Occupational health and safety amongst sex workers: A pilot peer education resource

Abstract

This paper presents an account of a pilot project to design and implement an innovative, sex-worker-driven approach to peer education in London. A 28-min, double-sided tape cassette containing extracts of sex workers talking candidly about their work was compiled from oral history recordings. The aims were to pilot process issues in compiling the collaborative resource, and to stimulate discussion of health and safety issues, exploring whether the resource could potentially enhance positive changes in sex workers' knowledge and awareness, self-esteem, and lifeskills. In a limited pilot distribution, 15 sex workers and seven outreach workers in London listened to the tape and completed short evaluation questionnaires. The paper sets out strengths and weaknesses of the pilot method, linking these to broader critical reflections on issues raised about peer education to, for and by sex workers.