Love, power, resilience and vulnerability
Relationship dynamics between female sex workers in Ghana and their intimate partners
Bibliographic Data
Little is known about female sex workers' daily lives or emotional relationships. Using relational-cultural theory, this study explored the relationship dynamics between sex workers and their intimate partners in Kumasi, Ghana. We collected qualitative data from 37 male intimate partners through 24 in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions (FGDs) with 13 male partners. We also conducted three FGDs with 20 women involved in sex work. Relationships between sex workers and their intimate partners were mutual, reciprocal and transactional. Male partners provided protection for financial support, a place to sleep and intimacy. Both men and women described their relationships in terms of friendship, love and a hopeful future. Women were reluctant to quit sex work because they depended on it for income. Most respondents did not use condoms in these romantic relationships, citing trust, love, faithfulness and commitment. Both men and women described high levels of violence in their relationships. The context of sex work heightens vulnerability but also appears to facilitate resilience and creative coping strategies. The relational dynamics between sex workers and their intimate partners in Ghana merit further exploration to examine the extent to which women involved in sex work hold and exert power within these relationships
Developmental psychology · Focus group · Friendship · Interpersonal relationship · Population · Psychological resilience · Qualitative research · Sex work · Sociology · Transactional sex · Demography · Gender Studies · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Social Psychology
It’s Not Easy to Ask Peers and Partners to Test
Intimacy, trust, and exploitation
Dangerous Love
Meanings and implications of love
Media, nationalism, and the body
Navigating Stigma in Romantic Relationships Where One or Both Partners Sell Sexual Services
Challenges and Benefits of Disclosure of Sex Work to Intimate Partners
Male involvement interventions and improved couples’ emotional relationships in Tanzania and Zimbabwe
Conflicted masculinities
Relational‐Cultural Theory
Intimate relationships of Devadasi sex workers in South India
Modified social ecological model
Amar te Duele” (“Love Hurts”)
Agency, lapse in condom use and relationship intimacy among female sex workers in Jamaica
Where sex ends and emotions begin’
The social context of gender-based violence, alcohol use and HIV risk among women involved in high-risk sexual behaviour and their intimate partners in Kampala, Uganda
Sex, love and money along the Namibian-Angolan border
Rethinking risk
Love, Trust, and HIV Risk Among Female Sex Workers and Their Intimate Male Partners
Can't Buy My Love
Eyes that don't see, heart that doesn't feel
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,29 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2026 (8) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |