Sex Work: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Explanations of adult involvement in sex work typically adopt one of two approaches. One perspective highlights a variety of negative experiences in childhood and adolescence, including physical and sexual abuse, family instability, poverty, associations with "pimps" and other exploiters, homelessness, and drug use. An alternative account recognizes that some of these factors may be involved, but underscores the contribution of more immediate circumstances, such as current economic needs, human capital, and employment opportunities. Prior research offers a limited assessment of these contrasting claims: most studies have focused exclusively on people working in the sex industry and they have not assessed the independent effects of life course variables central to these two perspectives. We add to this literature with an analysis that drew on insights from life course and life-span development theories and considered the contributions of factors from childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Our comparative approach examined predictors of employment in sex work relative to two other low-income service or care work occupations: food and beverage serving and barbering and hairstyling. Using data from a study of almost 600 workers from two cities, one in Canada and the other in the United States, we found that both immediate circumstances and negative experiences from early life are related to current sex work involvement: childhood poverty, abuse, and family instability were independently associated with adult sex work, as were limited education and employment experience, adult drug use, and marital status.

Sex Workers Who Provide Services to Clients with Disability in New South Wales, Australia

“…Issues of low socio -economic standing, literacy levels, diminished job opportunities and childhood trauma also predominately rate at conferences, in journals and vie for funding at national and international levels (McCarthy, Benoit, & Jansson, 2014). By contrast Sanders While the predominate focus in research, dialogue, media articles and legislative reforms is about sex workers who are female, the sex industry is made up of people of all genders (Donovan et al, 2012;Jenkins, 2009).…”

“…This dissertation will not enter into this deliberation, as the variety of reasons why sex workers enter the industry have been examined elsewhere (McCarthy et al, 2014). …”

Consommation problématique de substances psychoactives et comportements sexuels à risque chez les adolescents admis en centre jeunesse

“…Une telle différence entre filles et garçons eu égard aux activités sexuelles rémunérées avait déjà été soulignée au sein d'adolescents québécois recrutés en milieu scolaire (Lavoie et al, 2010). Par ailleurs, d'autres auteurs ont observé chez les hommes une association entre consommation de substances psychoactives et activités sexuelles contre rémunération (McCarthy et al, 2014 ;Duff et al, 2013 ;Van Gelder et al 2011). Il est possible qu'une telle association n'ait pas été détectée chez les garçons dans notre enquête compte tenu de la petite taille de l'échantillon d'hommes ayant des activités sexuelles contre rémunération.…”

Personal and Financial Risk Typologies Among Women Who Engage in Sex Work in Mongolia: A Latent Class Analysis

“…McCarthy, Benoit, and Jansson (2014) examined the competing literature regarding what may lead individuals to sex work, finding that growing up in poverty and as an adult having lower levels of education and fewer occupational experiences led many to engage in sex work. Financial challenges for women engaged in street-based sex work include, among others, lack of control over working conditions and pricing, outstanding debt, disruptions in income due to police raids, and seasonal variability in sex work income, which is particularly concerning in the Mongolian context given the severe winter weather conditions (Reed, Gupta, Biradavlou, Devireddy, & Blankenship, 2010).…”