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Selling your self? The psychological impact of street sex work and factors affecting support seeking
Author(s) -
Gorry Jo,
Roen Katrina,
Reilly James
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
health and social care in the community
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.984
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1365-2524
pISSN - 0966-0410
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2524.2010.00925.x
Subject(s) - sex work , psychology , qualitative research , work (physics) , interpretative phenomenological analysis , focus group , drop out , social psychology , emotional support , applied psychology , social support , medicine , sociology , engineering , marketing , family medicine , business , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , demographic economics , mechanical engineering , social science , economics
Previous research investigating the risks of female street sex work has tended to focus on the most tangible risks to physical health and safety. This is reflected in the provision of support services for sex workers, where these aspects are prioritised. There is little research focusing solely on the psychological risks of sex work. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perceived psychological impact of street sex work and factors that affected support seeking. Interviews were carried out with a sample of UK female street sex workers ( n = 7) who attended a drop‐in clinic and health professionals ( n = 5) who provided input to the drop‐in service. The analytic process, which drew from an interpretative phenomenological approach, revealed four main themes that work together to describe the emotional impact of selling sex. Implications for support services and future research are highlighted.