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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:26 am
Time: 3:26 am
Results for sex workers (australia)
3 results foundAuthor: Seib, Charrlotte Title: Health, Well-being and Sexual Violence among Female Sex Workers: A Comparative Study Summary: Prostitution has been documented in most societies, although the context in which it occurs may vary greatly. In Queensland, Australia, sex workers can operate from legal brothels or privately but all other sectors of the sex industry are prohibited. It is assumed that regulation of the sex industry through legalization leads to better health and social outcomes for sex workers and their clients. However, this assumption has rarely been subjected to empirical scrutiny. This research examined the occupational health and safety of female sex workers in Queensland and explored the relationship between legislative change, workplace violence, mental health and job satisfaction. Sex workers interviewed in 2003 (after legalisation) were compared to a prior study of this population conducted in 1991 (before official regulation of the sex industry). Further, in-depth analysis of the 2003 cohort compared sex workers employed in legal and illegal sectors, to assess violence, health status and job satisfaction. Methods: Cross-sectional, convenience sampling was used to collect data from female sex workers in 2003. This data was compared with data collected earlier (in 1991) and explored differences in the two samples using bivariate analysis. Similar recruitment strategies on both occasions were used to recruit women from all known sectors of the Queensland sex industry. The 1991 comparison sample (Boyle et al. 1997) included 200 women (aged between 16 and 46 years), and in 2003, 247 women (aged 18 to 57) participated. The 2003 sample included workers from legal brothels (n=102), private sole-operators (n=103) and illegal street-based sex workers (n=42). Using data collected in 2003, this study assessed the relationship between physical and mental health and job satisfaction and two main independent variables, i.e., current work sector and recent workplace violence. Bivariate analysis of physical health and independent variables showed no significant relationships and therefore further analysis was not undertaken. However, analysis of mental health and job satisfaction showed complex interactions between multiple variables and therefore linear modeling was performed to adjust for confounding. Results: Analysis of the 1991 and 2003 samples showed little apparent change over time in self-reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs). There were substantial changes over time in the types of sexual services being provided to clients, with the 2003 sample more likely to provide 'exotic' services. Violence experienced ever in their lifetime differed; in 1991, 29% reported having ever been raped compared with 42% in 2003 (p= <0.01). In 2003, 50% of illegal sex workers reported having ever been raped by a client compared with 12% of private sex workers and 3% of brothel-based sex workers (p=<0.01). Overall, the sex workers reported roughly equivalent job satisfaction to Australian women. A desire to leave the sex industry was most strongly correlated with reduced job satisfaction (p=<0.01). Satisfaction was also relatively low among those whose family was not aware of their sex work (p=<0.01). Similarly, the mental and physical health of this sample was comparable to age-matched women from the general population. Wanting to leave the sex industry was most strongly associated with poor mental health (p=<0.01), as was recent sexual or physical assault by a client (p=0.06) and the woman's main work sector (p=0.05). Illegal sex workers reported substantially lower mental health scores than their counterparts in legal sex work. Conclusions: Self-reported STI diagnosis was high in these samples but the prevalence appears not to have changed over time. Comparing 2003 to 1991, there were trends towards safer and more diverse sexual practices. It is likely the sex industry has 'professionalized' and now includes more sex workers providing specialist, 'exotic' services. This sample of female sex workers reported high rates of violence, with those working illegally at greatest risk. Analysis suggests a complex interaction between variables contributing to mental health and job satisfaction. In general, it appears that the majority of sex workers enjoyed at least as much job satisfaction as women working in other occupations. It also appears that this sample had equivalent mental health to women from the general population, although the sub-group of illegal workers generally had poorer health. Job satisfaction and the extent of workplace hazards (especially risk of violence) were also strongly associated with different sectors of the sex industry. It is probable that legalisation has benefited some (perhaps most) but there are health and safety concerns for those outside the legal framework. Legislative reform should focus on violence prevention, promoting reporting of violent events to police, and further exploration of the impact of legislation on the health of workers in the sex industry. Details: Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology, 2007. 254p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 25, 2011 at: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16398/1/Charlotte_Seib_Thesis.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Australia URL: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16398/1/Charlotte_Seib_Thesis.pdf Shelf Number: 123124 Keywords: ProstitutesProstitutionSex Workers (Australia)Sexual Violence |
Author: Donovan, B., Harcourt, C., Egger, S., Schneider, K., O’Connor, J., Marshall, L., Chen, M.Y., & Fairley, C.K. Title: The Sex Industry in Western Australia Summary: The Western Australian Government is currently reviewing its legislative approach to prostitution. In parallel with this process, the Law and Sexworker Health (LASH) team independently compiled extensive collateral data on the prostitution laws in WA, and prosecutions (2000-2005) resulting from those laws; the structure and function of the sex industry in Perth; the demographics, behaviour, health, and welfare of a representative sample of brothel-based sex workers in Perth; and the operation of health promotion and clinical services in WA. The WA Department of Health contracted the LASH team to compile this Report in order to better inform WA policy considerations. The LASH team had been funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council to investigate if the various legislative approaches across Australian jurisdictions were associated with different health and welfare outcomes for the sex workers. Three capital cities were selected and the LASH team focused on urban brothel-based female sex workers for comparability reasons, and because such women provide the bulk of commercial sexual services in Australia. Perth was selected because most forms of commercial sex are illegal, Sydney because adult sex work is largely decriminalised, and Melbourne because sex work as "legalized": that is, either brothels or individual sex workers must be licensed. Unlicensed brothels or sex workers in Melbourne remain criminalised. In brief, the LASH team determined that - Perth had a small (and possibly contracting), diverse, and open sex industry commensurate with the size of Perth's population. WA men are infrequent consumers of commercial sexual services, with only 1.9% purchasing sexual services in any one year, similar to the Australian average. This suggests that criminal sanctions in WA do not reduce the incidence commercial sex. - Despite a remarkably large number of laws against prostitution-related activities, offenses finalised in the WA courts were overwhelmingly concentrated on the street-based sex industry. Indeed, more male clients of street workers were prosecuted than street workers. Over the six-year period, 2000 to 2005, there were no prosecutions against several prostitution laws. - Perth brothels remained concentrated in traditional inner-city areas and the police still maintained a database of sex workers, indicating that the "containment policy" was still in effect despite its official abandonment in 2000. The police visited Perth brothels and required names and other information much more than in brothels in Melbourne and Sydney. Nevertheless, there was little evidence of police corruption in Perth. - Compared to sex workers in Melbourne and Sydney, brothel-based female sex workers in Perth were less educated, and fewer were born in Asian or other non-English speaking countries. Though one in five Perth workers rated their English language skills as "fair" or "poor", no health promotion staff with foreign language skills were available. The organisation charged with delivering health promotion services to the WA sex industry, Magenta, had limited access to most brothels because of the illegal status of the industry. - Nevertheless, condom use at work approached 100% in Perth brothels and when the LASH team tested the Perth women the prevalence of four sexually transmitted infections (STIs) - chlamydia (2.7%), gonorrhoea (0), Mycoplasma genitalium (3.6%), and trichomoniasis (0.9%) - was at least as low as the general population. These low STI rates were similar to the rates in sex workers in Melbourne and Sydney. - Similar to Melbourne and Sydney, 10% of Perth brothel workers were found to be severely distressed on psychological testing (the Kessler-6 scale) and this was strongly associated with injecting drug use. This proportion was twice as high as the general population. Details: Sydney: National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of New South Wales, 2010. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2013 at: http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecrweb.nsf/resources/shpreport/$file/wasexreport.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecrweb.nsf/resources/shpreport/$file/wasexreport.pdf Shelf Number: 127606 Keywords: BrothelsProstitutesProstitutionSex IndustrySex Workers (Australia) |
Author: Tyler, Meagan Title: Not Just Harmless Fun: The Strip Club Industry in Victoria Summary: This report shows the burgeoning strip club industry in Victoria, Australia, harms women and communities. Strip clubs harm the physical and mental health of women who strip, as well as the opportunities of all women who want equal sexual relationships with men. Strip clubs create no-go areas for women, and are responsible for increasing violence in the community. The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia (CATWA) argues that strip clubs need to be understood as part of the industry of prostitution and regulated in the same way as brothels. This means that they would be licensed, subject to planning restrictions, unable to obtain liquor licenses, and owners would need criminal record checks. To ensure that strip club are not seen merely as entertainment venues, like other night clubs, they should be regulated as commercial sex venues. Details: Melbourne, AUS: Coalition Against Trafficking Women, 2010. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 10, 2013 at:http://catwa.org.au/files/images/Strip_Club_Report.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://catwa.org.au/files/images/Strip_Club_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 129610 Keywords: Human TraffickingSex Workers (Australia)Strip Clubs |