Managers’ rules about sex workers’ health and safety in the illicit online sex market: Considering profits and risks

Abstract

This study examines how 71 male pimps utilize rules about illicit drug use and safe sex practices to define their market sector, lower their risk of detection, and maximize the profitability of their business. The term, pimp, was used to refer to those who received a percentage of the earnings from sex workers in exchange for scheduling and negotiating with clients, arranging for the location of the sex work, the transportation to the location, and the protection of sex workers. This purposive sample was recruited through advertisements placed in the focus groups/studies and adult entertainment (escorts and massage) sections of Backpage in the cities of Chicago and Atlanta. Coding from qualitative interviews revealed that maximization of profits guided managers’ decisions on whether their sex workers would be required to use condoms, and refrain from illicit drug use. Safety rules, such as STD/HIV testing, were adopted and enforced to attract new customers and to assure returning of regular customers that their sex workers were free of STDs and HIV. Businesses that enforced strict rules prohibiting illicit drug use by sex workers were more sophisticated in their operations, employing others to drive sex workers, providing places for sex work to occur, and consulting with legal insiders to assist them in avoiding detection by law enforcement or to provide counsel on legal matters. Conversely, businesses that supplied drugs to workers and/or to clients or accepted drugs as a form of payment were more likely to operate on the lower profit end of the internet-solicited prostitution or indoor club market. The implications of these findings for policy are discussed.