Sex workers’ narratives about clients with disabilities: can training improve sexual health in Portugal?

Abstract

People with disabilities face barriers that limit their sexual lives. In Portugal, some individuals with physical impairments have shown interest in resorting to sexual assistance provided by trained professionals, according to the client’s preferences and needs. However, in Portugal, sex workers lacking any formal training represent the only way to access commercial sex services. Thus, this study analyzes the experiences of sex workers that provide services for disabled clients. The interviews of thirteen sex workers were analyzed using the thematic analysis method proposed by Braun and Clarke. The key findings show that men seek out sexual and emotional satisfaction from sex work. Additionally, specificities inherent to the lack of training and the relationships established tend to embarrass professionals. Finally, we conclude that training coupled with sexual education and popular awareness about gender differences in the pursuit of sex is fundamental to improve the sexual health of those who choose sex services as a way of sexual expression.

Examining Organizational Narratives: Public Appeals of Morality, Emotions, and Medical Logic in the Case of Sex Work for Disabled Clients*

“…1996), interviews with and case studies of disabled men who pay for sex (Jones 2013; Liddiard,2014b; Sanders 2007), ethnographies and interviews of women sex workers working with disabled clientele (Kulick and Rydström 2015; Pinho et al. 2020; Sanders 2007), examinations of medical ethics regarding sex work with disabled clients (Earp and Moen 2016; Thomsen 2015), explorations of the role of medical practitioners and personal aides in sex facilitation (Earle 1999, 2001; Sakairi 2020), and an autoethnographic examination from a sex worker working with disabled clients (Wotten and Isbister 2010). Particularly relevant to this article is Geymonat’s (2019) research, which provides an empirical focus of organizations connecting sex workers with disabled clientele in their participant observation study of one grassroots organization in Switzerland.…”

“…Access to sex work services for disabled people 1 is of increasing interest to scholars as well as both disability and sex work activists, yet inquiry into commercial sex and disability remains rather limited and underrepresented. Scholarship that has investigated sex work for disabled clientele has utilized a variety of different empirical approaches including critical literature reviews, theoretical explorations, and policy examinations (De Boer 2015;Fritsch et al 2016;Shakespeare et al 1996), interviews with and case studies of disabled men who pay for sex (Jones 2013;Liddiard,2014b;Sanders 2007), ethnographies and interviews of women sex workers working with disabled clientele (Kulick and Rydström 2015;Pinho et al 2020;Sanders 2007), examinations of medical ethics regarding sex work with disabled clients (Earp and Moen 2016;Thomsen 2015), explorations of the role of medical practitioners and personal aides in sex facilitation (Earle 1999(Earle , 2001Sakairi 2020), and an autoethnographic examination from a sex worker working with disabled clients (Wotten and Isbister 2010). Particularly relevant to this article is Geymonat's (2019) research, which provides an empirical focus of organizations connecting sex workers with disabled clientele in their participant observation study of one grassroots organization in Switzerland.…”

Educational needs, motives and experiences of sex care workers for people with disabilities in the Netherlands

“…Several European countries have a form of legal sexual assistance for PWD, such as Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands [29]. These services offer paid sex with sex workers or sex care workers.…”