Canadian Sex Workers Weigh the Costs and Benefits of Disclosing Their Occupational Status to Health Providers
Date
2019
Authors
Benoit, Cecilia
Smith, Michaela
Jansson, Mikael
Magnus, Samantha
Maurice, Renay
Flagg, Jackson
Reist, Dan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sexuality Research and Social Policy
Abstract
Prostitution stigma has been shown to negatively affect the work, personal lives, and health of sex workers. Research also shows that sex workers have much higher unmet health care needs than the general population. Less is known about how stigma obstructs their health-seeking behaviors. For our thematic analysis, we explored Canadian sex workers’ accounts (N = 218) of accessing health care services for work-related health concerns. Results show that participants had mixed feelings about revealing their work status in health care encounters. Those who decided not to disclose were fearful of negative treatment or expressed confidentiality concerns or lack of relevancy. Those who divulged their occupational status to a health provider mainly described benefits, including nonjudgment, relationship building, and comprehensive care, while a minority experienced costs that included judgment, stigma, and inappropriate health care. Overall, health professionals in Canada appear to be doing a good job relating to sex workers who come forward for care. There is still a need for some providers to learn how to better converse with, diagnose, and care for people in sex work jobs that take into account the heavy costs associated with prostitution stigma.
Description
Keywords
Sex work, Unmet health care needs, Stigma, Disclosure, Health care encounters, Agency
Citation
Benoit, C., Smith, M., Jansson, M., Magnus, S., Maurice, R., Flagg, J., … Reist, D. (2019) Canadian Sex Workers Weigh the Costs and Benefits of Disclosing Their Occupational Status to Health Providers. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-018-0339-8