The Silent Majority: Evidence for Part Time Sex Work in Canada
| Autor: | Kennedy, Lynn |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: |
bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Sociology
SocArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Sociology SocArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Sociology|Sexualities bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences SocArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Sociology|Gender and Sexuality |
| Popis: | Introduction: Sex workers still remain a largely hidden population. An analysis of a large number of Canadian online sex work advertisements from multiple websites over multiple years shows that most of the population is in fact transitory, contradicting the story promoted by much of the research and used as the basis for policy in Canada. Methods: 3.18 million advertisements were collected from websites that hosted Canadian sex work advertising between November, 2014 and December, 2016. Population was estimated based on a combination of contact information and names found in ads. In addition to population counts, other variables are examined with respect to how long advertisers stayed online: gender, language, collective vs individual advertising and service type. Results: Advertisers were online for a median 14 days (IQR 1-58, mean 73.3, SD 151.8). Monthly, an average of 27177 (SD 5134) workers were estimated to be active. Over the two year study period an estimated 210157 (CI 203494-222227) sex workers were active at least once. Most of the sex workers advertised collectively in some way. However, the collectives were small (median 2 names per advertiser). Working collectively was the most significant factor affecting whether an advertiser stayed online, followed by offering a specialist service (such as fetish or tantric) or being part of a traditionally marginalized group. Conclusions: The implied populations of sex workers in Canada are dynamic and change significantly depending on the time period studied. Most sex workers have only brief, intermittent involvement in the industry. Spot estimates do not provide an accurate picture of who does sex work. Indeed there are many more sex workers who are inactive than those that are active. Given that policy in Canada is based on qualitative research using small, self-selecting samples of relatively long term workers, the perspectives of these short-term workers may not be adequately represented. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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