Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

There is fear but there is no other work’

A preliminary qualitative exploration of the experience of sex workers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Bibliographic Data

ID15098262
AuthorsBrendan Kiernan (Georgetown University, corresponding author), Ranit Mishori (0000-0002-4292-0580, Georgetown University), Maurice Masoda
Year2016
Volume18
Issue3
Pages237-248
Publication date2016-03-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2015.1073790
PMID26414956
OpenAlexW2201612609
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited19

Two decades of conflict and insecurity have had a devastating impact on many in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including marginalised groups such as sex workers. In the province of North Kivu, many residents face desperate conditions that render them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. As a result, many turn to the sex trade in what can often be described as 'survival sex'. This small-scale qualitative study explores the experience of urban sex workers in the eastern region of the DRC. Sex workers were recruited at their place of business and asked to participate in a semi-structured interview. Eight participants were recruited, including seven women and one man. Our analysis identified several themes: (1) economic hardship as a catalyst for joining the sex trade, (2) significant work-related violence and (3) a paucity of available resources or assistance. Responses to specific prompts indicated that sex workers do not trust law enforcement and there are significant barriers to both medical care and local resources. Further studies of this vulnerable population and its needs are encouraged in order to develop programmes that provide the means to manage the hazards of their work and obtain an alternative source of income

Democracy · Domestic violence · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Family medicine · Law enforcement · Poison control · Political science · Politics · Population · Qualitative research · Sex work · Social science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Suicide prevention · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Law · Medicine · Sex work and related issues

  • Associations between sex work laws and sex workers’ health

    Open Access•Lucy Platt, Pippa Grenfell et al.•PLoS Medicine•2018

  • Risk factors for violence against women in high-prevalence settings

    Open Access•Jenevieve Mannell, Hattie Lowe et al.•BMJ Global Health•2022

  • Profiles of Sexual Economic Exchanges among Women in Kisumu, Kenya

    Open Access•Mary Anne Roach, Talia A Loeb et al.•Archives of Sexual Behavior•2025

  • The school participation effect

    Dan Landis, Debbie Landis et al.•Compare A Journal of Comparative…•2018

  • South African female sex workers’ interactions with law enforcement

    Molefi Motsoeneng•Journal of Psychology in Africa•2021

  • Construction and Validation of a Scale to Assess Social Judgments Toward Sex Work from the Stereotype Content Model

    Cristina Jenaro Río, Cristina Jenaro et al.•The Journal of Sex Research•2024

  • Violence Against Women Who Sell Sex in Eastern and Southern Africa

    Open Access•Catriona Ida Macleod, John Hunter Reynolds et al.•Trauma Violence & Abuse•2024

  • The financial lives of female sex workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Emily Namey, Lara Lorenzetti et al.•AIDS Care•2022

  • Understanding the financial lives of female sex workers in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

    Emily Namey, Brian Perry et al.•AIDS Care•2018

  • Those Monusco agents left while we were still pregnant’

    Open Access•Heather Tasker, Katie van der Werf et al.•Journal of Peace Research•2023

  • Unseen, unheard and unprotected

    Kátia Ngale, Beverley Cummings et al.•Culture Health & Sexuality•2019

  • Human Development Report 2013

    United Nations Development Programme•Human Development Report 2013•2013

  • Human rights violations against sex workers

    Open Access•Michele R Decker, Anna-Louise Crago et al.•The Lancet•2015

  • Male sex workers

    Open Access•Stefan D Baral, M Reuel Friedman et al.•The Lancet•2015

  • Burden of HIV among female sex workers in low-income and middle-income countries

    Open Access•Stefan D Baral, Stefan Baral et al.•The Lancet Infectious Diseases•2012

  • Unprotected intercourse for extra money among commercial sex workers in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

    Mposo Ntumbanzondo, Robert Dubrow et al.•AIDS Care•2006

  • Patterns of sexual violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

    Open Access•Susan A Bartel, Jennifer Scott et al.•Conflict and Health•2010

  • Prevalence of Rape and Client-Initiated Gender-Based Violence Among Female Sex Workers

    Open Access•Amee Schwitters, Mahesh Swaminathan et al.•AIDS and Behavior•2014

  • Alcohol and Other Drug Use, Partner Violence, and Mental Health Problems Among Female Sex Workers in Southwest China

    Chen Zhang, Xiaoming Li et al.•Health Care For Women International•2013

  • They have embraced a different behaviour’

    Beth J Maclin, Beth Maclin et al.•Culture Health & Sexuality•2015

  • Mexico's northern border conflict

    Open Access•Leo Beletsky, Gustavo Martı́nez et al.•Revista Panamericana de Salud…•2012

  • The 100% Condom Use Programme in Asia

    Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn•Reproductive Health Matters•2006

Unique citing works11
Citations per year1,38
Citation span2018 - 2025 (8)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 11
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae