Abstract
BackgroundDespite a large body of evidence globally demonstrating that the criminalization of sex workers increases HIV/STI risks, we know far less about the impact of criminalization and policing of managers and in-call establishments on HIV/STI prevention among sex workers, and even less so among migrant sex workers.MethodsAnalysis draws on ethnographic fieldwork and 46 qualitative interviews with migrant sex workers, managers and business owners of in-call sex work venues in Metro Vancouver, Canada.ResultsThe criminalization of in-call venues and third parties explicitly limits sex workers’ access to HIV/STI prevention, including manager restrictions on condoms and limited onsite access to sexual health information and HIV/STI testing. With limited labour protections and socio-cultural barriers, criminalization and policing undermine the health and human rights of migrant sex workers working in –call venues.ConclusionsThis research supports growing evidence-based calls for decriminalization of sex work, including the removal of criminal sanctions targeting third parties and in-call venues, alongside programs and policies that better protect the working conditions of migrant sex workers as critical to HIV/STI prevention and human rights.
Highlights
Despite a large body of evidence globally demonstrating that the criminalization of sex workers increases Human immune deficiency syndrome (HIV)/Sexually transmitted infection (STI) risks, we know far less about the impact of criminalization and policing of managers and in-call establishments on HIV/STI prevention among sex workers, and even less so among migrant sex workers
Impact of criminalization and policing on condom access While condom access plays a critical role in HIV/STI prevention in workplaces, our findings suggest that the criminalization of in-call sex work venues, including police use of condoms as evidence of sex work taking place in a given location, infringes on sex workers’ condom access
Many participants reported that police raid in-call sex work venues and search workers and the premises for condoms
Summary
Despite a large body of evidence globally demonstrating that the criminalization of sex workers increases HIV/STI risks, we know far less about the impact of criminalization and policing of managers and in-call establishments on HIV/STI prevention among sex workers, and even less so among migrant sex workers. Growing evidence globally has demonstrated that criminalization and enforcement-based approaches targeting sex workers negatively impact sex workers’ health, safety and human rights, including risks for violence, poor sexual health, and HIV/STI infection [14,15,16,17,18,19]. Recent reports from Human Rights Watch and Open Society Foundations have documented police use of condoms held by sex workers as evidence to enforce sex work laws. This highlights the need for greater attention to the impact of policing on sex worker’s access to condoms [24, 25]
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