Sex work and modes of self-employment in the informal economy: diverse business practices and constraints to effective working

Abstract

This article draws on research with adult sex workers in indoor settings in Great Britain to explore diverse forms of self-employment, employment relationships and small business development, set within the context of changes to the wider economy. It considers how external constraints such as the legal context, social stigma and dominant policy discourses can impact on sex workers’ autonomy and actively work against their safety and wellbeing. The article argues that broad policy and legal approaches which fail to recognise the complexity of sex work constrain sex workers’ opportunities for business development and improvement of their working circumstances. It suggests the need for recognition of sex work as legitimate labour, as a prerequisite for policy changes to support sex workers and pave the way for improved working conditions, not only in managed settings but also facilitating collective arrangements and independent lone working.

Risking safety and rights: online sex work, crimes and ‘blended safety repertoires’

“…For example, the presence and role of others (including other sex workers, receptionists and security staff), who can intervene plus in‐house security like CCTV systems can act as protective measures. Yet the variability of these strategies must be noted: Pitcher () in her study of female, male and transgender sex workers in indoor UK settings, found that participants reported variable management practices; some which created ‘a safe and supportive working environment’ whereas others had ‘less favourable working conditions or, in some instances, exploitative practices’ which they had encountered.…”

“…It has been established that sex workers develop a range of protective strategies (Harris, Nilan and Kirby ; Sanders ) and skills to manage and negotiate the risks involved in selling sexual services are part of the occupational culture (O’Neill ; Pitcher ). Beyond the Gaze research has found that at all stages of commercial sexual encounters negotiated or delivered online, particularly early interactions with clients, it is important that sex workers are enabled to put in place protective strategies (Ray ; Argento et al, ; Cunningham 2011).…”

Sex counts: An examination of sexual service advertisements in a UK online directory

“…For example, researchers have used online spaces in order to analyze and investigate the activities and dialogue between escorts and sex buyers (Langanke & Ross, ; Rocha et al, ; Sharp & Earle, ); to communicate with potential participants and advertise research (Hammond, ; Koken, Bimbi, Parsons, & Halkitis, ; Sanders, ); to interview and survey sex workers nationally and internationally (Jenkins, ; Milrod & Monto, ); and to access websites, forums, and blog pages to gain the contact details of sex workers for interviews or survey (Parsons, Bimbi, & Halkitis, ). Most studies have been qualitative rather than quantitative in nature, such as Hammond’s (, ) interviews with UK‐based clients of commercial sex via Punternet; or Pitcher’s () interviews with sex workers in the UK, who were accessed through her online networks and escort websites (see also, inter alia, McLean ; Redman ) . Those quantitative studies that do exist have tended to restrict their focus to particular “types” of sex work or sex workers, such as women‐only websites or male‐to‐male escorting.…”

“So It’s Not Always the Sappy Story”: Women of Colour and Indigenous Women in the Indoor Sectors of the Canadian Sex Industry Speak Out

“…In addition to paradoxical operations and regulations, the indoor sector's participation in the global economy is inconsistent. On the one hand, indoor sites are considered to be a part of the informal economy rather than being illegal (see Day, 1996Day, , 2007Gall, 2006;Pitcher, 2015;Sanders & Ponsaers, 2008;Shah, 2003). The informal economy, Day (2007) writes, is "a term used loosely to refer to work that is not formally regulated, often invisible and unofficial, albeit intimately connected to state policies" (p. 76).…”