Beyond exploitation

Towards a nuanced understanding of agency for adolescent female sex workers – evidence from Zanzibar and Morogoro

Bibliographic Data

ID15099490
AuthorsHannelore Van Bavel (0000-0002-6943-980X, Ghent University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume19
Issue1
Pages76-90
Publication date2017-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2016.1207253
PMID27426679
OpenAlexW2482501837
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited41

This study examines how young women sex workers exercise agency when entering prostitution, coping with occupational health problems and accessing healthcare services. It was conducted at two sites in Tanzania: Morogoro on Tanzania's mainland and Stone Town on Zanzibar Island. A total of 19 in-depth interviews were conducted with female sex workers who were 18-years old or younger at the time of entry into prostitution and 12 key informant interviews with sex workers who were 19 or older at the time of entry into prostitution. Eight key informant interviews were held with the peer educators and staff of ZAYEDESA, a sex worker organization on Zanzibar. The findings show that agency is more constrained for adolescent sex workers compared to adult sex workers. However, younger sex workers find coping strategies to navigate within the constraints that compromise their agency, reflecting different positions on the agency spectrum, ranging from reconciliation, via negotiation, to actual individual or collective agency. Adolescent sex worker agency is often severely compromised; however, it is still present and should not be ignored. Rather, it should inspire the design and implementation of harm reduction and rehabilitative interventions that address the needs of young sex workers in their particular situation

Compromise · Environmental health · Family medicine · Harm · Negotiation · Political science · Population · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Sex work · Sex workers · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Tanzania · Gender Studies · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub