This thesis focuses on the findings of sex workers provided services in the Czech Republic and especially in the capital city Prague. It describes the different types of service, defines prostitution, its legislative basis, the historical development of approaches to the problems, and also theoretical approaches in social work focusing on the matching needs and service contracts. The practical part is then implemented survey among sex workers and district social workers. It aims to identify problem areas of sex workers, whether services adequately respond to them, or what service is in the list of missing. Finally, respondents' answers are evaluated from both groups and to create hypotheses about the "state service" and to draw the possible outcomes for practice. Keywords Prostitution, sex workers, social and health services, social work, matching.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Counselling Psychology) in the Department of Psychology University of Zululand, 2003. / This phenomenological study explores the experience of male sex-workers. The aim of this study was to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of this complex phenomenon and hopefully serve as a foundation for future research and counselling interventions in this field. A comprehensive literature review examining the individual and contextual issues rooted in the world of commercial sex between men is provided, and forms a firm foundation and backdrop for this study. The design of this study was qualitative and proceeded from a phenomenological stance. Data was collected through in-depth, unstructured interviews with four, white South African men who were currently working as male prostitutes. The interviews were recorded on audiotape and transcribed verbatim for each participant. The data was then categorized, coded and analyzed inter-individually in order to discover common and contrasting themes and patterns. These were tied together to form a hypothetical and general description of the experience of the male sex-worker.

Uganda has experienced substantive shifts in HIV prevention and treatment resulting in marked declines in HIV incidence and mortality rates across the country despite being among the top 5 highest new prevalence rates for HIV transmission and infection among women (Uganda Ministry of Health, 2019). Prior research has revealed that fear of stigma and discrimination, disclosure of HIV status, and quality of services are key factors in women’s healthcare decisions and care-seeking behaviors (Akatukwasa et al. 2021; Lancaster et al., 2016; Grossman & Stangl, 2013). Yet, there continue to be significant knowledge gaps regarding the mechanisms through which intersectional stigma exacerbates health outcomes for people living with HIV. This dissertation draws on baseline data, from the Kyaterekera project an efficacy trial testing the effects of a structural intervention on the HIV-health outcomes of women engaged in sex work within the Masaka region, Uganda. Using an explanatory sequential mixed method design, this study utilized Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the direct and indirect effects of intersectional stigma on mental health, while also evaluating mechanisms (i.e., social support and quality of care) through which stigma impacts mental health, treatment adherence and subsequent viral load. There were no direct or indirect effects of intersectional stigma on mental health, but intersectional stigma was positively associated with social support. Additionally, depression and adherence were negatively associated with viral load. Next, in-depth interviews (n=52) explored personal and community-level factors that may influence women’s care-seeking attitudes and overall health decisions. The following themes were most salient for women: 1) disclosure risk, 2) Intersectional community stigma permeates marginalized women’s health decisions, 3) adaptive behaviors and coping strategies are essential to maximizing care experiences, and 4) the Care Seeking Cost-Benefit Tradeoff. Through an integrative framework, quantitative and qualitative findings were then juxtaposed through a joint display and found to be predominantly complementary (McCrudden, M. T., Marchand, G., & Schutz, P. A., 2021). Findings suggest that a positive association between intersectional stigma and social support may underscore the significant long-term effects of living with HIV. Moreso, holding other stigmatized social statuses. Moreso, this link between intersectional stigma and social support may be due to women anticipating the likelihood of experiencing community-level/interpersonal stigma with HIV disclosure and extensive contact with their social support network. Also, more contact with social networks, particularly those in which stigma norms and discriminatory attitudes are pervasive on the community/ interpersonal level (or perceived to be so) may account for the positive associations between HIV stigma and social support. Sex work had a higher degree of concealability than HIV. As such, sex work was disclosed less frequently than HIV to healthcare providers, family, and friends due to anticipatory community stigma. Despite the finding that the explanatory sequential design produced no direct or indirect effects of intersectional stigma on mental health or viral load via SEM, the exploratory analysis provides substantive insights into the negative impact of HIV-related intersectional stigma on women’s care-seeking experiences and broader health decisions. Women’s care-seeking attitudes and behaviors reveal the intrinsic adaptive skills, strength, and resilience they possess to address individual health needs despite known barriers to care. Overall, this study provides further support for holistic interventions that can enhance and build resilience and successful adaptive strategies to mitigate the effects of HIV-related intersectional stigma.

This dissertation takes as its subjects East European Jewish women who sold sex in their homelands and/or abroad and situates their engagement in sex work within the broader structures these women navigated – labor markets, state laws on residence and migration, community and family. This project turns working-class Jewish women, who migrated within and from Eastern Europe and sold sexual services, into protagonists in their own story and writes them back into modern Eastern European Jewish economic and migration histories. Between 1870 and 1939, Eastern European Jews suffered from consistent official and unofficial anti-Jewish discrimination in the labor market. This discrimination, combined with ongoing economic changes and crises, hindered Jewish socio-economic advancement and instead drove more and more Jews into poverty. Both married and single women were pressed financially to find gainful employment but encountered a labor market with too few opportunities. In these circumstances, the state-sanctioned sex industry, which was Jewish madams and pimps had their part, provided them with economic prospects and facilitated their physical mobility, which was a privilege in this period. By 1914, Jews, especially women, found it almost impossible to leave the Russian Empire legally. After the Great War, immigration restrictions became a virtually global phenomenon, again severely limiting the options of Jews for leaving Eastern Europe. In the interwar years, anxieties about trafficking turned into laws restricting single women's movement and preventing immigration to popular destinations, such as the United States or Argentina. Despite these challenges, some Eastern European Jewish women who sold sex turned out to be particularly mobile. They moved within Eastern Europe, crossing borders between empires, and regularly circulated across seas and oceans to the Middle East and the Americas. By viewing these women as economic actors and labor migrants, this dissertation seeks to reconceptualize prostitution as one of the ways in which Eastern European Jews from the working poor navigated the transformative and increasingly challenging period between 1870 and 1939. This rewriting of Jewish prostitution as a rich social history of Eastern European Jewish women from the lower classes relies on a wide range of sources that, on the one hand, provide access to the women’s voices (though rarely unmediated) and, on the other, expose how class-biased and moralistic interpretation has been imposed on their life stories. Unlike most of the previous studies on this topic, this project looks at Jewish prostitution from the Eastern European perspective and uses materials produced by this Jewish population and the surrounding society – Jewish and non-Jewish press in Polish, Yiddish, and Hebrew; Habsburg, Russian, and Polish state-produced labor and prostitution reports as well as ministerial and police records.

<p>This thesis presents the findings of a study carried out in brothels in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The study examined efforts of the "voiceless" sex workers to organize in order to increase their control over decision-making processes. It also analyzed the difficulties, social forces, structures and ideologies which maintain an inequitable distribution of power. The broader aim was to clarify the notion of people's participation in order to make it operationally more useful with respect to AIDS prevention intervention to sex workers. A technocratic approach to issues of AIDS prevention and control among sex workers was rejected. The study embraced a number of complementary activities including: situation analysis of AIDS in the Thai context, specifically in the northeast, ethnographic study of the sex industry, and participatory action research.</p> <p>This study was initiated in late 1991 and completed in 1993. It was carried out in six brothels in downtown Khon Kaen. The study occurred in 4 phases: 1) situation assessment in which historical and documentary analysis were utilized ethnographic research on sex workers which served as a basis for constructing culturally appropriate interventions, 3) participatory action research emphasizing self determination of sex workers on AIDS prevention and control, and 4) evaluation of this "experiment." The research attempts to balance "classic ethnography" and "applied participatory research" to an AIDS prevention program for sex workers in Thailand. It was carried in collaboration with health professionals, landlords, pimps, and sex workers. Groups met and worked together in brothels to discuss the findings. Results were also presented to local health authorities.</p> <p>This study illustrates the opportunities for and the formidable difficulties of participation by sex workers in Thailand. Without strong support for non-formal AIDS education and self determination by sex workers, there is little chance that they can negotiate safe sex and make decisions concerning AIDS prevention.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Objectif: La caractérisation des facteurs immunitaires associés à la protection contre l’infection au VIH est cruciale pour le développement de stratégies de prévention. Cette étude évalue les IgGs dirigées contre l’enveloppe du VIH-1 dans le sérum et les liquides cervicovaginaux (LCV) de travailleuses du sexe béninoises. Méthode : Notre étude porte sur 23 travailleuses du sexe séropositives (TS+) et 20 travailleuses du sexe séronégatives (TS-). Le potentiel de neutralisation a été évalué par un essai de neutralisation. La détection d’IgGs a été effectuée par un ELISA sur base cellulaire. La capacité d’induire une réponse ADCC a été est évaluée par l’élimination de cellules cibles recouvertes de gp120 par le mécanisme d’ADCC. Résultats : Malgré que nous n’ayons pas détecté d’IgG dirigées contre l’enveloppe du VIH-1, ni d’activité de neutralisation ou d’élimination de cellules cibles par ADCC chez les TS-, nous avons facilement détecté ces activités de neutralisation et d’élimination de cellules cibles par ADCC chez les TS+ dans le sérum et les LCV qui reconnaissent mieux la forme de l’enveloppe liée à CD4. Ces IgGs pourraient être impliquées dans l’élimination par ADCC des cellules cibles présentant les glycoprotéines de l’enveloppe à leur surface, et ce à la muqueuse vaginale, le premier site de transmission virale. Conclusion : Ces résultats permettent pour la première fois de montrer la conformation de l’enveloppe préférentiellement reconnue par les IgGs présentes au site de transmission par voie sexuelle. / Objective: Characterization of the immune correlates of protection against HIV infection is crucial for the development of preventive strategies. This study examined HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins (Env) specific IgG in systemic and mucosal compartments of female Beninese commercial sex workers (CSWs). Design: 23 HIV-1-positive and 20 highly-exposed HIV-1-seronegative (HESN) CSWs were studied. Methods: HIV-1-Env specific IgG detection in sera and cervico-vaginal lavages (CVLs) from the study population was done by cell-based ELISA. The HIV neutralizing activity was evaluated with a neutralization assay. HIV-1 specific antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) response of the cohort was measured with a FACS-based assay evaluating the ADCC-mediated elimination of gp120-coated target cells. Results: No anti-HIV-1-Env-specific IgG, neutralizing or ADCC activities were detected in samples from HESN CSWs. Samples from HIV-1-infected CSWs presented ADCC activity in both sera and CVLs. Anti-Env IgG from sera and CVLs from HIV-1-infected CSWs preferentially recognized the Env in its CD4-bound conformation. Conclusion: Theses results demonstrate for the first time that HIV-1-infected CSWs have ADCC-mediating IgG that preferentially recognize Env in its CD4-bound conformation at the mucosal site.

MA, Forced Migration Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011. / Rationale: Urbanization is rapidly taking place in Africa: fifty percent of the continent‘s population is expected to be living in urban areas by 2030 (Kok and Collinson in Vearey 2010b). Both internal1 and cross-border migrants2 are moving into South Africa’s urban centers at a faster rate than her neighboring countries; approximately 60 percent of the population is estimated to be urban (ibid). The worldwide increase in urbanization requires that research recognize the trajectories of people moving into these urban spaces, as well as the experiences that people encounter as they navigate urban centers (Kihato, 2010, Landau 2006a, 2006b, Vearey 2010a, 2010b, Venables, 2010). Many migrants in inner-city Johannesburg engage in unconventional survival strategies, including sex work (e.g. Richter 2010). Although sex work is considered an informal livelihood strategy, it is currently illegal in South Africa (UNAIDS, 2009). Research on sex work in South Africa is limited; however, there is significant evidence that sex workers in inner-city Johannesburg experience unsafe, unhealthy- often times violent- working and living conditions (e.g. Nyangairi, 2010, Richeter, 2010). This research is primarily interested in exploring the ways in which “marginalized” urban migrant groups choose to represent themselves versus the incomplete (re) presentation that is often relegated to them. A focus on representation will provide an opportunity for policy makers, programmers and academics to gain insight and better comprehend the experiences of migrant urban populations. In this case, the researcher is looking specifically at migrant women who sell sex as an entry point into the larger issues of (re) presentation among individuals and communities who are often described as “vulnerable” and/or “marginal”. Aim: The aim of this research project is to explore how migrant women who sell sex in Hillbrow, Johannesburg (re) present themselves, and how (or not) urban space affects these self- (re) presentations. Methods: The epistemological framework for the methodologies used in this study was Participatory Action Research (PAR), and the primary data collection methodology used consisted of an eleven-day participatory photo project where the research participants were given digital cameras and asked to photograph the “story” that they would like to share. Upon completion of the participatory photo workshop, five research participants were randomly selected to participate in 2-3 sessions of in-depth, semi-structured narrative interviews where the researcher explored the choice of photos taken, as well as the reasons why the photos were selected to (re) present themselves. Conclusion: This study has shown that use of Participatory Action Research as an epistemological framework is both conducive and appropriate when researching ‘hard to reach’ groups of people residing in complex urban areas. Furthermore, this research signals the need for greater inclusion of participants in studies aimed at understanding individual/group experience, especially when working with marginalized communities. This study also reveals a host of future research opportunities for those interested in exploring: (1) identity in urban space/urban health, (2) livelihood experiences/strategies of people living in densely populated urban spaces, (3) issues of belonging and access to health care, (4) impacts of structural violence on the lives of migrant women sex workers, (6) ways that perceptions and representations are impacted in group settings, and (5) the use of ‘innovative methodologies’ as a viable tool in social science research.

Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / The discussion looks at the history of commercial sex and how it has evolved in South Africa. The discussion evaluates the challenges that commercial sex workers face in South Africa and argues that the dignity of sex workers as citizens of South Africa are infringed and it would seem that less is being done to protect these workers due to nature of their work. It is argued that sex workers are still entitled to the rights enshrined in the Constitution despite the illegality of sex work. This discussion argues further that sex work continues to exist in South Africa despite its illegality and it would be prudent to address the challenges that encourage sex work because the criminalization of this type of work does not seem to minimize sex work. The discussion further looks at the case of Kylie v CCMA which has been subject to much debate recently. The discussion also makes a comparative study with Germany and determines the lessons which South Africa can learn from this country regarding decriminalization of sex work.

Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / The discussion looks at the history of commercial sex and how it has evolved in South Africa. The discussion evaluates the challenges that commercial sex workers face in South Africa and argues that the dignity of sex workers as citizens of South Africa are infringed and it would seem that less is being done to protect these workers due to nature of their work. It is argued that sex workers are still entitled to the rights enshrined in the Constitution despite the illegality of sex work. This discussion argues further that sex work continues to exist in South Africa despite its illegality and it would be prudent to address the challenges that encourage sex work because the criminalization of this type of work does not seem to minimize sex work. The discussion further looks at the case of Kylie v CCMA which has been subject to much debate recently. The discussion also makes a comparative study with Germany and determines the lessons which South Africa can learn from this country regarding decriminalization of sex work.

Em que pese o ato de prostituir-se já ser conhecido de há muito na História da humanidade, o Brasil não logrou, até o presente momento, oferecer uma resposta adequada a esta questão social. A legislação permite considerar a prostituição, em si mesma, um ato lícito, mas criminaliza por razões exclusivamente morais as atividades a ela umbilicalmente ligadas. A pesquisa encontrou fundamentação teórica em material bibliográfico multidisciplinar disponível sobre o assunto. Também o método da história oral foi utilizado, a partir da teoria das representações sociais de Henri Lefebvre, para conhecer do cotidiano e das condições de trabalho dos profissionais do sexo. Após a análise histórica do comércio sexual, das regulamentações permissivas e proibicionistas existentes ao longo da História, foi possível compreender o estigma que o trabalho e seus trabalhadores enfrentam até a atualidade. Postas estas questões, passamos à análise dos crimes relacionados à prostituição e o cotejo destes com os direitos fundamentais da pessoa humana. Examinamos os movimentos sociais de profissionais do sexo existentes em todo o mundo, bem como a solução apresentada para a questão social do trabalho do sexo por diversos países, como Estados Unidos da América (e particularmente o Estado de Nevada), Nova Zelândia, Holanda, Alemanha, dentre outros. Analisamos os projetos de lei propostos na última década acerca da regulamentação profissional dos trabalhadores do sexo, e deles extraímos conceitos importantes para a análise do trabalho sexual no Brasil, seja aquele exercido por mulheres, homens ou travestis. Esta diferenciação em três categorias realizada na pesquisa foi importante para a compreensão de certas particularidades existentes em cada tipologia do meretrício, que pode manifestar-se de múltiplas formas. Em consonância com a teoria penal do bem jurídico, analisamos os tipos penais existentes no Código de 1940, os quais demonstram, na atualidade, não tutelar nenhum interesse legítimo; além disto, em sua aplicação prática, desrespeitam tais comandos legais diversos direitos fundamentais do trabalhador do sexo, expondo-o a situações discriminatórias e antijurídicas (em comparação com outros trabalhadores). Na compreensão sistêmica da Constituição Federal e de seus preceitos, especialmente os direitos fundamentais individuais e sociais, é possível concluir pela inconstitucionalidade dos dispositivos existentes nos artigos 227 a 231-A do Código Penal, ainda que em alguns casos exista inconstitucionalidade parcial. A proteção penal deverá dar-se apenas quando houver exploração sexual, como a reforma de 2009, sem muito êxito, tentou realizar. Finalmente, na análise do conceito jurídico de trabalho, pudemos concluir que o trabalhador do sexo realiza, de fato, trabalho, cujo desenvolvimento poderá dar-se apenas de forma autônoma. Somente a prostituição adulta restou analisada e foi alvo de nossas conclusões. Desta feita, buscamos propor uma nova visão acerca do trabalho sexual, mais inclusiva, que objetive conferir direitos elementares a esta classe trabalhadora que há séculos já existe. / Despite the act of prostitution is already known long ago in human history, Brazil has failed until the present date to provide an appropriate answer to this social question. The legislation allows considering prostitution in itself a lawful act, but criminalizes - only because of moral reasons the activities inextricably linked to it. The research found theoretical foundation in multidisciplinary bibliographic material available on the subject. Also the oral history method was used, based on the theory of social representations of Henri Lefebvre, to know the daily life and working conditions of sex workers. After the historical analysis of the sex trade, permissive and prohibitionist regulations that existed throughout the history, it was possible to understand the stigma that the work and its workers face until today. Presented these issues, the crimes under the Brazilian law related to prostitution were analyzed and collated with the fundamental rights of the human person. The social movements of sex workers around the world were examined, as well as the proposed solution to the social issue of sex work by several countries, including the United States of America (and particularly the state of Nevada), New Zealand, Netherlands, Germany, among others. The bills of the last decade on the field of professional regulation of sex workers were also analyzed, and pulled from them important concepts for the analysis of sex work in Brazil, the one exercised by women, men or transvestites. This differentiation into three categories in the survey conducted was important for the understanding of certain peculiarities existing in each typology of prostitution, which can manifest itself in multiple ways. In line with the penal theory of the juridical interest, the criminal types that existed on the Brazilian Penal Code of 1940 were analyzed, which actually demonstrate that they do not protect any legitimate interest, moreover, in its practical application, these legal commands disrespect several fundamental rights of the sex worker, exposing he or she to discriminatory and anti-juridical situations (if compared with other workers). Within the systemic understanding of the Brazilian Constitution and its principles, especially the individual fundamental and social rights, we conclude for the unconstitutionality of existing legal devices in Articles 227 to 231-A of the Brazilian Penal Code, although in some cases there is partial unconstitutionality. The criminal protection should be given only when there is sexual exploitation, such as the reform of 2009, without much success, tried to accomplish. Finally, in the analysis of the legal concept work, we concluded that the sex worker does, indeed, work, whose development may take place just independently. Only adult prostitution was analyzed and was the target of our conclusions. This time we seek to propose a new vision about sex work, more inclusive, that aims to give basic rights to this working class that already exists for centuries.