Factors influencing women’s sex work in a Lebanese sample: results of a case-control study

Abstract

Background: Many constituents contribute to the rise of sex work in Lebanon such as the socioeconomic situation in the country (poverty, increased unemployment rates, and religious divisions), as well as the political and social instability. Several emotional and psychological factors such as depression, stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, emotional abuse, may force some people to rely on trading sex as a coping strategy for persevering. Therefore, it was deemed interesting to explore and understand factors that are correlated with sex work in Lebanon where no study, to our knowledge, has been written on this critical point. The objective of the study was to assess factors (such as trauma, child abuse, partner abuse, depression, anxiety, and stress) associated with women joining sex work among a sample of the Lebanese population. Methods: A case-control study was conducted on a group of women (60 sex workers recruited from a prison for women) involved in sex work matched for age and sex with a control group (60 non-sex workers). Controls were chosen from the same prison population as the sex workers. Results: A logistic regression was conducted, taking being a sex worker vs not as the dependent variable; independent factors were sociodemographic characteristics, child (psychological, neglect, physical and verbal) and inter partner violence (physical and non-physical), depression, anxiety and stress. Higher anxiety (aOR = 1.08) and higher inter partner physical violence (aOR = 1.02) were altogether related with higher chances of being a sex worker. Conclusion: This study proposes an association between child abuse, inter partner violence, alcohol consumption, anxiety, and sex work. Future research may also need to contemplate other factors not examined here, including parental substance use, personality traits, and many others.

Prevalence and predictors of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among vulnerable women engaged in sex work: Findings from the Kyaterekera Project in Southern Uganda

“…Study findings also indicate that low financial self-efficacy was associated with HIV infection among women. The findings are supported by other studies which have documented poverty as one of the primary drivers for women to engage in sex work [ 13 , 26 , 53 – 55 ]. Women with low financial self-efficacy have less negotiating power with clients regarding safer sex, which puts them at high risk of HIV [ 32 ].…”

Correlates of prevalent HIV infection among adolescents, young adults, and older adult female sex workers in Ghana: Analysis of data from the Ghana biobehavioral survey

“…Globally (2019), female sex workers have been identified among the population at the highest risk of contracting and spreading the HIV virus [5][6][7]. Additionally, studies conducted by Shava and others on HIV, confirmed the high incidence and prevalence of the disease among FSW [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. In 2020, key populations (sex workers, gay men, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, and people in prisons and others) and their sexual partners accounted for 65% of global new HIV infections, of which 8% were sex workers [17,18].…”

“…There are different predictors of HIV prevalence which depend on country and context. Some of these predictors include inconsistent condom use (people who do not use condoms always) and having multiple sexual partners [12][13][14]. According to Fauk et al, personal (lack of knowledge of HIV testing and HIV and AIDS service and lack of knowledge of the existence of HIV infection), social (fear of stigma and discrimination), and healthcare provision (lack of trust, fear of disclosure of their HIV status by health professionals and limited availability of medications) barriers associated with HIV testing among male clients contribute to the high prevalence of HIV among FSW [17].…”

The Comparison of Anxiety Disorder Among Ex-Female Sex Workers and Non-Female Sex Workers in The Ex-localization Area

“…The occurrence of mental disorders in FSW has been reported to be approximately 63.2%, including mood disorder (41.5%), anxiety (34.2%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (21.2%) [1][2][3]. Anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health problems found in FSW [4]. This is based on many psychodynamic's risk factors among ex-FSW.…”