The Impact of Sex Work on Psychological Wellbeing

Abstract

A controversial type of profession undertaken by women is sex work or prostitution, always subjected to regulation by law or convention. Sex workers are often stigmatized, marginalized, and criminalized by the societies in which they live. The profession of sex work may impact on the psychological wellbeing of the workers. This study aims to explore the impact of sex work on the psychological wellbeing of female sex workers. Qualitative design was used as the research design. The study used a purposive sample of five female sex workers and semi-structured interviews as the key method of data collection. The questions of the semi-structured interview were developed along the six dimensions of Ryff’s Psychological wellbeing scales: Autonomy, Environmental mastery, Personal growth, Positive relations with others, Purpose in life, and Self-acceptance. The data were analyzed along these six dimensions using the thematic analysis method. The findings of the study show that there is considerable impact of sex work on the psychological wellbeing of female sex workers. The impact is mostly negative and were especially true for Ryff’s dimensions of autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth and self-acceptance