Stigma and sex work from the perspective of female sex workers in Hong Kong
- 12 January 2011
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Sociology of Health & Illness
- Vol. 33 (1), 50-65
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2010.01276.x
Abstract
While the stigma surrounding sex work is both well documented and easily recognised, few studies examine stigma in this context from the perspective of the sex workers themselves. In this article we report on a study using a modified grounded theory approach to analyse a series of semi-structured interviews with 49 female sex workers in Hong Kong, in order to examine the ways in which this group experiences and negotiates the stigma which arises from their employment in the sex industry. Sex workers in Hong Kong were subject to various stigmatising forces in their daily lives in their interactions with the public, the police and their families. These processes could have a negative impact on the sex workers' health, both through obvious manifestations such as physical or verbal abuse and through more subtle processes such as those which generated or perpetuated vulnerability and those which compelled the sex workers to conceal their identities and withdraw themselves from social networks. These findings are situated in the context of broader research surrounding sex work, drawing attention to the consequences of stigma on health and their interaction with health-service providers, before briefly discussing possible means of overcoming stigma-related barriers to providing adequate healthcare for this marginalised group. © 2010 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2010 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltexKeywords
This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit:
- "One country, two systems": Sociopolitical implications for female migrant sex workers in Hong KongBMC International Health and Human Rights, 2008
- Police violence and sexual risk among female and transvestite sex workers in Serbia: qualitative studyBMJ, 2008
- Environmental health and safety of Chinese sex workers: A cross-sectional studyInternational Journal of Nursing Studies, 2008
- Intimate Partner Violence, Depression, and PTSD Among Pregnant Latina WomenAnnals of Family Medicine, 2008
- Sociology, social structure and health-related stigmaPsychology, Health & Medicine, 2006
- Discrimination, Symptoms of Depression, and Self-Rated Health Among African American Women in Detroit: Results From a Longitudinal AnalysisAmerican Journal of Public Health, 2006
- Re-framing Stigma: Felt and Enacted Stigma and Challenges to the Sociology of Chronic and Disabling ConditionsSocial Theory & Health, 2004
- Caring, Control, and Clinicians' Influence: Ethical Dilemmas in Development DisabilitiesEthics & Behavior, 1999
- Risky business: health and safety in the sex industry over a 9 year periodSexually Transmitted Infections, 1999
- Rape myths and violence against street prostitutesDeviant Behavior, 1995