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Female Sex Workers and the Social Context of Workplace Violence in Tijuana, Mexico
Author(s) -
Katsulis Yasmina,
Lopez Vera,
Durfee Alesha,
Robillard Alyssa
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1111/j.1548-1387.2010.01108.x
Subject(s) - sex work , context (archaeology) , workplace violence , ethnography , hierarchy , criminology , occupational safety and health , psychology , social psychology , suicide prevention , environmental health , poison control , sociology , medicine , political science , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , geography , law , archaeology , family medicine , anthropology
Gender‐based violence in the workplace impacts the physical and emotional well‐being of sex workers and may lead to other health problems, such as PTSD and depression, drug abuse, and a greater likelihood of sexually transmitted infections. This study examines the social context of workplace violence and risk avoidance in the context of legal regulations meant to reduce harms associated with the industry. Ethnographic research, including 18 months of extended field observations and interviews with 190 female sex workers, is used to illustrate how sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico, experience and manage workplace violence. Multiple subthemes emerge from this analysis, including deciding where to work, working with a third party, avoiding theft, and dealing with police. These findings support the idea that the risk of violence is part of a larger “hierarchy of risk” that can result in a “trade‐off” of harms.