Watching Each Others’ Back, Coping with Precarity in Sex Work

Abstract

At the time of the research, the authors wanted to address two problems with the way activism and research around sex work were taking place. The first was the lack of understanding of the complexity of sex workers' lives. The advocacy around trafficking and sex work had become polarised to the point where there seemed to be no way of understanding the complex and difficult choices women made about their migration, work and sexuality. There were few positions being articulated between the representations of women as free to choose sex work on the one hand and women as only ever oppressed (even if they were often represented as unaware of their oppression) on the other. We wanted to understand better the complexity of sex workers' lives and their views on the debates about sex work and trafficking that had largely been held without their input. Also, the study aimed to explore how women negotiate the tricky balance between being visible enough to attract clients whilst remaining invisible to the police and how, given the precarious nature of their work, they seek out support and assistance when needed. There has been extensive research documenting the abuse of sex workers by police in South Africa. In many ways, migrant sex workers fear both their undocumented status and their illegal occupation. Furthermore there is a great deal of risk associated with sex work such as sexually transmitted diseases and violence from clients and from other sex workers. In such a context of precarity where legal and institutional forms of support are often unavailable, there are important questions raised about how and where sex workers find support in times of difficulty. This study tries to understand, from an ethnographic perspective the complex and difficult choices women make about their migration, work and sexuality. It gives significant attention to the informal support networks and internal rules the women develop to manage their risky work and lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)