justice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia Machat
- Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, 1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada
| | - Bronwyn McBride
- Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, 1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada
| | - Alka Murphy
- Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, 1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada
| | - Minshu Mo
- Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, 1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada
| | - Shira Goldenberg
- Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, 1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA, 92182-4162, USA
| | - Andrea Krüsi
- Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, 1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada
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