Harm reduction for sex workers
Pattaya is known around the world as a popular tourist destination. The area boasts of many mainstream tourist attractions, such as miles of sandy beaches, luxurious resorts, luscious golf courses, and plentiful water sports. It is no secret, however, that a major attraction of this former sleepy fishing village is the ready availability of relatively inexpensive commercial sex.
Although illegal in Thailand, the commercial sex industry is permitted to flourish openly here in Pattaya, as well as in other parts of the country. The economic benefits provided by sex tourism appears a powerful incentive for authorities to look the other way, as opposed to biting the hand that feeds an arguably feeble local economy.
Economic considerations aside, attitudes of societies toward human sexual behavior generally, and commercial sex in particular, might be characterized as contentious. On one extreme is the attitude that sex work is a legitimate and acceptable form of employment which is freely chosen by consenting adults. Proponents of this view include many feminists, sex workers, and prostitutes’ rights advocates. From their perspective, the criminalization of prostitution helps perpetuate the stigma associated with sex work, and represents an infringement of liberty and personal freedom by the state.
Opponents of the practice argue that prostitution is degrading to the women and men thus employed, and that the practice causes severe psychological damage. The feminist writer Sheila Jeffreys, for example, views men’s commercial use of women for sex as intrinsically violent, abusive, and a violation of human rights. Others opposing prostitution base their arguments upon moral codes rooted in Judeao-Christian taboos concerning fornication and sexual promiscuity.
A psychological approach to the issue of sex work would not necessarily approach it as a moral issue. Psychological research often examines issues such as factors contributing to a person’s decision to become a sex worker, whether engaging in sex work is necessarily psychologically damaging, and the health risks that are attendant to that profession.
A recent study by Melissa Farley, for example, found that 55 percent of a sample of Thai sex workers reported having experienced physical assault during the course of their work, 57 percent had been raped. Sadly, 72 percent met the criteria for a diagnosis of partial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Farley’s study also found that 56 percent reported current or past homelessness, 71 percent reported a current physical health problem, 56 percent acknowledged having an alcohol problem, and 39 percent reported a current drug problem.
Does sex work lead to emotional or behavioral disturbance? Early psychological theories, particularly those derived from Freudian or psychoanalytic theory, tended to view emotional disturbance as developing as a result of unresolved conflicts, usually rooted in early childhood development. By contrast, modern psychological theorists generally hold the view that people develop emotional and behavioral disturbance not purely as a result of their experiences, childhood or otherwise, although experiences are undeniably a factor. Cognitive theorists like Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck, Martin Seligman, and Donald Meichenbaum point out that people play a significant role in creating and perpetuating emotional disturbance by the way they think about the adversities which they experience in life.
On the question of whether sex work is intrinsically damaging to the sex worker, there is little evidence to support this conclusion. At most, it could be inferred that sex work places sex workers at increased risk for experiencing a number of adversities, including violence, physical assault, rape, and exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Those experiences are, in turn, associated with an increased risk for developing psychological and medical problems, including PTSD, alcohol and drug problems, and homelessness.
Given the fact that the oldest profession is unlikely to be legislated out of existence, authorities would do well to institute appropriate harm-reduction strategies to provide sex workers with the knowledge and skills they need to reduce the risk of assault, rape and other occupational hazards. In addition, steps should be taken to increase the availability of medical, mental health and rehabilitation services to individuals employed in the sex industry.
Although illegal in Thailand, the commercial sex industry is permitted to flourish openly here in Pattaya, as well as in other parts of the country. The economic benefits provided by sex tourism appears a powerful incentive for authorities to look the other way, as opposed to biting the hand that feeds an arguably feeble local economy.
Economic considerations aside, attitudes of societies toward human sexual behavior generally, and commercial sex in particular, might be characterized as contentious. On one extreme is the attitude that sex work is a legitimate and acceptable form of employment which is freely chosen by consenting adults. Proponents of this view include many feminists, sex workers, and prostitutes’ rights advocates. From their perspective, the criminalization of prostitution helps perpetuate the stigma associated with sex work, and represents an infringement of liberty and personal freedom by the state.
Opponents of the practice argue that prostitution is degrading to the women and men thus employed, and that the practice causes severe psychological damage. The feminist writer Sheila Jeffreys, for example, views men’s commercial use of women for sex as intrinsically violent, abusive, and a violation of human rights. Others opposing prostitution base their arguments upon moral codes rooted in Judeao-Christian taboos concerning fornication and sexual promiscuity.
A psychological approach to the issue of sex work would not necessarily approach it as a moral issue. Psychological research often examines issues such as factors contributing to a person’s decision to become a sex worker, whether engaging in sex work is necessarily psychologically damaging, and the health risks that are attendant to that profession.
A recent study by Melissa Farley, for example, found that 55 percent of a sample of Thai sex workers reported having experienced physical assault during the course of their work, 57 percent had been raped. Sadly, 72 percent met the criteria for a diagnosis of partial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Farley’s study also found that 56 percent reported current or past homelessness, 71 percent reported a current physical health problem, 56 percent acknowledged having an alcohol problem, and 39 percent reported a current drug problem.
Does sex work lead to emotional or behavioral disturbance? Early psychological theories, particularly those derived from Freudian or psychoanalytic theory, tended to view emotional disturbance as developing as a result of unresolved conflicts, usually rooted in early childhood development. By contrast, modern psychological theorists generally hold the view that people develop emotional and behavioral disturbance not purely as a result of their experiences, childhood or otherwise, although experiences are undeniably a factor. Cognitive theorists like Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck, Martin Seligman, and Donald Meichenbaum point out that people play a significant role in creating and perpetuating emotional disturbance by the way they think about the adversities which they experience in life.
On the question of whether sex work is intrinsically damaging to the sex worker, there is little evidence to support this conclusion. At most, it could be inferred that sex work places sex workers at increased risk for experiencing a number of adversities, including violence, physical assault, rape, and exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Those experiences are, in turn, associated with an increased risk for developing psychological and medical problems, including PTSD, alcohol and drug problems, and homelessness.
Given the fact that the oldest profession is unlikely to be legislated out of existence, authorities would do well to institute appropriate harm-reduction strategies to provide sex workers with the knowledge and skills they need to reduce the risk of assault, rape and other occupational hazards. In addition, steps should be taken to increase the availability of medical, mental health and rehabilitation services to individuals employed in the sex industry.
posted by Michael | Thursday, March 17, 2005
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