Male sex workers’ (in)visible risky bodies in international health development: now you see them, now you don’t

Abstract

International health development discourse constructs and regulates male sex workers as risky bodies in need of interventions for HIV. Drawing on ethnographic research among male sex workers and interviews with development sector actors in Nairobi, Kenya, this paper shows how the identification of male sex workers as a high-risk group for HIV offers a singular conceptualisation of their bodies as risky and renders invisible broader everyday struggles for security and wellbeing. Within these everyday struggles, male sex workers experience bodily risk as they are exposed not only to HIV, but also to being outed or outing themselves as gay. Interview findings show that development actors recognise and are empathic to male sex workers' security risks but have limited opportunity to address these due to restrictive donor regimes. To contribute to enduring change and develop appropriate and effective programmes, it is important for donors to continue funding HIV activities in relation to male sex work, while broadening their understandings of risk.

When the Law Fails to Protect: Stigma, Violence and Sex Workers’ Multi-Layered Responses in the Kenyan Cities of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisii and Meru

“…In Kenya, sex work is concentrated in urban areas. In the country's capital of Nairobi, sex workers operate from over 2500 'hotspots'places where sex workers and their clients meet and which range from outdoor and street-based sex work to clubs, bars and hotels (Lorway et al, 2018;Woensdregt & Nencel, 2022). In coastal Mombasa, tourism is an important part of the sex work market (Česnulyte, 2015;Okal et al, 2009;Omondi & Ryan, 2016).…”

“…Despite criminalisation of sex work, the National AIDS and STI Control Programme (NASCOP) prioritises violence as a key structural barrier to HIV-related services, and it addresses violence against 'key populations'including sex workersin the national guidelines for HIV/STI programming (Bhattacharjee et al, 2018). At time of this research, however, few policies had been put into practice, and sex workers generally lacked access to services required to address violence, including psychological services, rehabilitation and integration, victim protection and legal support (ASWA, 2019;KESWA, 2018;Woensdregt & Nencel, 2022).…”

“…In the absence of formal protective structures, Kenyan sex workers access support through SWLOs. While these organisations have gained external legitimacy and visibility through HIV-related work (Česnulytė, 2017;Woensdregt & Nencel, 2022), they are strongly involved in activism and advocacy and thus play a political role in Kenyan society (Mgbako, 2016;Woensdregt & Nencel, 2021). In 2018, there were more than 75 community-led sex worker groups aligned with KESWA (interview with representative of KESWA, August 2018).…”

Taking small steps: Sensitising the police through male sex workers’ community-led advocacy in Nairobi, Kenya

“…Nonetheless, male SWs form an integral part of Nairobi's urban landscape, especially in the central business district and Westlands (a highincome district). At night, numerous SWs of both genders sell their services at bars, clubs and hotels, and, particularly for male SWs, through websites and online dating apps (see also Woensdregt & Nencel, 2020).…”

‘Fundermediaries’ in Nairobi, Kenya: Development Partnerships in the Aid Chain

“…This article is part of a larger ethnographic study (see also van Stapele et al., 2019b; Woensdregt, 2022a; Woensdregt and Nencel, 2022a, 2022b) with a Kenya‐based sex worker‐led CBO (henceforth SWL‐CBO). The in‐depth interviews at the heart of this article were conducted with 15 professionals working in fundermediaries, who worked directly with the participating CBO in our study.…”