Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Because of the illegality and stigma associated with female sex workers FSW in China, data were limited regarding their psychological stressors examined through the lens of occupational health. Analyzing qualitative data from 16 gatekeepers and 38 FSW, we explored these stressors in the context of commercial sex in China. We found that FSW faced a continuum of stressors that resulted from poverty, limited employment, lack of social protection, violence perpetrated by clients, and limited social support from peers and stable partners.
We call for empowerment and a structural approach to address the needs of FSW to improve their psychological well-being. It is defined as the practice or business of exchanging money or goods for sexual services among female, male, and transgender adults UNAIDS, Because of the special nature of sex work, FSW are entangled in a complex social network composed of gatekeepers e.
Few researchers have examined the manner in which the stressful characteristics of sex work impact their well-being Ross et al. Vanwesenbeeck documented several sex-work stressors, including lack of support from co-workers and gatekeepers, lack of job autonomy, lack of reward from work, and work-related stigma, and they all exerted detrimental effects on FSW's psychological functioning.
A better understanding of psychological stressors in the context of commercial sex is, therefore, important. Scholars have applied multiple theories to explain occupational factors and their association with work-related stress.
Researchers have also documented higher rates of psychological pathology among FSW el-Bassel et al. Brody et al. We believe that although existing studies are very informative, they have been largely limited to survey design that focuses on the prevalence of psychological pathology and its demographic and behavioral correlates.
