CAUSES AND DECISION OF WOMEN’S INVOLVEMENT INTO PROSTITUTION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN UGANDA
A CASE STUDY OF CENTRAL DIVISION
MASINDI MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.
ETHER SANYU 2013/AUG/BPAM/B12078/DAY
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A BACHELORS DEGREE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF NKUMBA UNIVERSITY
JUNE 2018 i
ii
DECLARATION I hereby declare that this is entirely my original work, except where acknowledged and that it has never been submitted to any University or institution of higher learning for any award.
Esther Sanyu
i
APPROVAL
This is to certify that this research report was done under my supervision and is now ready for submission to Nkumba University with my approval as the Supervisor.
Mr. Onzima Bruno
ii
DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to my Mum, Mrs. Bakunzi Cotilda Mbabazi. You have made me who I am, and this journey has been successful with your effort and sacrifice. May the Almighty
God bless you abundantly.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
UYDEL: Uganda Youth Development Link
WHO: World Health Organization
PEAP: Poverty Eradication Action Plan
MDG's: Millennium Development Goals
NGO's: Non Governmental
UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund
MGLSD: Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development
LCs: Local Councils
STDs: Sexual Transmitted Diseases
HIV/AIDs: Human Immune Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
APLO: Anti Prostitution Loyalty Oath
UN: United Nations
TV: Television
NAP: National Action Plan
SAP: Slum Aid Program
v
Table of Contents DECLARATION ...... i APPROVAL ...... ii DEDICATION ...... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...... iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... v Table of Contents...... vi CHAPTER 0NE ...... 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.0 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Background ...... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ...... 2 1.3 Research question ...... 3 1.4 Objectives of the Study ...... 4 1.4.1 General Objective ...... 4 1.4.2 Specific Objectives ...... 4 1.5 Significance of the Study ...... 4 1.6 Justification of the Study ...... 5 1.7 Scope of the Study ...... 5 1.7.1 Content Scope ...... 5 1.7.2 Geographical Scope ...... 5 1.7.3 Time Scope: ...... 5 1.8 Definition of Terms ...... 5 CHAPTER TWO ...... 7 LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 7 2.0 Introduction ...... 7 2.1 Conceptualizing Social Exclusion ...... 7 2.2 Sex Work – Definitions, Demographics and Trends ...... 8 2.3 Factors driving entrance in to sex work ...... 11 2.4 Social and economic factors which impact on health ...... 17 2.5 Types of sex work and levels of exclusion ...... 21 2.6 Stabilizing the lives of sex workers ...... 26 2.7 Conclusion ...... 32 CHAPTER THREE ...... 33 METHODOLOGY ...... 33 3.0 Introduction ...... 33 3.1 Research Design ...... 33 3.2 Area of Study ...... 33 3.3 Population of the Study ...... 34
vi
3.4 Study Sample ...... 35 3.5 Data Collection Methods and Research Instruments ...... 35 3.6 Data Processing and Analysis ...... 35 3.6.1 Data processing ...... 35 3.6.2 Editing ...... 35 3.6.3 Data analysis ...... 36 CHAPTER FOUR ...... 37 DATA PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS ...... 37 4.0 Introduction ...... 37 4.1 General Information about the participants ...... 37 4.2 Prostitution: the experiences and challenges ...... 37 4.3 Benefits from the trade? ...... 39 4.4 Socially Excluded! ...... 40 CHAPTER FIVE ...... 54 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ...... 54 5.0 Introduction ...... 54 5.1 Conclusions: More-Than-Survival Strategies ...... 54 5.2 Challenges of Data Collection...... 57 REFERENCES ...... 59 Appendix ...... 62
vii
viii
CHAPTER 0NE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, research questions, objectives of the research both general and specific, and significance of the study among others.
1.1 Background
The problem of prostitution has become a global concern. According to Cassie and Wood (2001)
prostitution is commonly defined as a custom of having sexual relations in exchange for
economic gain. Although sex is traditionally traded for money, it can also be bartered for
jewelry, clothing, housing, and food-anything that has market value. The word prostitution can
also refer to any act that is considered demeaning or shameful. Prostitution is criminal multi-
billion industry believed to involve as many as 2 million youth around the world. In Thailand
though the number is categorically known, it has been estimated that children make up 40%
prostitutes in the country; while India, about one third of prostitutes are less than 18 years. United
Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) maintains that prostitution is a type of
commercial sexual exploitation of young people along with prostitution, pornography and sex
trafficking (UNICEF 2004).Studies done in various parts of Uganda indicate alarming rates of
youth involvement in prostitution
Literature indicates that prostitution is prevalent in all major regions of the world. International
Labour Organization (ILO 2000) estimates that over 1.8million youth around the world are
involved in prostitution. Estimates derived from qualitative data (UYDEL, 2000) indicate that
1
there are between 7000 and 12000 children and youth in Uganda affected by the problem. Slum
life is one of the most factors that promote prostitution according to the findings from a study
done by Save the children UK (2003). From the study in one slum of Kampala city revealed that
82% of residents in slum areas live in single room houses with six children and thus children
experiment sex so early while trying to initiate into practice they here and see from adults.
In terms of prevention, Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) through its community
outreach program has been carrying out awareness raising campaigns about the hazards of youth
prostitution and identification involved in prostitution. Also Uganda participants recognized the
need for Uganda to come up with a National Action Plan (NAP) encompassing all kind of youth
prostitution, sexual abuse and exploitation including child prostitution .The task of drawing this
draft (NAP) was drawn up involving key child rights NGOs and government line ministers was
spearheaded by Slum Aid Program (SAP). Due to government beaucracy the government is yet
to embrace this plan
1.2 Statement of the Problem
A walk on Kampala streets reveals that there is abundant evidence of prostitution in Uganda even by observation. According to Obuoforibu (1995) there are many prostitutes in Uganda where majority of them are youth and women. Uganda Youth Development Link (2003) maintains that prostitution leads to un wanted pregnancy drug addiction, conflict, HIV/AIDS which often end up in death.
Prostitution in Uganda is illegal in Uganda, but prostitutes operate in Kampala city centre. (Ray,
2013, BBC, 2007). In 2003, Ugandan authorities ordered sex workers to pay a tax of 9,000
(£2.63) Ugandan shilling in order to operate in Malaba (Odeke, 2003) Also in 2003 Ugandan MPs
2 met sex workers who were concerned about "police harassment" and claiming that it was unfair that police officers were arresting sex workers while they waited for clients (BBC, 2003). A study of teachers in Kampala showed that teachers were turning to prostitution to increase their income; a sex worker can earn around 1.5 million Ugandan shillings (£439) per month, whereas this would be a yearly wage for a secondary school teacher. Unicef.es (2007)
Despite the government’s effort to have stringent laws on prostitution that makes illegal in
Uganda, and also despite the media programs on dangers of prostitution, or church condemnation, on the practice; the incidence of prostitution is on the increase. Because many people consider prostitution to be a vice, many do not want to associate with them; therefore few or no studies in
Uganda have focused on the experiences of prostitutes, the main reason for the conception of this study.
1.3 Research question
My main research question is: What are the challenges of prostitution in Katabi Town Council?
My sub questions are:
1. What are the experiences of being prostitutes?
2. What are the challenges that prostitutes face in the course of living their lives?
3. How do the prostitutes cope with the day to day challenges as they live their lives?
4. How does society support the prostitutes in their day to day living?
I present the findings of the research study in chapter four to help the reader grasp the experiences of the prostitutes in Masindi Town, Masindi Municipality.
3
1.4 Objectives of the Study
1.4.1 General Objective
The purpose of this study is to investigate, get insight into, present and discuss the experiences and the dilemmas of the prostitutes. The girls and women in the study are prostitutes in Masindi, and the challenges they face in handling “their trade” and how they cope with handling both roles is my main concern.
1.4.2 Specific Objectives
The study on experiences of prostitutes in Masindi Town Council specifically was set out to
fulfill the following specific objectives
1. To find out the experiences for the girls of being prostitutes
2. To establish the challenges that prostitutes face
3. To find out how prostitutes cope with the challenges they face.
4. To find out if there is any social support system for the prostitutes
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study is important for a number of reasons in that:
1. The study findings will also serve as a recommendation for policy makers on the best way to
strengthen the plight of prostitutes in Uganda. It further seeks to highlight the prostitutes’
challenges and coping mechanisms especially in the developing countries.
2. It will contribute to the existing literature on prostitution and serve as an impetus for further
research into similar areas.
3. The study has also equipped the researcher with practical skills in future research.
4
1.6 Justification of the Study
The study on challenges of prostitution in Masindi Town was necessary because the practice has been perceived with negativity. It is further argued that, prostitution also encourages young people to abstain from other productive ventures such as agriculture that is likely to develop the economy, yet the families of prostitutes benefit from the trade. No studies have many studies have focused on the negative aspects of prostitution without looking at the plight of the prostitutes; this study therefore addresses this particular knowledge gap.
1.7 Scope of the Study
1.7.1 Content Scope
Conceptually the study was limited to prostitution, specifically the experiences of prostitutes; focusing on the challenges and coping mechanisms of the prostitutes.
1.7.2 Geographical Scope
The study was carried out in Central Division, Masindi Municipality. Masindi town is located approximately 217km from Kampala West of Uganda with the District Headquarters in the area of Masindi District.
1.7.3 Time Scope:
The study will cover a period of five years 2011-2015. This the researcher estimates to be adequate time for collecting relevant data given the limited time and resources.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Pimp: Any person who acts as a go-between or who connects prostitutes to their
customers.
5
Prostitute: Is a female person involved in sexual matters in exchange for money or for
survival.
Client: Refers to any person who come for service that is, sex.
Prostitution: Is an act of getting involved in an acceptable sexual behavior in exchange for
goods, money and or for survival.
Sluts or harlots: Females who endure the cold nights to offer their bodies to be used by men at a
fee.
6
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
This chapter presents literature regarding prostitution on both local and international level. It considers the aspects on social exclusion, sex work, demographic characteristics, factors driving people into sex work among others.
2.1 Conceptualizing Social Exclusion
Social exclusion is commonly defined as a series of linked and/or mutually reinforcing processes, such as low income, poverty, debt, unemployment, poor education, health problems, housing problems, crime, lack of social support and other adverse life events (Bradshaw et al.,
2004). Experience of these can lead to vulnerability and exclusion from enjoying the rights of employment, health care, secure housing and a decent standard of living (Popay, Povall and
Mathieson, 2012).
Besides affecting individuals, social exclusion affects groups of people such as migrants, disabled people, homeless people, and those suffering from mental illness; often as a result of impoverishment, discrimination and lack of adequate public services. Many people who engage in sex work are subject to high levels of social exclusion – in some cases chronic exclusion, and begin sex work as a result of experiencing many of the processes leading to exclusion.
Government policies to address sex work (and its consequences) have tended to focus on the law, the criminal justice system and punitive measures to tackle and reduce sex work activities at the
7 expense of health and safety (Cusick and Berney, 2005; Hubbard, Matthews and Scoular, 2007).
This approach has been criticized for its failure to adequately address sex worker health issues, including the wider determinants of health, and promote positive physical and mental health which has the potential to reduce the numbers of people engaging in sex work through the improvement of health and life options (Sander, 2007; Jeal and Salisbury, 2013).
This study aims to share the experiences of prostitutes in Uganda paying particular attention to health alongside wider issues of social exclusion, such as poverty, homelessness and substance misuse. There are no studies which we are aware of that focus specifically on experiences of prostitutes in Uganda.
2.2 Sex Work – Definitions, Demographics and Trends
The term ‘sex worker’ refers to those engaged in prostitution and is the preferred term used throughout the literature on the subject. The term has been adopted as is it free of complicated, derogatory and sexist connotations which are more commonly associated with the term
‘prostitute’ (May, Harocopos and Hough, 2000).
Sex work is a term used to describe a wide range of activities relating to the exchange of money
(or its equivalent) for the provision of a sexual service. Harcourt and Donovan (2005) compiled a long list of the different types of sexual services practiced by sex workers around the world. From this list, they grouped types of sexual services into two categories; direct and indirect sex work. Direct sex work refers to services, such as indoor and outdoor prostitution as well as escort services. This type of sex work typically involves the exchange of sex for a fee in which genital contact is common.
8
Indirect sex work refers to services, such as lap dancing, stripping and virtual sex services (over the internet or phone). Genital contact is less common in this type of sex work; however, a fee is still exchanged for the service.
The exact number of commercial sex workers in Uganda is open to dispute. Estimates have tended to focus on particular types of female sex work, predominantly on-street, off-street and escort sex work. According to the findings, of some studies, over 6,270 prostitutes operate in the city. It said most of the prostitutes (5,370) are female while about 900 are male. Some 21.5% of the people who buy prostitutes are married persons who seldom use condoms, said the report which was released on Monday. (New Vision, 2013)
Whilst a large majority of the literature (including papers published by the Home Office (2004)) cite Kinnell’s (1999) figure of 80,000, the exact number of sex workers is unknown. According to
Cusick et al. (2009), calculating the number of commercial sex workers is very difficult as sex work is mostly hidden and the population is transient, with people moving in and out of sex work constantly. Nevertheless, the general consensus suggests the population is between
50,000 and 80,000 (UK NSWP, 2008a).
According to Ward et al. (2005), trends over the period 1990 to 2000 indicate that demand by those willing to pay for sex has increased. In 1990, 5.6 per cent of men reported paying for sex in their lifetime, by 2000, this had increased to 8.8 per cent. These figures are likely to be even higher due to the reluctance of people admitting to paying for sex. Those who reported paying for sex in the past five years were likely to be aged between 25 and 34, to be divorced or never married, and to live in London. Ethnicity, socio-economic status and education had no 9 relationship with the likelihood of purchasing sex. Additionally, Ward et al. (2005) reported a small increase in the average number of women who had paid for sex.
Sex workers are a heterogeneous group. Women make up the majority of the sex work population, with some estimates suggesting the proportion is around 85-90 per cent (Scambler,
2007). Whilst the remaining population compiles of both male and transgender sex workers, let it be stated that the numbers of male and transgender sex workers are not light.
Sex workers come from a wide range of socio-economic contexts. For example, small numbers of students engage in sex work to help fund their studies; the number of which are thought to have increased with the introduction of top-up tuition fees (Roberts et al., 2010). This goes against the general assumption that sex workers originate from lower social economic backgrounds; however, it is unlikely that this small group face high levels of social exclusion and will likely stop selling sex once they have finished studying (Scambler, 2007). There may however, be health implications, particularly in relation to sexually transmitted infections and mental health which could affect this group.
Other characteristics of the sex work population have been explored by a small number of studies. For example, a study by Dickson (2004) which looked into London based female sex workers, found 93 different ethnicities among the London population - only 19 per cent of whom said they were from the UK. On the other hand, a study looking into sex workers in Bristol found the majority of the City's sex workers to be White, with only 10 per cent describing themselves as Black, and none describing themselves as Chinese or Asian (Jeal and Salisbury,
2004). 10
These studies indicate a diverse and rapidly changing population of sex workers in England; however, there is a serious lack of data and information about sex work which makes analysis difficult.
2.3 Factors driving entrance in to sex work
The literature has revealed a wide range of processes which can lead to involvement in sex work. These processes tend to differ depending on the type of sex work.
Money, Debt and Low Level Welfare Benefits
Commentators, such as Brents and Sanders (2010), stress the importance of financial drivers which often push people into sex work. With the indoor parlor industry estimated to be worth around £534 million per year (latest figure, 1999) (Moffat and Peters, 2004), there are obvious financial rewards for some involved in sex work including brothel owners, managers and sex workers. Brents and Sanders claim that with fewer well-paid jobs available, welfare benefits too low to meet the ever increasing cost of living, in particular, for single mothers and women who are often marginalised from the mainstream employment structure, the financial drive to engage in sex work is very strong.
In a separate article, McNaughton and Sanders (2007) state that welfare benefits are not generous enough to prevent poverty or marginal lifestyles. Debt plays a significant role in driving entrance into sex work. Low or insufficient income results in worse outcomes in both long-term health and life-expectancy. As the Marmot Review (2010) recommends, a minimum income for healthy living would ensure appropriate income for all stages of the life course reducing overall levels of poverty, health inequality and improve living standards.
11
For migrant sex workers, there are a wider range of factors which may result in engagement in sex work. The inability to find work in their home countries is one reason why migrants
(especially women from Eastern Europe) have migrated to the UK and ended up working in the
UK sex work industry (Scambler, 2007). In Mai’s (2009) study, migrants were found to engage in sex work to fund aspirations of social mobility, better living standards, educational aspirations and greater and more rewarding working conditions. In many instances, migrants engage in sex work to earn money which they then send back to their home countries to support families, including their own children and other dependants.
Migrants are often unable to find other forms of employment which are as financially rewarding as sex work due to language barriers, a lack of qualifications, a lack of rights to work in the UK and the lack of adequately paid jobs on offer. Additionally, there are some migrants, such as asylum seekers, who lack recourse to public funds and enter sex work as their only means to make money, predominantly as a form of survival (Dibb et al.,2006). Other studies indicate that migrants are less likely than UK nationals to engage in sex work to fund drug addictions (Platt et al., 2011).
Housing and Addiction
Homelessness and drug addiction have been identified as the two most significant factors which prompt engagement in on-street sex work and two of the main barriers to stabilising the lives of sex workers (Spice, 2007; Davis, 2004). In their study into on-street sex workers in Bristol,
Jeal and Salisbury (2004) reported a high proportion of on-street sex workers who claimed they were either homeless or living in insecure/temporary accommodation (two-thirds) and all respondents admitted to problems with drug addiction. This type of engagement in sex work is 12 often described as ‘survival sex’, where people engage in sex work as a last resort, to provide shelter, food, or fund severe addictions in a ‘work-score-use’ cycle (McNaughton and Sanders,
2007; Sanders, 2007b).
Additionally, research exploring problematic alcohol use amongst female sex workers across
England and Wales, found that alcohol use, before entry into sex work, was used as a coping mechanism to help overcome or deal with experiences of loneliness and abuse during childhood and/or adolescence (Brown, 2013).
Violence and Power
The influence and severity of violence and power, as a driving force of sex work involvement, is important, yet, often overplayed and over emphasized by Government, activist organizations and certain segments of the sex work literature. For example, whilst sex trafficking is an extreme form of violence that must not be taken lightly, the number of sex trafficked victims in the UK is believed to be low in comparison to the rest of the sex work population. Despite the low number of trafficked victims, consecutive Government action towards sex work has been dominated with anti-trafficking rhetoric and a focus on criminalizing sex work, failing to consider some of the broader issues which are more pertinent to the rest of the sex work population (Cusick and
Berney, 2005).
The situations in which people fall victim to sex trafficking and pimping are rarely explored in the literature. However, the claim that victims are often young and debt-bonded, suggests there are socio-economic, financial, power and dependency factors which may drive entrance into sex work through trafficking and control (Jackson, Jeffery and Adamson, 2010). 13
Family breakdown and cut-off care
The consequences of family breakdown have been documented by studies which consider the links between institutionalized care services, vulnerability and chronic exclusion, in relation to sex work and wider social exclusion (Berelowitz et al., 2012). For example, Jeal and Salisbury
(2004) in their study looking at on-street sex workers in Bristol, found that one third of the women they interviewed had been a ‘looked-after’ child and/or young person as a result of family breakdown.
Furthermore, neglect by either the family and/or the care system can lead to, or exacerbate, the vulnerability of some young people (Stein et al., 2009). An example of this type of neglect has been highlighted by the recent high-profile case in England of nine men in Oxford facing trial for various crimes relating to sexual violence and exploitation. They were coerced into sex work due to their vulnerable situations.
‘Cut off care’, the abrupt reduction or removal of institutional care systems and safety nets, can leave people vulnerable to exploitation from controllers and may result in engagement in sex work through necessity or habit. In many cases, those who have been discharged (cut off) from a particular care system may experience a lack of money, housing, employment, social capital and appropriate networks of support, which can drive people into greater social exclusion and may lead to engagement in sex work as a survival technique and/or as a way out (McNaughton and
Sanders, 2007).
14
Mental health
Whilst to the best of our knowledge there have been no comprehensive study into the mental health of UK sex workers, we can reasonably infer that traumatic experiences, such as physical or sexual abuse during childhood, has negative implications for mental health throughout the life-course. Although the links between child abuse and engagement in sex work is unclear, in a study by Bindel et al. (2012) where 72 per cent of the sex workers interviewed reported experiences of physical, sexual and verbal violence during childhood, past experiences of abuse were said to compound feelings of worthlessness.
Furthermore, in a study by Fitzpatrick, Bramley and Johnsen (2012) which looked at pathways into multiple level exclusion and homelessness in cities, found mental health problems to be prominent amongst people who experience chronic social exclusion. Mental ill-health can cause difficulties with employment, social relationships and dealing with day-to-day life, as well as poor physical health, which can lead to social exclusion (Social Exclusion Unit, 2004).
Low education
The literature suggests that poor education, as well as a lack of training and qualifications, impacts on vulnerability; driving entrance into sex work and reducing the chances of finding alternative forms of employment. In Jeal and Salisbury’s (2004) study, they found one-third of interviewees had left education at the age of 14 years or younger. Poor education could affect the ability to find mainstream work meaning opportunities to earn an income are limited.
Sanders (2007a) points to educational factors which reduce the vulnerability of sex workers. She claims those who work off-street are more likely to have come from social backgrounds which are not excluded, have participated in mainstream work, completed full-time education, and 15 may have a professional background. One could assume that it is both the more stable nature of off-street sex work which draws these workers to it, but also the relatively stable position of the workers which leads to greater stability in the first place.
Discrimination
Discrimination can take many forms, such as racism, stigmatisation and prejudice. It can prevent social inclusion, driving marginalisation and vulnerability. For some migrants, discrimination can exacerbate feelings of isolation and loneliness; common experiences associated with moving to a foreign country where support from family and other social networks may be lacking. Additionally, it can prevent or obstruct access to services and employment which may drive migrants to use other means of survival, such as sex work (UK
NSWP, 2008a).
The literature also indicates that people with a criminal record, especially those who have recently left prison, see above section on ‘Cut Off Care’, are at risk of vulnerability due to difficulties in finding employment (Fitzpatrick, Bramley and Johnson, 2012). Again, sex work engagement may occur as a means to find alternative forms of income and survival.
Criminalisation and sex work is discussed in more detail below.
Health and Sex Work
Different types of sex work are associated with different levels of risk and thus have different implications for health. Low risk sex work activities, such as stripping and non-contact sex work, are less likely to be associated with adverse health problems (Harcourt and Donovan, 2005). The lower risk activities are not discussed in any great length within the sex work literature, likely 16 because the vast majority of literature on sex work focuses on activities which involve higher levels of risk to both sex workers and the wider public; by and large, commercial sex work.
2.4 Social and economic factors which impact on health
There are very few studies which look at the general health of commercial sex workers and the implications of sex work on workers’ health. The large majority of services targeted at sex workers provide essential support and assistance with sexual health and drug addiction, but may not meet the wider needs of sex workers, including more acute physical and mental health needs, financial needs, housing needs and educational needs. Poor or lack of necessary healthcare, high morbidity, homelessness, lack of qualifications, poverty, stigmatisation, addiction and the sale of sex for financial recompense can be detrimental to participation in societal ‘norms and services’ and result in adverse consequences, such as poor health (Jeal and Salisbury, 2004).
The socio-economic conditions, in which people are born, grow, live and work, have a significant influence on health. People from the poorest neighbourhoods can expect to live, on average, seven years less than those from the richest neighbourhoods (Marmot Review Team,
2010).
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Due to the nature of the work, sexually transmitted infections are another inevitable risk which a number of outreach programmes aim to combat (Jeal, Salisbury and Turner, 2008). Whilst it is widely acknowledged that many sex workers still engage in risky behaviour, such as having sex without a condom, research suggests condom use amongst sex workers has increased over the last 30 years and incidents of HIV have decreased over the same period (Scambler and Paoli,
17
2008). The numbers of other sexually transmitted infections also remains low; however, the potential for transmission is high. Sex workers must continue to get the sexual health support they require to enable them to play their role in preventing sexual health epidemics (Cusick and
Berney, 2005).
Violence
Physical, sexual and verbal violence are common experiences for many sex workers. The large majority of studies looked at in this report indicate that violence is a prominent feature in the lives of sex workers in almost all sex work settings. Some, such as Spice (2007), argue that physical violence is the single greatest threat facing sex workers. A study by Harding
(2005), which examined the experiences of female sex workers in Nottingham, found that all of the women interviewed had experienced some form of violence, whether physical, emotional or sexual.
More recent studies also reveal high levels of violence. A study by Bindel et al. (2012), found that two-thirds of the sex workers they interviewed experienced violence, whilst another study by
Sanders-McDonagh and Neville (2012) claims that many sex workers have experienced increasing levels of violence and complained of harassment by police. Reporting of violent crime is low among sex workers.
Addiction
Drug addiction amongst sex workers is typified by a ‘work-score-use’ cycle (Jeal, Salisbury and
Turner, 2008). In a study by Jeal and Salisbury (2004) which explored the health of on-street sex
18 workers in Bristol, all interviewees admitted to having a history of alcohol and/or drug use.
Over half of respondents stated they entered sex work specifically to fund drug addictions and many continued to use drugs whilst pregnant. It is claimed that alcohol use amongst sex workers is used for self-medication; to help mask some of the negative feelings associated with sex work, including distress, anxiety and experiences of selling sex (Brown, 2013). However, as mentioned above, this is likely to be lower for migrant groups.
Drug and alcohol addiction can cause serious damage to people’s health. Many drug addicts are undernourished and homeless. Some of the most prominent health concerns facing sex workers as a group are communicable diseases, such as HIV and other Blood borne Viruses. In addition, common health complaints by this group have included abscesses, as a result of intravenous drug, poor dental care and premature death through overdose (Ward and Day, 2006).
Mental Health
As mentioned in the previous section, research into sex work and mental health is scarce.
However, research by Rossler et al. (2010), assessed 193 female on-street and off-street sex workers in Zurich (5 per cent of all registered sex workers in the city) to identify potential patterns of mental health issues. The study found high rates of anxiety, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder, predominantly due to the high levels of violence these women experienced.
Other mental disorders were identified, including psychosis and schizophrenia. In addition, the study looked to establish if women with existing mental illness were more likely to engage in sex work; however, it was unclear whether any relationship existed. The researchers claim that the
19 effect of a single year of engagement in sex work is likely to have the same impact on mental health as an entire life of experiences prior to involvement in sex work.
Criminalization and Stigma
Over the last decade government legislation has attempted to tackle prostitution by criminalising many aspects of sex work (Home Office, 2004). However, these policies have been criticised by commentators for failing to address a wide range of issues, including the health and poverty of sex workers; and contributing to the difficulties experienced when trying to find pathways out of sex work. Factors which lead to sex work, such as poverty, unemployment, inequality, debt and vulnerability (and how to tackle them), have largely been overlooked by policies (Cusick and Berney, 2005).
Government policies have neglected the complex needs of sex workers, criminalising sex work and thus forcing sex workers into even more marginalised and vulnerable positions. This subjects them to increased likelihood of violence, poor health, addiction and an inability to escape their situation (Boynton and Cusick, 2006). Finally, the behaviour of both the police and criminal justice system discourage sex workers from reporting violence and other crimes. Often, investigations tend to focus on the crimes relating to sex work instead of the crimes originally being reported. As a result, sex workers feel they cannot safely report crimes as they fear being treated like criminals and not as a victim (Boff, 2012).
Furthermore, sex work is associated with high levels of social stigma which is said to arise from an attribution of shame – particularly applying to women (Scambler, 2007). From this view
20 point, sex work is problematic, indecent and a violation of women’s rights which undermines the formal economy (Ward and Day, 2006). Stigmatisation occurs in all aspects of their life: from clients, general public, healthcare and other service providers, and police (Sanders, 2007b). This can result in reduced contact with health services and other providers of support, increased stress leading to mental health problems, and feelings of isolation; contributing to social exclusion (Cusick and Berney, 2005; UK NSWP, 2009).
2.5 Types of sex work and levels of exclusion
The literature revealed several different types of sex work which are caused by, and can result in, varying states of vulnerability. Social exclusion is the leading cause of entrance into sex work and exclusion is often deepened as a result of engaging in sex work. The severity of the exclusion tends to differ depending on the sex workers situation. Those who are most excluded are those who have been sex trafficked and enslaved in sex work. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who become involved in sex work through non- coercive means making a particular lifestyle choice, such as the student sex workers described above
(Scambler, 2007). The differences between the types of sex work and the severity of vulnerability will be examined below.
Sex Work and Victims of trafficking
Trafficking of people is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people, by means of force, coercion, threat of violence, fraud or deception. Trafficking takes many forms, ranging from labour exploitation to sexual exploitation. Sex trafficking is the most severe and exploitative form of sex work. It is a serious violation of human rights and at its worst is a form of slavery (Zimmerman et al., 2006).
21
Globally, hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to be victims of trafficking each year, with the UK being one of many destinations for trafficked people. A conservative estimate suggests the number of people trafficked in the UK is around 5,000 (House of Commons,
2009). The specific numbers of sex workers who have been trafficked in the UK are unknown.
However, some estimate that there are around 2,600 trafficked sex workers operating in England and Wales (Jackson, Jeffery and Adamson, 2010).
In 2006, Operation Pentameter was launched. This involved a public campaign to raise awareness about sex trafficking, and coincided with 525 police raids on establishments where sex was being sold; raiding approximately 10 per cent of the UK sex work establishments. From these raids, the police found 72 women and 12 girls who were described as ‘victims of trafficking’. However, there are questions overhanging the operation around the methodology used to identify these women as ‘victims of trafficking’ and how they were dealt once they were picked up by the authorities (UK NSWP, 2008a).
Whilst we cannot be certain on the exact scale of trafficking, researchers and commentators have been more specific about the damage and harm caused to the victims. Those trafficked in countries like the UK for sexual exploitation, predominantly women, are the most vulnerable and socially excluded of all sex workers. There is little quantitative data on the physical and mental health of victims of sex trafficking. The literature indicates that most victims of trafficking will operate in off-street settings and are less likely to have drug-use problems than non-migrant sex workers; however, victims of trafficking have still been found to use drugs and small numbers are known to operate on streets (Dibb et al., 2006; Jackson, Jeffery and Adamson,
2010). 22
Other studies have played down the degree to which trafficked women are themselves subject to violence. They claim trafficked women who are often debt-bonded are controlled by the threat of violence to their families (Jackson, Jeffery and Adamson, 2010). However, it is the fear and control which appear to be most damaging to trafficked women’s lives. Access to health services and the ability to leave sex work for trafficked women is very difficult. Women who are under strict control are often refused access to healthcare, for fear that they may use contact with public services as an escape route. Furthermore, the women themselves may be fearful or unwilling to access services due to a lack of knowledge of their rights, language barriers and a fear of deportation due to uncertain immigration status (UK NSWP, 2008a; Mai, 2009; Platt et al. 2011).
On Street Sex Workers
A lack of economic opportunities and debt are key reasons for the entrance of (predominantly) women into on-street sex work (UK NSWP, 2008b). On-street sex workers tend to be British born, with high rates of drug addiction, homelessness, mental health problems, and likelihood of having been in care following family breakdown, (Jeal and Salisbury, 2004 and 2007). These factors are both a cause of street sex work engagement and a consequence of street sex work, leaving women subject to violent attacks from men, including clients, and harassment from police
(Sanders-McDonagh and Neville, 2012).
On-street sex workers have tended to be the targets of Government policies and the criminal justice system aimed to curb on-street sex work activities. The effects of such targeting has increased their isolation and vulnerability overlooking more pressing issues, such as poverty or help with drug and alcohol addiction, and made finding alternative forms of employment more difficult (Cusick and Berney, 2005; Boynton and Cusick, 2006). 23
Off-Street Sex Workers
It is widely assumed that the off-street sex work setting, in brothels, flats, saunas and escort
services, is a more secure and less vulnerable setting than on-street sex work (Home Office,
2004; Jeal and Salisbury, 2004). They are often run like a business; with an interview process,
rules, such as no drug taking or drinking allowed on brothel premises, and some may even pay
taxes (Sanders, 2007b). However, while this group of sex workers may be less vulnerable to
poor health, violence and police harassment, they are still vulnerable.
As off-street sex workers fear being stigmatised, many prefer to keep their occupations hidden from service providers which can often prevent them from accessing the necessary services they need (Jeal and Salisbury 2007). Furthermore, fear of judgment and discriminatory attitudes from health professionals and other service providers can result in reluctance to disclose drug use and other risky behaviors (in addition to sex work), and prevent access to necessary services.
An example of such an incident occurred in one of the main GUM clinics in a large northern city.
The clinic reported having seen only 23 people who had identified themselves as being a sex worker over a ten year period. Such low figures do not reflect the estimated levels of the sex work population (UK NWSP, 2009).
Migrant Sex Workers
The term ‘migrant sex worker’ is used to describe a person who is not a country’s national but who freely enters the country, for whatever means, and engages in sex work (UK NSWP,
2008a). As previously mentioned, the migrant sex work population has increased over the past decade with particular concentrations in major cities. This trend has been noted by studies, such as Platt et al. (2011), which examined the experiences of Eastern European migrant sex workers 24 and their UK-born counterparts in London. They found a rise in the number of migrant sex workers operating in London over the last decade.
Other studies have identified migrant sex workers from elsewhere in the world, such as Africa,
South-East Asia, South America, the Caribbean, Asia and other parts of Europe; though it is believed that these workers make up less of the migrant sex work population in England than those from Eastern Europe (Dibb et al., 2006; Jackson, Jeffery and Adamson, 2010; Mai, 2009).
The large majority of migrant sex workers are involved in off-street sex work (Dibb et al., 2006).
Some studies estimate that around 14,000 migrants are selling sex in brothels, flats, saunas and as escorts (Jackson, Jeffery and Adamson, 2010).
The literature suggests that for the most part, the migrant experience of vulnerability and exclusion differs from other forms of sex work (trafficking, on-street and off-street sex work by British born sex workers), yet there are many barriers which prevent them from sex working in a safe environment, should they choose to do so, and finding other forms of employment.
A study published by the Eaves Project and commissioned by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) (2013) exploring prostitution and trafficking in London, documented new developments in the demography of London’s on-street sex working population. A number of sex work outreach services in several different London boroughs reported contact with new groups of women who broke the British-born trend.
It is believed that these women migrated to London from Romania for the specific purpose of selling sex, and whilst they do not appear to display the work-score-use behaviour of more 25 stereotypical on-street sex workers, there is a concern that these women may be being organised and/or controlled by men (Bindel, Breslin and Brown, 2013).
2.6 Stabilizing the lives of sex workers
Successive Government approaches have focused on pressuring those involved in sex work to exit it, fundamentally viewing sex work as a problem which should be abolished (Home
Office, 2006; Sanders, 2007a). While, some studies found the majority of sex workers they interviewed were happy with the profession they had chosen and enjoyed the freedoms and control they had over their working conditions (Mai, 2009), other studies found sex workers unhappy with their situation and wanting to change it, particularly on-street sex workers, and victims of trafficking (Bindel et al., 2012).
According to Sanders (2007b), at the forefront of Government action to deal with (predominantly street) sex work is the criminal justice system which is used to control and pressurize sex workers into exit. Compulsory rehabilitation measures such as arrest referral programmes, compliance agreements to work with outreach programmes, criminal and behaviour orders, curfews and imprisonment, are the preferred measures used to encourage exit from sex work. However, the majority of these measures often fail to address the complex needs of sex workers and can negatively impact on the chances of reducing social exclusion due to criminalisation.
There are serious practical issues with measuring the effectiveness of exiting strategies.
Unlike other treatment services, such as drug addiction programmes where it is possible to determine whether a person has stopped using drugs through tests, it is impossible to fully determine whether somebody has stopped selling sex. However, it is possible to stabilise the
26 lives of sex workers by addressing their complex needs. Addressing their needs can improve health, wellbeing and reduce negative and damaging behaviour, such as drug taking. Meeting these needs may even result in reducing the selling of sex or stopping it altogether.
Therefore, whilst the review may draw on some of the literature which focuses on exiting, the approach that shall be taken in this section of the report will examine issues which inhibit the stabilisation of sex workers lives and prevent those who wish to cease selling sex from doing so, in the hope of highlighting key issues which need addressing.
Poor physical and mental health
Sex workers suffer from a wide range of health and wellbeing issues. In the Bindel et al. study,
79 per cent of the women complained of physical and/or mental health problems, whilst it is possible that others may suffer from physical and/or mental health problems that have yet to be diagnosed or reported. Sex workers represent a high-risk group where communicable yet preventable diseases, including TB, HIV, other Blood borne Viruses and STIs, are common
(Collinson, Straub and Perry, 2011). Furthermore, research into the mental health of sex workers in Switzerland found sex workers often suffered from mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Rossler et al., 2010); which can also negatively impact on physical health.
Additionally, within the Bindel et al (2012) study, many claimed they were unable to envisage a life outside of sex work, particularly those who had begun selling sex before the age of 18. The combination of an inability to conceive of a life outside of sex work and other destructive behaviours, such as drug abuse, poses a particular challenge to hopes of stabilisation. Likewise, 27 poor physical and mental health would make maintaining more formal forms of employment very difficult or in some cases, due to the severity of the problem, impossible.
Housing
According to McNaughton and Sanders (2007), the issue of housing is very important. Whilst housing can provide an opportunity for transitions out of sex work through safety and security, it can also trap people in situations of vulnerability. Basic needs, such as housing, frequently go unmet by Government and local authorities which has a serious impact on the lives of sex workers, particularly those involved in on-street sex work. In the Bindel et al. study, 77 per cent stated they had problems with homelessness and housing. Warm, safe and secure accommodation is a basic need for any human being.
A lack of appropriate accommodation makes addressing sex workers’ more complex needs very difficult and any hope of stabilisation near impossible. Homelessness can force some women into seeking accommodation in places which compound their vulnerability, exclusion and destructive behaviours, such as staying with abusive partners, partners with drug addictions, sleeping in crack houses or sleeping rough. Others stated they sold sex in order to meet high rent and mortgage demands, whilst others found the accommodation they were given by local authorities tended to be located in areas where the selling of sex and drugs is frequent.
Money, Debt and Finance
Financial issues have an overwhelming impact on the lives of sex workers. In the Bindel et al. study, 52 per cent of the women reported struggling to pay off debts. Whilst the details of these debts were not described in the report, information from other sources may provide some 28 explanation. For example, it is well known that on-street sex workers suffer from problems with drug addiction. In some cases, sex workers may accrue debts with drug dealers to feed their addiction (Davis, 2004). In other cases, trafficked sex workers may be debt-bonded and have debts amounting to large sums of money which they are required to pay off before they are released by their controllers (UK NSWP, 2008a).
Alternatively, some sex workers reported difficulty in giving up the amounts of disposable cash they were used to earning through sex work and the lifestyle that came with it. However, some felt that sex work was not worth the money and was damaging to their self-esteem, but depended on the income it provided (Bindel et al., 2012).
Additionally, many felt they would be unable to earn similar amounts of money through more formal types of work due to a lack of employability and a lack of well-paying jobs in the labour market. And, as mentioned previously, state benefits are often insufficient in addressing financial need. Therefore, it is common for people to sell to sex where neither current levels of state support and current jobs available in the labour market are able to meet people’s financial needs (McNaughton and Sanders, 2007)..
Coercion and Violence
50 per cent of respondents in the Bindel et al. study reported experiencing some form of coercion, including pimping and trafficking. Restrictions on movement and behaviour by controlling individuals can deprive sex workers access to essential resources, freedoms and hopes of stabilisation.
29
Criminalisation
In the same study, 49 per cent of respondents had a criminal record relating to prostitution offences, while 67 per cent had a criminal record for other offences not directly related to sex work. As mentioned previously in the review, criminalisation stigmatises sex workers, seriously reducing access to alternative forms of employment and other public services. This further impedes stabilisation (Peate, 2006; Sanders, 2007a).
Lack of Education
In the Bindel et.al study, 39 per cent of respondents reported a lack of formal education with no qualifications, skills or training. Education and training is very important if vulnerable people are to find alternative forms of employment and cease selling sex. Other sources have highlighted the lack of alternative employment options, especially forms of well-paid employment available in the labour market which contributes to their marginalisation and reduces their chances of achieving stability (UK NSWP, 2008c; Sander, 2007).
Male partners
It is important when addressing the needs of vulnerable and excluded people, particularly those who suffer from addiction issues, to look beyond the context of the individual and to consider the wider social context in which they exist (Bury, 2011). As Collinson, Straub and Perry (2011) have documented, specialised sex work services like Homerton Hospital’s Open Doors began to encounter specific problems when trying to address the needs of on-street female sex workers. It was clear that some users of Open Doors were unable to fully engage with the support services.
Open Doors discovered that service engagement was limited by complex relationships with male partners, whom they were often married to and had children with. 30
The couples’ relationship to drugs exists co-dependently, with the woman selling sex to feed both drug habits. From the outside, this can appear to some as a form of pimping, but a closer examination of this type of relationship suggests that the woman’s engagement in sex work to provide drugs is more through altruism than coercion. As a result of this co-dependency and long standing relationships with male partners, the women were often reluctant to take up welfare support and other services, such as drug treatment, as it would mean leaving behind their male partner, which they did not want to do. The women would usually withdraw from the service after a short period of time as a result (Collinson, Straub and Perry, 2011).
Like on-street sex workers, male partners are often a vulnerable, excluded and a particularly hard to reach group, sharing similar health needs, drug problems and housing issues as their female partners. The majority of these men have criminal pasts and are unlikely to engage with any services outside the criminal justice system. In addition, these men face social stigma due to misunderstandings around their relationships with female partners and do not fall under the remit of any targeted services.
Service Provision and Service Access
A key message to emerge from the literature stresses the importance and effectiveness of holistic approaches to addressing exclusion and need if stabilisation is to be achieved. Effective service provision for this group is achieved through holistic, fast-track support, as well as a clear understanding of how to deal with vulnerable people (Bury, 2011). As has been highlighted above, sex workers face high levels of exclusion and have a complex array of needs, including no recourse to public funds, a lack of rights to work, assistance with drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, debt, poverty, poor mental and physical health, poor education, uncertain 31 immigration status, lack of social support from family or other social networks, escaping controllers, and breaking cycles of destructive behaviour (Tonybee Hall, 2007; 2008c; Bindel et al., 2012).
Due to the nature of the sex work industry, many sex workers lead nocturnal lifestyles meaning that attending regular appointments within normal working hours can be particularly challenging. In many ways, conventional public and support services are completely inadequate to meet the complex needs of sex workers. Fragmentation of services, inappropriate locations, difficulty accessing services, a lack of knowledge on behalf of service providers and the social stigma attached to sex work, result in inadequate and inappropriate service provision.
Furthermore, help and support services are often disjointed and often result in sex workers being treated for a single need, for example drug addiction, but not treated for other needs, such as homelessness (Tonybee hall, 2007). They are usually discharged from a particular programme of treatment and soon return to sex work, as their other needs remain unmet.
2.7 Conclusion
A review of the sex work literature revealed there are multiple social exclusions which include:
Drive entrance into sex work, result in negative consequences, such as poor physical and mental health, homelessness and stigmatization, as a result of sex work, Act as a barrier for those wanting to stabilize their lives and cease selling sex.
32
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the methodology used to carry out the study. It also includes the areas of study, the population of the study, the research design, the method of sampling, instruments and procedures which were employed during the study.
3.1 Research Design
The study adopted case study research design. Mainly qualitative methods of data collection were used. It involved in-depth interviews, discussions and observation. Interviews were carried out with sex workers in Masindi. These included members of the population involved in the trade as they are the ones who live the real experience.
3.2 Area of Study
The study was carried out among sex workers in Masindi Municipality. These sex workers are individuals who live in their homes and only come to the central business district, particularly at night clubs in the evening in search of potential customers.
The study was carried out in Central Division, Masindi Municipality. The Municipality is divided into four Divisions namely: Central Division, Karujubu Division , Kigulya Division and
Nyangahya Division (UBOS, 2014).
Masindi town is located approximately 217km from Kampala West of Ugandawith the District
Headquarters in the area of Masindi District. Masindi town is bordered by Amuru town district in 33 the North, Oyam district area to the North East, Apac town to the East, Nakasongola, Kiboga, and
Nakaseke to the South East, Hoima to the southwest and Bulisa to the North West.
Masindi Municipality lies on Latitude: 1° 40' 48.9" (1.6802°) north and Longitude: 31° 42' 47.3"
(31.7131°) east. The area Elevation is approximately 1,116 meters (3,661 feet).
The Culture and Economic Activity: The language spoken is Runyoro and the cultural leader is
Omukama, who has his main palace today in Hoima Town. Today the town has an average population of 45,400 and is said to be the largest town by population in the Bunyoro sub-region.
Agriculture in the area is the main economic activity and the main Crops grown include: peas, casava, maize, irish potatoes, Sunflower, simsim, sweet potatoes among others. However, fishing is another economic activity done on Lake Albert near Masindi town.
3.3 Population of the Study
The population of Masindi Municipality is 94,622. (UBOS, 2014). The municipality is divided into four divisions: Central Division, Karujubu Division, Kigulya Division and Nyangahya Division
(UBOS, 2014). Of these the most populated Division is Central with a total number of 41,047. For a successful study, information was obtained from the sex workers in Central Division.
The choice of the area is based on the fact that the town is close to the Murchison Falls National
Park, and in the recent years, the population has grown steadily. For instance, in 1991, the population was 10,839. This more than doubled by 2012; the population was at 28,300 meanwhile the most recent population census put Masindi’s population at 94,622. This population increase came with many challenges.
34
3.4 Study Sample
Ten sex workers in Central Division were deliberately selected to participate in the interviews.
Although the researcher intended to interview at least 30 respondents, she managed to get only 10
(ten) due to the nature of the trade. Many people involved in the trade do not want to be identified; therefore the researcher had to pretend to be one of them in order to talk to the few she managed to get. She later created friendship with the first contacts and these some contacts are what she used to reach the other.
3.5 Data Collection Methods and Research Instruments
The research mainly relied on interviews and observations to collect the required information. The choice of method was prompted by the discreet nature of business the respondents are involved in.
The researcher could not come up with a well formed interview guide to avoid being misunderstood by the respondents.
3.6 Data Processing and Analysis
3.6.1 Data processing
Information obtained from interviews was carefully recorded after the interview. It was then
analyzed according to the requirements for the study. The information from other respondents
were also organized and analyzed.
3.6.2 Editing
Editing was done at the end of each working day. The researcher had to sit down after each night’s
interview and record the conversation she could remember. This was to ensure accuracy,
consistency and completeness of the information.
35
3.6.3 Data analysis
Only quantitative data it was collected and therefore was organized and analyzed using content
analysis.
36
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS
4.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the research findings and interprets them with regard to the study area.
The findings are presented with regard to the general aim of the study, which is to gain insights into the experiences of Sex Workers in Masindi Municipality, Central Division.
4.1 General Information about the participants
The researcher was able to go to the field to collect data at Masindi Municipality. The data was collected from a small sample of 10 respondents. This is due to the sensitivity of the topic and the stigma attaché to the trade thus many respondents do not want to participate. I collected data from three ladies who happened to be practicing prostitution for their survival to earn a living.
These ladies agreed to interact with the researcher because of the way she approached them. Due to the illicit nature of the trade, the researcher had to pretend to be one of the new entrants; they even told me their names where they came from and why they came. They were able to share their experiences with me. I will however not use their real names here to keep confidentiality.
For purposes of this study, I will refer to them as respondent 1, 2 and 3. According to these ladies and how I approached them they were able to interact with me without them knowing that I was collecting data but instead they thought that I am a new member in the system.
4.2 Prostitution: the experiences and challenges
Factors driving entry into the trade 37
As the ladies indicated, they do prostitution not because they like it but situations forced them to do so. Mary who is 28 years old and she comes from one of the central districts district told me that she started prostitution in 2012 after being dumped/ left by her husband who left her with two children and he married another wife.
I come from a very humble family where I could not go back with my children and earn a
living. Not only that my husband did not have land where I could cultivate and survive with
my children because my husband had stopped taking care of me and my children
completely.
I had no other option a part from looking for jobs through friends until time reached and I
got someone, an old woman and helped her with house work. I stayed there with my two
children for four months and the old woman told me to take back the children because she
wanted me alone. I had no other option apart from leaving with my children because I had
no one to take care of them (the children) in the village. I decided to rent a small house with
my children at Central Division, Masindi Municipality, with the little money they had given
me and started a new life.
Nancy [not real name] comes from one of the districts in Western Uganda.
…..I am a total orphan so she was staying with the grandmother who was not able to
provide for my needs and in addition to that, I was not studying.
I was brought by a friend to work in Kampala as a housemaid but when we reached this
side, I found a different job which I could not do for almost two weeks, my friend who
brought me told me if I cannot do the job I should go back to my home...During that time I 38
did not have the money to take me back home. Apart from that, I was living a hard life with
my grandmother….
The third lady was Shakira just told me her name, she was rude to me, she was mean with her information and so I was not able to get information from her instead she referred me to others.
4.3 Benefits from the trade?
Prostitution and education
Mary has been practicing prostitution for over 4 years and she has managed to pay school fees for her two sons. Her first born is now in primary three and the young one in Primary one.
She does not get money/school fees to pay for her children in time since she does not have a monthly salary or someone to help her. And this limits her children from studying well because when she does not get school fees in time they sit home hence a challenge.
Good Life or bad life
Nancy says she goes to the village to check on her grandmother for like two days and the
Natukunda says she is happy with what she is doing because she lives a good life.
Walking the road of prostitution is indeed not a good experience. Mary told me her experience on the street:
…Since I joined the trade, life is too difficult for me but after I entered the system of
prostitution to survive with my children and I got used to it.
As a parent I face many challenges and I cannot just leave what I am doing because it is the only way I take care of my children...the other challenge is how to tell my children that I earn money
39 using this trade…… sometimes there are no customers yet it is the only way I earn a living with my children.
Mary says that since they are many on the street for bargaining rate cannot go beyond five thousand shillings (Shs. 5000=) or sometimes three thousand (Shs. 3000) and this becomes a challenge to her.
4.4 Socially Excluded!
Mary faces the challenge of social exclusion. She says that her family members gave up on her yet they cannot afford to help her; so there is no love or even respect from her family members and this puts her on pressure.
Although going through tough times, the mother of two says that she has not yet given up on her husband because when he decides to look for her, she can go back to her home because according to her this was her last option.
According to Nancy, her grandmother knows she is a housemaid wherever she works.
….when I get capital, I have a plan of starting up a business because I do not want my
children to grow up and find me in prostitution.
These were the words of Mary, a mother of two children who practices prostitution at Central
Division, Masindi Municipality.
On the other hand, the second respondent says:
40
She cannot go back to the village unless she gets a man to marry her but now she does not have any plan of going to stay in the village “In the village there is no future!”,
The third lady was Zainabu who was too mean with her information and she was too rude so I was not able to get information from her instead she referred me to others.
This section examines the organization of sex workers’ rights support talk in a manner that produces “good” and “bad” sex workers through the capacity, or lack thereof, to tell a happy story. Butler, Ahmed and Ludlow show us how political abandonment, affective abandonment and discursive abandonment work together to place unhappy whores in the bad life. Because one’s life must be recognized as valuable in order to be political, sex workers’ advocacy discourse makes happiness a prerequisite for politicization. Unhappy sex workers experience affective strain and worsened material conditions as they are subjected to a form of discipline that restricts and transforms, as Puar describes above, their affective capacities.
Sex workers’ use of identity and authenticity as politics is a recent phenomenon. Even the premise that a “prostitute” is a type of person one can be is a relatively new invention, coming into being only in the mid-1700s (Agustín n.p.). Before that, selling sex was something people did. But in contemporary advocacy discourse, being a sex worker is a matter of identity politics. Sex workers’ stories are often introduced as a form of testimony, beginning with some variation on the phrase “I am a sex worker.” This introduction is the worker’s entry ticket to the storytelling space—her license to speak further about her authentic experience. For example:
I am a sex worker who hates the sex industry. (Adorable “What Antis”) 41
I have been a sex worker for seven years and hate most men; I am repulsed by them, as
well as capitalism, civilization and work in general. I want it all to go. (Wendy)
This sex worker of 9 years feels the same way. (BP). Sex worker of nearly 2 years … I
approve very much of this. (Rose)
As a sex worker for the past 3 years, I applaud this article. (Magdalene Hart)
The repetition of these words across dozens of sex workers’ writings and other autobiographical practices; the emphasis sex workers place on the length of their tenure in the sex industry; the way the license to advocate is made contingent on the assumption of a sex working identity— these qualities speak to the urgency of the demand for authenticity that sex workers face. But it is also integration into advocacy discourse of a premise that cements our understanding of sex work not as practice (what one does) but as essence (what one is). As a delimitation of sex working essence, identification is also normative. Uttering the phrase “I am a sex worker” establishes the speaker not only as an authentic voice, but also as a subject whose coherency is dependent on her fit, in form and character, into the established boundaries that make her identifiable as a type. Those boundaries are what are being negotiated when happy hooker stories are politicized and negative experiences are denied.
One unhappy life experience that is regularly disavowed in sex workers’ rights advocacy –
as seen in the “hook” that opened this essay – is the experience of childhood abuse. A post
by escort Charlotte Shane to the sex worker blog Tits and Sass, for example, reads:
Bottom line: Not all sex workers were molested or beaten or criminally mistreated while
growing up. Some of them were, just like some doctors and some teachers and some
plumbers were. But it doesn’t matter because—here’s a radical thought—whether or not
42
any given sex worker has a tragic past is profoundly none of your business. (“You’ve
Got”; emphasis in original)
In the comments on the post, other sex workers respond:
Regards, A Not-Molested/Not-Drug-Addicted/Not-Pathological Webwhore (Gorey)
Cracks about my alleged daddy issues or how many times I must have been raped (guess
what – none!- and the only attempt that was serious enough to frighten me was somebody
who knew I was a stripper and thought I’d be easy in general) make me want to punch the
people who make them. (Of many names…)
Shane’s and the commenters’ point is not to be missed: they leverage the politically necessary narrative of experiencing no more victimization than the average person in a bid for sex workers’ right to privacy. That is, they deny past victimization in an effort to prevent another kind of victimization in the present. But this myth-busting advocacy also distances sex workers from the stigma attached to victims of sexual assault and abuse.
According to sex work and anti-rape activist Jane Doe, women’s sexuality is dealt with in “good girl/bad girl dichotomies” (189). Doe argues that the stigma associated with both prostitution and rape leads sex working and sexually assaulted women to put “a foot in each” category, simultaneously represented as victims and dangers—with no space for women to behave otherwise (189). Disavowing experiences of victimization does not challenge this organization of good and bad lives, but rather attempts to move sex workers within it. By eliminating the image of sex workers as damaged, fallen women, advocates hope to shift sex work entirely into the
“good girl” category.
43
Even in comments that push back against this renunciation of victimization, advocates deny any causal connection between the experience of victimization and the decision to sell sex. For example, commenter Olivia expresses concern, in response to Shane’s post, that some sex workers “really want to totally distance themselves from this stereotype because, honestly, I’ve known a shit-ton of sex workers who were abused as children” (comment to “You’ve Got”). She goes on to make space in the happy hooker narrative and its normative sex working identity for sex workers who have been abused but have overcome such experiences:
I remember sitting around a dungeon with a group of girls sharing their experiences of
abuse and it was like, THIS is sex work’s connection to abuse– an incredibly supportive
group of women (and men! just not in that case) who didn’t let something fucked up
inflicted on them as children ultimately dictate what their sexuality/sexual
‘deviancy’/career path should or shouldn’t be, and being able to safely and openly
discuss it. (Olivia)
Reframed in this manner, discussion of the fact of abuse in some sex workers’ lives becomes not an expression of unhappy affect, but rather the narration of an ultimately positive sex working experience.
As Canadian activist Wendy Babcock describes in a public Facebook post, reprinted on a
Canadian law school blog after her death: “I remember when I first got involved in sex worker rights … when I mentioned that I didn’t like sex work myself I was chastised by fellow activists”
(“Can A Person”). The normative formation of the happy hooker identity extends beyond
44 including only those who have not experienced (or who have overcome) victimization. It goes a step further, demanding that even sex workers whose feelings and experiences are accurately represented in the status of victim deny the victimization against which they are struggling.
Those who cannot or will not do so are delegitimized as authentic sex working voices and candidates for inclusion in the good life.
Armed with feel-good stories, sexually abused or assaulted sex workers can join the ranks
of the properly political, but only on the condition of denying an affective relation
between experiences of victimization and their decisions to do sex work. For Olivia, the
disavowal is in sex workers’ refusal to “let something fucked up inflicted on them as
children ultimately dictate” the sex work they do in their adult lives. Likewise, for Shane,
that a traumatic history is “profoundly none of your business” is not just because sex
workers should be entitled to privacy, but also because the experience of abuse is to be
understood as unconnected to the experience of doing sex work. What gets left out by this
distancing is discussion of how histories of victimization might condition one’s affective
response to sex work, determining in advance who will have the capacity to enjoy sex
work and who will not.
When the capacity to make others feel good about sex work is a precondition for political citizenship, the modulation of affective capacity implicates not only discourse, but also the material conditions in which sex work occurs, in the production of good and bad lives. It is possible, through victimization and abuse, to create unhappy sex workers whose very unhappiness delegitimizes their claim to the right to better material conditions. Melissa Petro comments that her determination to be sex positive – to deny that her sex work was harmful to her – kept her “working in the sex industry long after I stopped enjoying the work and well after it 45 was financially necessary, as if by quitting I would be admitting that I was wrong for ever having done it in the first place” (“The H Word”). In this experience, sex working life edges towards the fixed form of its representation in discourse—it becomes a state in which one is stuck, an identity manifested as material reality. Petro, who ultimately felt harmed by her time in the sex industry, experienced worsened material conditions as a result of her attempt to be a happy hooker.
Speaking to negative sex working experiences while attempting to contort their lives into an ill- fitting positive identity also drains unhappy sex workers’ emotional resources. Sex workers speaking about their unhappy experiences report sensations of negation that place tremendous strain on their personal energies. Babcock, along with former sex workers write that sex workers with bad experiences are “not heard,” don’t exist, and are “erased,” respectively, while Habiba notes a sense of exhaustion over being “sucked in” to the feminist debate. As sex workers struggle against expulsion to the bad life, the negation of unhappy experience instills in unhappy whores an intimately-felt sense of their own lives as politically and affectively non-existent. These are complaints that go beyond mere rhetoric and representation, speaking to sex workers’ physical and psychic energy and to their senses of themselves as existing—as life.
Sex workers’ advocacy discourse responds to the autobiographical injunction and to the abandonment of affectively unpleasant bodies by leveraging a politically necessary narrative of happiness and not only disavowing, but also silencing, unhappy stories. The pressure to fit into the boundaries of the sex working type by adapting one’s life and affect to match the politically necessary story causes unhappy sex workers emotional and material harm, including by leading some sex workers to continue doing sex work when they do not want to. But other unhappy
46 whores respond to their feelings by trying to leave the sex industry. Unhappy exiting stories are the focus of the next section of this paper.
It feels like common sense to say that sex workers who are unhappy selling sex should find some other way to survive. But one of sex workers’ most common unhappy tales is the story of getting stuck in the sex industry. Sex workers struggle against discrimination, poverty and other barriers to career transition and their post-sex-work trajectories are often limited. From the sticky ground of the sex working bad life, sex workers’ writings spatialize the process of getting into and out of sex work, not only making “exit” an apt term, worth reclaiming from abolitionists, but also forming a discursive “space” of sex work, from which one might seek exit or distance as a politicizing strategy.
As Ahmed writes, affects do not just stick to bodies—they also get bodies “stuck.” Many sex workers report being stuck in the sex industry. For some, leaving the sex industry entirely never happens—they leave their jobs as frontline sex workers by transitioning to other roles within the sex industry (Wylde, Alptraum). Others leave and then return. The author of An Exotic Escort’s
Diary makes poignant the industry’s revolving door in an anecdote:
I will never forget the words, “She’ll be back,” said by a Madame (brothel/escort
business owner) at an establishment I worked at overseas. This was after a popular
young woman decided it was her last day in the industry, and she wanted to pursue her
new “normal” job and boyfriend. She’ll be back……how discouraging, yet later I
realized how real the statement actually was. (Anonymous B; emphasis in original)
47
The “real”ness of continual, inevitable return to the sex industry underscores how affects materialize for sex workers. Barred from rights discourse by their unhappiness, unhappy whores are also barred from the right to non-sex employment in real life.
While Peter associates her difficulty leaving the sex industry with her attempt to be a happy hooker, other workers experience unhappiness as a result of their difficulties leaving the sex industry. These difficulties follow several common paths. One is the experience of being “outed”
(exposed as a current or former sex worker) or of living in fear of being outed. Kitty Stryker and
Mich Masoch, in personal essays considering the barriers to leaving the sex industry, both comment on the fates of other workers who were not able to keep their sex working identities secret and the anxiety they feel about being next (“Branded” and “Crossing the Rubicon,” respectively). This is a reasonable fear—as Eric Barry and an anonymous writer for Hook Online demonstrate in their blog posts about being fired when their work as hustlers was discovered by their bosses (“Dear God” and “You’re FIRED,” respectively) and “Duke University porn star”
Belle Knox shows in her experience of tremendous bullying by classmates upon her outing in
2014 (“From Belle”).
Peter’s outing which led to the loss of her post-sex-work job as an elementary school teacher, serves as a worst-case example for any other sex worker who fears outing. In articles calling her an “idiot prosti-teacher” (Peyser), the Post ensured that Petro’s past in the sex industry would subsume her post-sex-work identity and activities for years to come. Petro used autobiographical essays to launch a career as a freelance writer and creative writing teacher after her outing, but she noted:
48
Men who abuse women and behave outside the sexual norm are the norm. Eventually,
they’re allowed to slowly leave that rubber room, to recede back into their former
existences, while we bad girls are branded for life. (“We Pardon Secioza”)
Peter imagery begins to hint at the construction of the sex industry, and the “bad life” that some workers experience there, as space. The images of being trapped in a “rubber room” and being
“branded” evoke a sense of loss of self – to psychiatric incarceration and to slavery – while also concretizing the experience of being stuck in sex work as analogous to being physically locked up.
Because having sex work “stuck” to her dragged Petro back into the sex industry’s bad life, even years after she had ceased to do sex work, it makes sense that she would leverage a metaphor of imprisonment to describe her loss of political citizenship. Mirroring Petro’s sentiment, Valentine, an escort and former porn model and stripper, writes that “My relationship to sex work is so complicated. It feels comfortable and familiar, but also like a trap that I worry I'll never be able to escape” (“It Happened”).
The slip from loss of affective citizenship to trapping of the material body in sex work has severe consequences for some sex workers. While, as I discuss below, many sex workers politicize their
“imprisonment” in the sex industry, a few find their way out by ending their lives. Alyssa Funke, a university student who was outed after doing one scene for the porn company Casting Couch, committed suicide in 2014 in response to vicious bullying from classmates (Knox). In an open letter to the dead woman, Belle Knox, a porn actor who was outed a few months earlier in 2014, writes of her own suicidal ideation:
49
I wanted to just die. I fantasized of what this would do to my bullies and tormenters. I
went to the most morbid places I ever thought possible. The headline even flashed before
my eyes: “Duke porn star commits suicide.” (“From Belle”)
Of course, it is not necessarily the sex industry, but the crisis of being ousted and being unable to escape association with the sex industry, that drives sex workers to suicide. As pornographer
Conner Habib writes with reference to the suicide death of chemist Arpad Miklos, who performed in gay porn: “Why are we asking, ‘What is it with gay porn?’ but not asking, ‘What is it with the way society treats people who bring them pleasure?’” (“Why Do”). Bad lives are produced socially, always in relation to those on the other side of the threshold. When sex workers are denied the rights of citizenship through outing and bullying and then die by suicide, they respond not only to their own bad lives but also to the agency of those who remain political citizens to continually define some lives as ungrievable.
But metaphors of space do not just speak to the imprisonment and death of sex working bodies.
They are also used to describe distance from and attachment to the sex industry. These metaphors of space, location and mobility take many forms in sex workers’ autobiographical practices: writers speak of windows of opportunity (Alptraum), “Crossing the Rubicon”
(Masoch), being “dragged through a circle of hell” (Masoch), knowing “what you’re getting into” (Alptraum), leaving the “world of porn” (Alptraum). Kitty Stryker describes entry to the sex industry as literal travel and a simultaneous transformation from a “nobody” to a glamorous sex worker:
“I came up with the name Kitty Stryker when flying from Massachusetts to California.
[…] Katy was dorky, not very popular, struggled in crowds of people, and was suicidally 50
depressed. Katy couldn't step out from under the shadow of her teenage years. In contrast,
Kitty was sexy, flirty and confident. Kitty was politically active and internet savvy, had a
lot of friends and was popular. Kitty was going West, to seek her fortune by doing things
she loved that also increased her awareness. (“Branded”)
Reflecting the prerequisite for normative sex working identity, one of the qualities that differentiate “Kitty” from “Katy” in this narrative is Kitty’s capacity to disavow her past. For
Stryker, sex work is where one goes to become someone else: someone invulnerable and happy.
Stryker uses another travel narrative to mark her decision to leave the sex industry, when her working conditions became intolerable:
Returning to San Francisco after working in London, England was pretty difficult for me.
There were many differences: In London, I could be open about being a sex worker and
was usually treated with respect, my fat body was a thing of desire, and the legality of my
work meant I could call the police for support. In stark contrast, I found myself opened
up to all sorts of critique and abuse when I didn’t take a client on in San Francisco, and
the illegal, stigmatized status of sex work meant that I had little recourse. (“Branded”) In
this passage, Stryker transforms back from glamorous sex worker to unpopular,
undesirable, abused “nobody.” But in both of the above passages, Stryker is travelling to
San Francisco to do sex work. Invulnerable or victimized, happy or unhappy, the
destination is the same—a predicament mirrored by her lack of success at finding a non-
sex job (“Branded”). While the overt messaging of Stryker’s story discusses the failure of
“exit programs” to meet sex workers’ real transition needs, the imagery included here
also advances a narrative about identity and affect. While Stryker turned to sex work in
order to adopt a happy sex working identity, her eventual unhappiness with sex work did 51
not make her not a sex worker. Instead it trapped her in a bad life: no longer invulnerable
as a happy, rights-seeking sex worker, but unable to escape the sex industry nonetheless.
Likewise, metaphors of space and place allow former hustler Eric Barry to describe his experience of being stuck in sex work in a way that implicates the virtual space of the internet in the trap. He writes:
Barry’s willingness to move is contrasted against Google’s, Facebook’s and Apple’s enormous
capacity not only to claim the virtual space of the internet, but also to “fix” (to correct and to
fasten or make permanent; cf. Antwi and Dean) the city itself by displacing politically
abandoned lives. Many sex workers cite traces of their sex working personae kept permanently
on the internet (Alptraum; Anonymous A) as one of the barriers to exiting the industry, making it
all the more appropriate that Barry would gesture towards the corporate structures of the internet
in his story about getting stuck on the wrong side of the threshold between the goo d life and the
bad.
Because sex workers use metaphors of space and imprisonment to narrate their difficulties leaving the sex industry, I believe the language of “exiting,” regardless of its appropriation by abolitionist organizations, is affectively appropriate language for an experience with enormous political relevance for sex workers, and especially for those who are unhappy. Metaphors are not just a luxury of literary expression; they are our ways of making and sharing the meaning of our lives. As such, they are territory that should not be ceded to those who do not represent our political interests. While the language of transition may be more politically useful to some sex workers (cf. Law), “exiting” may more accurately describe the experiences of those facing
52 difficulty leaving the sex industry, who do indeed feel trapped in sex work and are indeed seeking distance or escape.
53
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
5.0 Introduction
This final chapter is a summary of the study as an attempt to recap the whole study. It also gives the key empirical findings of the study.
5.1 Conclusions: More-Than-Survival Strategies
Unhappy sex workers get stuck in a bad life, affectively and literally. While their unhappiness limits their claim to sex workers’ rights, their sex work limits their capacity to move on to other forms of employment. In both cases, political citizenship – whether in the form of affective acknowledgement or bearable material conditions – is located beyond the boundaries of the space occupied by unhappy sex workers. But these boundaries do not go uncontested. Mary argues that in order to be political from within the bad life, one must, first, blur the boundary between public and private that assigns bad lives to the realm of the pre-political. Second, one must critique the social order that differentiates valuable lives from worthless ones. Third, and finally, one must refuse to disavow vulnerability.
Blurring the boundary between public and private, for sex workers writing about their lives means politicizing those experiences and feelings that have been eschewed by mainstream sex workers’ rights advocacy. Petro writes that while sex work is work, it is not “just work”
I wanted to be beautiful. I wanted to be taken care of. I wanted to be rescued. I was
sexualized long before I sexualized myself. Even as a child, I knew the way men looked
at me. I knew what it meant. […]
54
Growing up in a home without food, you are always hungry and every kind of hunger, it
seems, feels like you are starving. Of such an appetite, you become ashamed. When your
needs become confused with desires, you always want more. In a world of unreliable
people, you learn to rely on yourself. Stripping was one way I learned to get noticed, and
being noticed—I thought—is what it took to survive.
Another respondent makes clear that, for her, sex work is connected to her childhood experiences of emotional and economic neglect. Rather than framing the harms she experienced – as a child and in sex work – as private, Petro uses them to dramatize the gendered, working-class disenfranchisement that earned her a “lack of equal access to meaningful work” She remains firm in her support for decriminalization of prostitution, but in writing about her sex working experiences as conditioned by habit, trauma and affect, Petro produces a story of her sex work that considers the possibility that under other circumstances she might not have been a sex worker.
Where happy narratives help to stabilize the figure of the sex worker as a free, rational actor who enjoys her work and her sexual liberation, unhappy sex workers sit in limbo: on the one hand referred to as what politicized sex workers are not and on the other hand politicizing their unhappiness by suggesting that they might never have done sex work, except for their disenfranchisement as a class. “The truth doesn’t have a sound bite,” writes Habiba, “It’s complex. There are just as many people who are in danger in the sex trade as there are people who aren’t, and sometimes that’s the same person at different times” (“The Ugly Truth”). This unfixing of identity gestures towards a state of flux, from which a politics of more-than- survival a politics of distance from the bad life – might be drawn. If happiness and unhappiness 55 both lead disenfranchised sex workers to doing sex work for survival, then a more-than- survival strategy involves critique of that disenfranchisement.
Former sex worker argues a “deep doubt about the validity of the sex positive argument” in sex positive advocacy’s disavowal of that which is understood to be negative. She argues that if sex positivity cannot account for unpleasant, unjust or traumatic experience in sex work, then “the concept of being a sex positive sex worker is a self-serving marketing practice, in which the enjoyment of sexuality is being sold as a product to both workers and our clients” (“Why the
Sex”). The act of telling an unhappy story critiques the social order that disenfranchises women, the poor and sex workers, raising the question of why all roads lead to the same place and what advocacy would look like if sex workers were unwilling to cede their affective capacities to commodification.
When sex workers are unwilling to concede their affective capacities, they tell stories that destabilize the boundaries of sex working identity and the boundary between political citizenship and abandonment. Petro’s advice to other sex workers who want to write their life stories is to
“Be as real as you can be…. Aim for a harder, more complicated truth”. What unhappy sex workers are telling us with their stories is that there is more to seeking human and labour rights than just getting out from under the “abuse” paradigm. As former underage prostitute Emi
Koyama writes:
I started to think that we need to honor and embrace weakness, vulnerability, and
passivity as well, or else we end up blaming and invalidating victims (including myself)
who do not feel strong some or most of the times. (“The Uses of Negativity”)
56
Sex work happens in a bad world: one where many people suffer unfairly and do things that hurt them in order to survive. Unhappy sex workers’ writing forces us to face the reality that t he structures that distinguish good lives from bare survival have victims. By refusing to let victimization push them out of political space, unhappy whores politicize their victimization, calling on sex worker advocates not to ask for a place at the table in the good life, but to do the much harder work of dismantling the social order that victimizes them in the first place.
5.2 Challenges of Data Collection
During collecting data I faced challenges which were even risky to myself and these included the following.
During collecting data the time was not favoring me as a lady because when I could not go there late in the night between 9pm-10pm I could not get information.
Recording the information was very difficult for me in the way that I could not record yet I had shown that am a new member and part of them and when they realize that you are getting information; they can easily kill you because they are violent.
I remember the last time I went there it was really so tough for me these people I think had realized me because that time I got friends who escorted me and when I reached there, they chased me away with my friends and it was around 10 am. My friends took their own route and I completely stopped going there. These people do not want to be used as study purposes because most of them are not happy with what they are doing, they would also want to be in schools studying and
57 according to the research I made most of them joined prostitution due to lack of school fees, losing their parents and other many problems.
58
REFERENCES Anonymous A. “You’re FIRED! An escort outed at work is served a pink slip.” Hook Online: A Publication by and for Men in the Sex Industry. 27 May 2014. 30 July 2014. Web. Anonymous B. “Can One Truly Leave the Sex Industry?” An Exotic Escort’s Diary. 18 June Abraham, V. “WEB EXCLUSIVE: Q&A with Lindsay, a sex worker and Human Library participant.” Ottawa Magazine. 29 January 2012. 1 April 2013. Web. Adorable, L. “Dungeon or Psych Ward?: A Crazy Whore Explains It All.” Tits and Sass. 20 ---. “What Antis Can Do To Help, Part One: Aiding Those Still in the Industry.” Tits and Sass. Agustín, L.M. “Helping Women Who Sell Sex: The Construction of Benevolent Identities.” Rhizomes 10 (2005): n.p. Ahmed, S. & J. Stacey. “Testimonial Cultures: An Introduction.” Cultural Values 5.1 (2001): 1- 6. Babcock, W. “Can A Person Be A Sex Worker Rights Activist While Not Enjoying Sex Work Themselves? (ROUGH DRAFT).” Facebook. 3 August 2011. Rpt at Ha-Redeye, Omar. “In Memorandum: Wendy Babcock (1979-2011).” Law is Cool: The Lawschool Blog and Podcast from Canada. 10 August 2011. 1 April 2013. Web. Barry, E. “Dear God, I Need a Job: The Struggle to Find Employment After Sex Work.” The Brents, BG.. & K. Hausbeck. “Sex Work Now: What the Blurring of Boundaries around the Sex Industry Means for Sex Work, Research, and Activism.” Sex Work Matters. Ed. MH Ditmore, A Levy & A Willman. New York: Zed Books, 2010. 9- 22. Butler, J. “Can one lead a good life in a bad life? Adorno Prize Lecture.” Radical Philosophy 176 (2012): 9-18. Cresswell, J. Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and
qualitative research (4th ed.). New York: Pearson, 2012 Antwi, P. & A. Dean. “Unfixing Imaginings of the City: Art, Gentrification, and Cultures of Doe, J. “Are Feminists Leaving Women Behind? The Casting of Sexually Assaulted and Sex Working Women.” Selling Sex: Experience, Advocacy and Research on Sex Work in Canada. Ed. E. van der Meulen, E.M. Durisin & V. Love. Vancouver: UBC P, 2013. 181-197. Ferreday, D. “Writing Sex Work Online: The Case of Belle de Jour.” Wagadu 8 (2010): 273- 291.
59
Habib, C. “Why do gay porn stars kill themselves?” Connerhabib’s Blog. 13 Feb. 2013. 30 July 2014. Web. Habiba, H. “‘The Ugly Truth:’ Ad Campaigns About the Sex Trade Will Always Fail…” Prison Hubbard, P. “Cleansing the Metropolis: Sex Work and the Politics of Zero Tolerance.” Urban Knox, B. “From Belle Knox: An Open Letter to Alyssa Funke, Who Must Never be Forgotten.” Koyama, E. “The Uses of Negativity: Survival and Coping Strategies for Those of Us Who Are Exasperated by the Empty Promise of ‘It’ Getting ‘Better’.” eminism. 26 Oct. 2013. 30 Law, T. “Transitioning Out of Sex Work: Exploring Sex Workers’ Experiences and Perspectives.” Selling Sex: Experience, Advocacy and Research on Sex Work in Canada. Ed. E. van der Meulen, E.M. Durisin & V. Love. Vancouver: UBC P, 2013. 101-110. Ludlow, J. “The Things We Cannot Say: Witnessing the Trauma-tization of Abortion in the Lynch, J. “Close Reading.” Getting an A on an English Paper. 25 Oct. 2004. 30 July 2014. Web. Magdalene Hart. Weblog comment. 27 March 2013. “What Antis Can Do To Help, Part One:
Masoch, M. “Crossing the Rubicon: Is There Life (and Career) After Porn?” Mich Masoch. 11 Olive. “10 Tips on How to be a (Feminist) Ally to Sex Workers.” This Loneliness Is Just An Parsons, J.T., J.A. Koken & D.S. Bimbi. “The use of the Internet by gay and bisexual male escorts: sex workers as sex educators.” AIDS CARE 16.8 (2004): 1021-1035. ---. “We Pardon Spitzer, But Still Judge Former Sex Workers (Like Me).” The CUT. 23 July Peyser, A. “Idiot Prosti-teacher Didn’t Learn Lesson.” The New York Post. 11 Feb. 2011. 30 July 2014. Web. Pratt, G. “Abandoned Women and Spaces of the Exception.” Antipode 37.5 (2005): 1052-1078. Puar, J. “‘I Would Rather be a Cyborg than a Goddess’: Becoming-Intersectional in Assemblage Ray, A. “Why the Sex Positive Movement is Bad for Sex Workers’ Rights.” Audacia Ray. 31 Seigworth, G.J. and Gregg, M. “An Inventory of Shimmers.” The Affect Theory Reader. Ed. InM. Gregg & G.J. Seigworth. Durham: Duke University Press, 2010. 1-25. Shane, C. “You’ve Got Problems: Sex Worker Childhoods.” Tits and Sass. 6 December 2011. 1 Stanley, L. “From ‘Self-Made Women’ to ‘Women’s Made-Selves’? Audit selves, Simulation and Surveillance in the Rise of Public Woman.” Feminism and Autobiography: Texts, Theories, Methods. Ed. Tess Cosslett, Celia Lury, and Penny Summerfield. London: Routledge, 2000. 40- 60.
60
Steedman, C. “Enforced narratives: stories of another self.” Feminism and Autobiography: Texts, Theories, Methods. Ed. Tess Cosslett, Celia Lury, and Penny Summerfield. London: Routledge, 2000. 25-39. Stryker, K. “Branded: The Fight for Employment After Sex Work.” slixa. 2 Dec. 2013. 30 July 2014. Web. Valentine. “It Happened to Me: I’ve Been a Sex Worker for Over Ten Years.” xojane. 11 Jan. whoreseyeview. “the tweets that launched a shitstorm: biased, referenced and unabridged.” Mullins, A. “Sex worker wants to dispel myths.” Metro. 7 June 2012. 1 April 2013. Web. Studies 41.9 (2004): 1687-1702.
Uganda MPs to meet sex workers. BBC News (2003-06-25). Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
Odeke, Abraham. (2003-07-22) Tax for Uganda sex workers. BBC News. Retrieved on 2011-06- 04.
Uganda sets up red-light district. BBC News (2007-11-16). Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
Ray, Audacia (2010-12-15). "It is not just violent clients who hurt sex workers". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2010-12-15. Gorey, M. Weblog Comment. 6 December 2011. “You’ve Got Problems: Sex Worker Of many names…. Weblog comment. 7 December 2011. “You’ve Got Problems: Sex Worker Olivia. Weblog comment. 7 December 2011. “You’ve Got Problems: Sex Worker Childhoods.” Aiding Those Still in the Industry.” Tits and Sass. 19 March 2013. 1 April 2013. Web. Those Still in the Industry.” Tits and Sass. 19 March 2013. 1 April 2013. Web. BP. Weblog comment. 20 March 2013. “What Antis Can Do To Help, Part One: Aiding Those Wendy. Weblog comment. 20 March 2013. “What Antis Can Do To Help, Part One: Aiding
61
Appendix Authority letter from the University
62