Abstract
Introduction: Asian sex workers are a significant part of the Australian sex industry. Criminal laws, racism, isolation, poor English language skills and stigma and discrimination combine to increase the vulnerability of Asian sex workers in Australia. To inform service delivery and potential legislative reform, we undertook a study of sex worker health and safety in Western Australia with a focus on Asian sex workers.Methods: This was a mixed methods study in which peer researchers played an essential role. We undertook a survey (available online and in paper form and translated into three languages other than English), semi-structured interviews with sex workers, and interviews with key advisors.Results: In our study, Asian sex workers were older, had lower levels of education, more likely to have sex work as their main source of income, work longer hours and work exclusively in a shop-front massage parlor compared to their non-Asian counterparts. The vast majority of Asian sex workers in our study said they had poor English language skills and the greatest proportion spoke Chinese languages. Sex work had a positive impact on the well-being of many respondents, and their level of psychological distress was similar to the general Australian population. Stress and “bad clients” were common negative impacts of sex work. Asian study participants were less likely than their non-Asian counterparts to smoke, undertake risky drinking or use illicit drugs. A similar proportion of Asian sex workers reported being assaulted compared to their non-Asian counterparts.Discussion/Conclusion: The major challenges facing Asian sex workers in WA seem to be stigma and discrimination, stress, social isolation, and confusion about their legal standing leading to a fear of authorities, particularly the police. Our findings support the need for enhanced targeted peer-based health promotion outreach services for Asian sex workers, increased Asian language services in sexual health clinics and decriminalization of sex work.
Highlights
Asian sex workers are a significant part of the Australian sex industry
We extended the study to involve sex workers across the full range of sex industry businesses that exist in Western Australia (WA)
Visits to premises was undertaken by a peer investigator, she was denied entry to a number of unmarked “private houses”, and some massage shop proprietors denied that sexual services were being provided on their premises
Summary
Asian sex workers are a significant part of the Australian sex industry. Asian sex workers form a significant part of the Australian sex industry. The proportion of sex workers in Sydney accessing sexual health clinics who were from Asia increased from 20% to over 50% from 1992 to 2009 [1]. This was reflected in other jurisdictions including Western Australia (WA) [2]. Earlier studies found relatively low rates of condom use with clients and high rates of sexually transmissible infections (STI) among Asian sex workers [4,5,6]. In Australia at least, this improved as a result of health promotion, with recent studies suggesting that reported condom use and STI rates were comparable between Asian and non-Asian sex workers [3, 5, 7]
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