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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 August 2023

Marco Gatti and Simone Poli

This paper explores the role that the control system – understood as a set of financial and non-financial mechanisms – introduced by the Ministerial Decree of 15th February 1860…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the role that the control system – understood as a set of financial and non-financial mechanisms – introduced by the Ministerial Decree of 15th February 1860 played in promoting the ethical tolerance of prostitution in the Kingdom of Italy.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research method was adopted. Specifically, this study draws on literature on accounting and deviant behaviors and on Suchman's theories of legitimation (1995) to interpret empirical evidence collected from archival primary sources as well as secondary sources.

Findings

The paper highlights how the accounting mechanisms introduced by the law were molded to limit the serious consequences of prostitution from a public health standpoint and to demonstrate that the State neither profited from prostitution nor used public money to fund it. This should have stimulated ethical tolerance of the law itself and, consequently, of the prostitution that was regulated.

Originality/value

This paper opens a new research avenue in the field of accounting history by exploring the connection between accounting and prostitution. Moreover, unlike the extant literature on accounting and deviant behaviors, this study delves into the role played by accounting mechanisms to promote ethical tolerance rather than to activate normalization processes.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 36 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2009

Heather Montgomery

Based on a case study of a small community in Thailand, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the explanations that child prostitutes give for selling sex. It looks at whether…

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Abstract

Purpose

Based on a case study of a small community in Thailand, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the explanations that child prostitutes give for selling sex. It looks at whether child prostitution can be considered as a form of labour and if children themselves understand what they do as work or exploitation. It focuses on children's relationships within their families and argues that international legislation calling for child prostitution to be abolished, while well meaning, is too simplistic and does not deal with the complex social relations underpinning prostitution and the lack of alternatives for many children.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation among a small group of child prostitutes in Thailand.

Findings

Certain children have very different understandings of prostitution to those campaigning to end the practice. They do not see prostitution as a form of work or necessarily as a form of abuse. Instead they claim it as a way of fulfilling perceived social and moral obligations to their families.

Research limitations/implications

The importance of listening to children themselves, even on such sensitive and emotive issues, is paramount as it reveals a gap between ground level realities and proposals put forward in international legislation.

Originality/value

The growing literature on child prostitution rarely takes into account children's own perspectives. This paper engages directly with children and takes seriously their own justifications and rationalisations.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 29 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 October 2017

Leigh-Ann Sweeney and Sharron FitzGerald

The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers preventing women in prostitution from accessing co-ordinated health services in the Republic of Ireland. By examining the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers preventing women in prostitution from accessing co-ordinated health services in the Republic of Ireland. By examining the experiences of migrant women engaged in prostitution, the research contributes to knowledge pertaining to the psychosocial experiences of female sex workers’ access to healthcare.

Design/methodology/approach

The study interviewed migrant women across Ireland, using a biographical narrative approach and an adapted voice-centred relational model of analysis to determine the necessity for a health promotion strategy for this demographic.

Findings

The findings indicate migrant women work primarily indoors, hold precarious legal status and are in Ireland due to processes of globalisation, migration and economic necessity. The women discussed their entry into prostitution and their experiences within prostitution in the context of their psychosocial experiences.

Research limitations/implications

While the findings are from a small qualitative sample confined to the Republic of Ireland, it is the first study to prioritise migrant sex workers’ psychosocial experiences in Ireland.

Practical implications

The research concludes education and service development that respects the various social determinants impacting women in prostitution is missing but remains necessary in Ireland. It finds a gendered reform of policies using an ecological framework for health that can address issues of poverty, migration and the global trends of the sex industry.

Social implications

This means a national review of current services in health, social work and community development fields is timely.

Originality/value

This paper gives insight into the lives of migrant women involved in the sex industry and can make an important contribution to future research directions and practice in Irish and European prostitution contexts.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

Margaret Melrose

The government published A Co‐ordinated Street Prostitution Strategy and Response to ‘Paying the Price’ in January 2006. In this article the proposals are critically assessed. It…

Abstract

The government published A Co‐ordinated Street Prostitution Strategy and Response to ‘Paying the Price’ in January 2006. In this article the proposals are critically assessed. It is argued that whilst there are some beneficial aspects, there is little new in the proposals that are based upon a long‐standing paradigm.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2007

Jo Phoenix

This article looks at three main models of intervention that have informed recent policy and practice with people involved in the sex trade. It reveals the inherent contradictions…

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Abstract

This article looks at three main models of intervention that have informed recent policy and practice with people involved in the sex trade. It reveals the inherent contradictions within attempts to both help and punish workers in the existing prostitution strategy.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2003

Margaret Melrose

This article considers the issues of ‘street prostitution’ and ‘community safety’ in terms of the discursive construction of each. It argues that in the late‐modern age, concepts…

Abstract

This article considers the issues of ‘street prostitution’ and ‘community safety’ in terms of the discursive construction of each. It argues that in the late‐modern age, concepts such as ‘community’ and ‘safety’ are problematic and their meaning cannot be taken for granted. The discussion then probes discursive constructions of ‘the prostitute’ and explores the causes of prostitution, its legal regulation and the apparent resilience of street sex markets to various forms of intervention in different places and at different times. The article concludes by considering prostitute women as members of the community and reflects on what this might mean in terms of community safety strategies.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2007

Margaret Melrose

This article considers the recommendations to the government's public consultation exercise for drug‐using sex workers (Home Office, 2004). It argues that the ‘problem’ of drug…

Abstract

This article considers the recommendations to the government's public consultation exercise for drug‐using sex workers (Home Office, 2004). It argues that the ‘problem’ of drug use by sex workers cannot be separated from wider social problems experienced by this group, especially the problem of poverty. It suggests that the new prostitution strategy conflates drug use and sex work, reducing involvement in the latter to a problem of the former. Thus, other social problems experienced by these women, particularly the problems of poverty and social exclusion, are side‐stepped. By so doing, the government absolves itself of responsibility to tackle the underlying conditions that drive women and young people into prostitution and problematic drug use, leading me to argue that the new strategy offers a ‘cheap fix’ for drug‐using sex workers.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2014

Jennifer Holly and Gemma Lousley

Against Violence & Abuse (AVA) and DrugScope undertook research into good practice interventions for supporting women involved in street-based prostitution and substance use. The…

Abstract

Purpose

Against Violence & Abuse (AVA) and DrugScope undertook research into good practice interventions for supporting women involved in street-based prostitution and substance use. The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a survey of service providers and interviews with both service users and providers about women's involvement in prostitution and substance use, their associated support needs and how these can be met by services.

Design/methodology/approach

As part of a mixed methods study, this paper focuses on the findings of interviews with 19 women involved in prostitution and of a survey of and interviews with 64 services that support women involved in prostitution.

Findings

Generic substance misuse services are more likely to associate women's involvement in prostitution with funding their own or their partner's substance use. By comparison, specialist sex work projects are more likely to report women using substances to manage the emotional and physical pain of selling sex. These beliefs impact on the interventions delivered, with specialist services offering a more diverse package of care than generic services.

Research limitations/implications

This study covered predominantly two English regions. A more systematic study of service provision across the UK would be welcomed and could be used to inform guidance for national and local policymakers.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the existing evidence base of “what works” in supporting women involved in prostitution. It is novel in its focus on women involved in prostitution who also use substances and in offering a detailed picture of the types of support currently available in England.

Details

Advances in Dual Diagnosis, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-0972

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 May 2021

Raheel Yasin and Sarah I. Obsequio Namoco

There is scarcity in the literature, both empirically and theoretically, regarding the relationship between transgender discrimination and prostitution. This study aims to offer a…

Abstract

Purpose

There is scarcity in the literature, both empirically and theoretically, regarding the relationship between transgender discrimination and prostitution. This study aims to offer a new framework for conceptualizing workplace discrimination and prostitution by examining the mediating role of poverty in the relationship between discrimination and prostitution.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual framework of this study is based on the social identity theory and the theory of prostitution.

Findings

Transgender is a neglected group in society, and more often, they are the ones who are unable to find jobs and when employed, find it challenging to sustain their employment because of their gender identity. This leads them to be discriminated at their workplaces. Subsequently, they are forced to leave their workplace and settle to work as prostitutes for their economic survival.

Research limitations/implications

Further research should empirically test the design model.

Practical implications

Managers play an essential role in eliminating discrimination in the organization. Managers need to take measures in crafting gender-free and anti-discrimination policies. They take steps to design recruitment policies in which there is no need to disclose applicant identity.

Social implications

Discrimination, on the basis of gender identity, promotes a culture of hate, intolerance and economic inequality in society. Prostitution has devastating effects on society.

Originality/value

In the field of organizational behavior, discrimination as a factor of prostitution was not explored. This study provides a significant contribution to the transgender and discrimination literature along with the prostitution theory and the social identity theory by proposing a model that highlights discrimination as one of the factors that compel the transgender community to be involved in prostitution.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 April 2023

Nancy Evelyn Day

Dirty workers occupy jobs and perform tasks that are unpleasant and considered distasteful or “tainted” to other members of society. However, while they experience challenges in…

Abstract

Purpose

Dirty workers occupy jobs and perform tasks that are unpleasant and considered distasteful or “tainted” to other members of society. However, while they experience challenges in managing stigma, they are generally successful in creating positive self-identities. Among these dirty jobs is prostitution. As dirty workers, women sex workers in American history have been treated with humor, ridicule and derision. This study aims to explain the social contexts and the limited economic choices these women faced and examine how they may have managed their dirty work’s stigma to create positive self-identities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses primary and secondary sources to examine a 53-year period of American history and to frame these women’s stigma management within a “dirty work” perspective.

Findings

The author suggests that sex workers in riskier roles (e.g. street walkers, crib workers or “upstairs girls” in saloons) would have been less able to effectively manage stigma and create positive self-identities as compared to brothels workers, due to the brothel’s strong social support, healthier work culture and richer resources.

Social implications

While sex work has changed significantly in the past century, the principles of identity management in this difficult and dirty work remain. Understanding the economic, social and individual challenges faced by these dirty workers will aid our understanding of the difficulties confronted by today’s sex workers.

Originality/value

Sex work is nearly absent from scholarly management literature. The lack of historical perspective and knowledge in this field limits a full understanding of how various types of dirty workers manage stigma.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

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