Threads of resilience: Unraveling the labyrinth of agency and social-structural vulnerabilities in female youth survival sex through an institutional ethnography lens
| dc.contributor.author | Foster, Leigha | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Kakuru, Doris | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-04-30T21:16:44Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-04-30T21:16:44Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.degree.department | School of Child and Youth Care | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Arts MA | |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis explores the experiences of self-identifying female youth in Canada, aged 13–24, who have engaged in survival sex—a term used to describe the exchange of sex for basic needs like food, shelter, or money. Using Institutional Ethnography (IE) and an intersectional lens, the study examines how systemic inequities, institutional barriers, and constrained agency intersect in shaping these youths’ decisions. Drawing on secondary sources, including 12 media-based interviews with 11 women who engaged in survival sex during their youth, the study identifies two central themes: (1) Navigating Survival and Agency within Systemic Constraints and (2) Barriers to Exiting and Cycles of Entrenchment. Findings highlight that poverty, housing instability and trauma are key drivers of survival sex, while societal stigma and fragmented systems make exiting incredibly difficult. Despite these constraints, youth demonstrate resilience and agency, often making pragmatic decisions within limited options. The research challenges dominant rescue-oriented narratives by showing that many youths are not coerced but navigating structural failures. This study contributes to current literature by re-framing survival sex as a systemic issue rather than an individual choice, and offers policy recommendations grounded in harm reduction, trauma-informed care, and youth-centered supports. Ultimately, this thesis calls for systemic reform that respects the agency of youth while addressing the structural conditions that shape their lives. | |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Graduate | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/22070 | |
| dc.language | English | eng |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | |
| dc.subject | Survival Sex | |
| dc.subject | Institutional Ethnography | |
| dc.subject | Youth | |
| dc.subject | Transactional Sex | |
| dc.subject | Young Adults | |
| dc.title | Threads of resilience: Unraveling the labyrinth of agency and social-structural vulnerabilities in female youth survival sex through an institutional ethnography lens | |
| dc.type | Thesis |