Decriminalization of Sex Work Background

Sex work comes in many forms, and is generally, the exchange of some sexual act for money or another type of payment. As Melissa Hope Ditmore says in her book, sex work combines two of the most taboo topics: sex and money. There is incredible stigma associated with sex work, as Weitzer discusses, which is most intense in cases of prostitution and less so for stripping and pornography. This stigma, along with the criminalization of sex work, is largely the reason that sex work can be so dangerous. There are health and safety concerns that affect sex workers to an incredible extent, and therefore, could reach clients as well, but clients may have access to healthcare that the counterpart sex worker may not.

Workers

To begin, as is illustrated by Harcourt and Donovan, there are many types of sex work, with varying degrees of legality. The first type discussed in their study is referred to as “direct sex work;” these practices are more clearly prostitution, for example Brothels and Escort services. The other type is “indirect;” this includes BDSM for hire (donimatrix work), lap dances, massage parlors, etc. In the chapter “Personnel,” Ditmore discusses several types of people that may be involved in of sex work, but I am going to focus on the sex workers and clients mainly. I will also not be focusing on sex slavery, but rather, adults who choose to work as sex workers. Weitzer says that, while there is a great stigma attached to sex work, migrant sex workers may not experience this quite as much as domestic ones as they might be away from family and others that might be the harshest judgers.

Clients

Clients are usually male, although not exclusively (Harcourt and Donovan). In Weitzer’s discussion of sex-work stigma, he acknowledges the stigma that clients face as well as that of sex workers. When sex workers face health issues, they are most likely brought on by a client, and they have the risk of passing these infections onto other clients.

Decriminalization

When decriminalization of sex work is discussed, this is about making it legal and safe for adults to be sex workers, and not legalizing sex slavery (Rekart). Weitzer discusses how, even in places where sex work has been decriminalized, stigma still exists. Because of this and because of the illegality of the activity, sex workers face dangers they would not if their work were legal. Sex workers are a largely at-risk group for drug use, they face violence and police harassment, as there is no regulation, there is high risk of STIs, they may lack access to physical and mental health services, housing, and more (Rekart).

Moral issue laws, such as sex work, are typically addressed by states (Ditmore). After decriminalizing sex work, countries like Australia and New Zealand also set regulations to ensure the health and safety of sex workers. (Ditmore). Regulations like this help to protect both sex workers and their clientele.

Risks

 

Possibly the most obvious risk to sex workers (and their clientele) is the risk of disease due to unprotected sex. There is no method other than condoms (internal and external) for STI prevention, and condoms are not 100% effective. There are many STIs that could be transmitted through unprotected sex, but HIV may be the biggest concern – however, there is a pre-exposure prophylactic (PEP) one can take to reduce the risk of contracting HIV, and a post-exposure prophylactic (PrEP) for if one has been exposed to HIV. Lower income sex workers are less likely to have access to prophylactics and health services (Harcourt and Donovan). Sex workers may also experience genital trauma due to their frequent intercourse and do things like vaginal or anal douching which can increase the risk of STIs (Rekart).

HIV is a risk in more than just unprotected sex. Using injected drugs and sharing needles and syringes with others is another way one can contract HIV, hepatitis b and c, and syphilis (Rekart). Drugs have their own risks such as impaired judgement, which can put a user in situations where they are exposed to more risks. Sex workers, especially those who work on the street, may be at higher risk for drug use than people working in different jobs and situations.

Sex workers may face violence. Street sex workers are also most at risk to be the victim of many types of violence such as sexual abuse, robbery, murder, etc. (Rekart). Some prostitutes may be subject to violence from their pimps; it is also common for the prostitute and their pimp to be in a relationship, making this a domestic violence situation, although this is not always the case with madams and pimps (Ditmore). Some more structured scenes for prostitution such as brothels and massage parlors, however, do have security in place to attempt at protection for their sex workers; this security can include drivers (Ditmore).

Wrap-up

People work in sex and pleasure jobs for various reasons, including desire for wealth, drug dependency, debt, survival, and more (Harcourt and Donovan). Removing stigma is an important step in protecting sex workers from many of the listed risks. Even when/if sex work was legalized, there would still be stigma attached to this work, as was seen in countries like Australia and the Netherlands (Ditmore). At this time, sex workers need to take individual responsibility to reduce the risk of harm they may encounter; sex workers can be educated and educate each other on the risks and how to avoid some of the STI risks they may be subject to (Rekart). The removing of criminal laws that restrict sex work may also give way for health and safety regulations that could lower the risks that affect sex workers’ lives.

Works Cited

 

Ditmore, Melissa Hope. Prostitution and Sex Work. ProQuest Ebook Central, ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2010. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libdatabase.newpaltz.edu/lib/newpaltz-ebooks/detail.action?docID=617110.

 

Harcourt, C., and B. Donovan. “The Many Faces of Sex Work.” Sexually Transmitted Infections, vol. 81, no. 3, BMJ, 2005, pp. 201–06, doi:10.1136/sti.2004.012468.

 

Rekart, Michael L. “Sex-Work Harm Reduction.” The Lancet (British Edition), vol. 366, no. 9503, Lancet, 2005, pp. 2123–34, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67732-X.

 

Weitzer, Ronald. “Resistance to Sex Work Stigma.” Sexualities, vol. 21, no. 5–6, Sept. 2018, pp. 717–729, doi:10.1177/1363460716684509.