IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0170642.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Structural Determinants of Health among Im/Migrants in the Indoor Sex Industry: Experiences of Workers and Managers/Owners in Metropolitan Vancouver

Author

Listed:
  • Shira M Goldenberg
  • Andrea Krüsi
  • Emma Zhang
  • Jill Chettiar
  • Kate Shannon

Abstract

Background: Globally, im/migrant women are overrepresented in the sex industry and experience disproportionate health inequities. Despite evidence that the health impacts of migration may vary according to the timing and stage of migration (e.g., early arrival vs. long-term migration), limited evidence exists regarding social and structural determinants of health across different stages of migration, especially among im/migrants engaged in sex work. Our aim was to describe and analyze the evolving social and structural determinants of health and safety across the arrival and settlement process for im/migrants in the indoor sex industry. Methods: We analyzed qualitative interviews conducted with 44 im/migrant sex workers and managers/owners working in indoor sex establishments (e.g., massage parlours, micro-brothels) in Metropolitan Vancouver, Canada in 2011; quantitative data from AESHA, a larger community-based cohort, were used to describe socio-demographic and social and structural characteristics of im/migrant sex workers. Results: Based on quantitative data among 198 im/migrant workers in AESHA, 78.3% were Chinese-born, the median duration in Canada was 6 years, and most (86.4%) serviced clients in formal indoor establishments. Qualitative narratives revealed diverse pathways into sex work upon arrival to Canada, including language barriers to conventional labour markets and the higher pay and relative flexibility of sex work. Once engaged in sex work, fear associated with police raids (e.g., immigration concerns, sex work disclosure) and language barriers to sexual negotiation and health, social and legal supports posed pervasive challenges to health, safety and human rights during long-term settlement in Canada. Conclusions: Findings highlight the critical influences of criminalization, language barriers, and stigma and discrimination related to sex work and im/migrant status in shaping occupational health and safety for im/migrants engaged in sex work. Interventions and policy reforms that emphasize human rights and occupational health are needed to promote health and wellbeing across the arrival and settlement process.

Suggested Citation

  • Shira M Goldenberg & Andrea Krüsi & Emma Zhang & Jill Chettiar & Kate Shannon, 2017. "Structural Determinants of Health among Im/Migrants in the Indoor Sex Industry: Experiences of Workers and Managers/Owners in Metropolitan Vancouver," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0170642
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170642
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0170642
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0170642&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0170642?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A. & Miranda, Patricia Y. & Abdulrahim, Sawsan, 2012. "More than culture: Structural racism, intersectionality theory, and immigrant health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2099-2106.
    2. Abraído-Lanza, Ana F. & Chao, Maria T. & Flórez, Karen R., 2005. "Do healthy behaviors decline with greater acculturation?: Implications for the Latino mortality paradox," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 1243-1255, September.
    3. Acevedo-Garcia, Dolores & Sanchez-Vaznaugh, Emma V. & Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A. & Almeida, Joanna, 2012. "Integrating social epidemiology into immigrant health research: A cross-national framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2060-2068.
    4. Shannon, Kate & Kerr, Thomas & Allinott, Shari & Chettiar, Jill & Shoveller, Jean & Tyndall, Mark W., 2008. "Social and structural violence and power relations in mitigating HIV risk of drug-using women in survival sex work," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 911-921, February.
    5. Shahmanesh, Maryam & Wayal, Sonali & Andrew, Gracy & Patel, Vikram & Cowan, Frances M. & Hart, Graham, 2009. "HIV prevention while the bulldozers roll: Exploring the effect of the demolition of Goa's red-light area," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 604-612, August.
    6. Cathy Zimmerman & Ligia Kiss & Mazeda Hossain, 2011. "Migration and Health: A Framework for 21st Century Policy-Making," Working Papers id:4174, eSocialSciences.
    7. Seth M Holmes, 2006. "An Ethnographic Study of the Social Context of Migrant Health in the United States," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(10), pages 1-18, October.
    8. Cristina Fernández & Carolina Ortega, 2008. "Labor market assimilation of immigrants in Spain: employment at the expense of bad job-matches?," Spanish Economic Review, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 83-107, June.
    9. Deering, K.N. & Amin, A. & Shoveller, J. & Nesbitt, A. & Garcia-Moreno, C. & Duff, P. & Argento, E. & Shannon, K., 2014. "A systematic review of the correlates of violence against sex workers," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(5), pages 42-54.
    10. Cathy Zimmerman & Ligia Kiss & Mazeda Hossain, 2011. "Migration and Health: A Framework for 21st Century Policy-Making," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(5), pages 1-7, May.
    11. Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A., 2007. "Beyond acculturation: Immigration, discrimination, and health research among Mexicans in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(7), pages 1524-1535, October.
    12. Joan Benach & Carles Muntaner & Carlos Delclos & María Menéndez & Charlene Ronquillo, 2011. "Migration and "Low-Skilled" Workers in Destination Countries," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(6), pages 1-4, June.
    13. Lippman, Sheri A. & Pulerwitz, Julie & Chinaglia, Magda & Hubbard, Alan & Reingold, Arthur & Díaz, Juan, 2007. "Mobility and its liminal context: Exploring sexual partnering among truck drivers crossing the Southern Brazilian border," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(12), pages 2464-2473, December.
    14. Goldenberg, Shira M. & Strathdee, Steffanie A. & Gallardo, Manuel & Rhodes, Tim & Wagner, Karla D. & Patterson, Thomas L., 2011. ""Over here, it's just drugs, women and all the madness": The HIV risk environment of clients of female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(7), pages 1185-1192, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Khandaker Mursheda, Farhana & Kazi Abdul, Mannan, 2024. "The Socioeconomic Factors of Female Child Trafficking and Prostitution: An Empirical Study in the Capital City of Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 121599, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2024.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Acevedo-Garcia, Dolores & Sanchez-Vaznaugh, Emma V. & Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A. & Almeida, Joanna, 2012. "Integrating social epidemiology into immigrant health research: A cross-national framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2060-2068.
    2. Allen, Jennifer Dacey & Caspi, Caitlin & Yang, May & Leyva, Bryan & Stoddard, Anne M. & Tamers, Sara & Tucker-Seeley, Reginald D. & Sorensen, Glorian C., 2014. "Pathways between acculturation and health behaviors among residents of low-income housing: The mediating role of social and contextual factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 26-36.
    3. Bijou, Christina & Colen, Cynthia G, 2022. "Shades of health: Skin color, ethnicity, and mental health among Black Americans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    4. Jonathan Zufferey, 2016. "Investigating the migrant mortality advantage at the intersections of social stratification in Switzerland," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(32), pages 899-926.
    5. Kudus Oluwatoyin Adebayo, 2023. "Health Challenges in Everyday Life of Nigerians in Guangzhou City, China," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 1477-1497, September.
    6. Sabo, Samantha & Shaw, Susan & Ingram, Maia & Teufel-Shone, Nicolette & Carvajal, Scott & de Zapien, Jill Guernsey & Rosales, Cecilia & Redondo, Flor & Garcia, Gina & Rubio-Goldsmith, Raquel, 2014. "Everyday violence, structural racism and mistreatment at the US–Mexico border," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 66-74.
    7. Levchenko, Yuliana, 2021. "Aging into disadvantage: Disability crossover among Mexican immigrants in America," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    8. Ro, Annie & Bostean, Georgiana, 2015. "Duration of U.S. stay and body mass index among Latino and Asian immigrants: A test of theoretical pathways," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 39-47.
    9. Fleischman, Yonina & Willen, Sarah S. & Davidovitch, Nadav & Mor, Zohar, 2015. "Migration as a social determinant of health for irregular migrants: Israel as case study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 89-97.
    10. Arévalo, Sandra P. & Tucker, Katherine L. & Falcón, Luis M., 2015. "Beyond cultural factors to understand immigrant mental health: Neighborhood ethnic density and the moderating role of pre-migration and post-migration factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 91-100.
    11. Van Natta, Meredith & Burke, Nancy J. & Yen, Irene H. & Fleming, Mark D. & Hanssmann, Christoph L. & Rasidjan, Maryani Palupy & Shim, Janet K., 2019. "Stratified citizenship, stratified health: Examining latinx legal status in the U.S. healthcare safety net," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 49-55.
    12. Miao, Siyu & Xiao, Yang, 2020. "Does acculturation really matter for internal migrants’ health?Evidence from eight cities in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    13. Noreen Goldman & Anne Pebley & Mathew Creighton & Graciela Teruel & Luis Rubalcava & Chang Chung, 2014. "The Consequences of Migration to the United States for Short-Term Changes in the Health of Mexican Immigrants," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(4), pages 1159-1173, August.
    14. Jatrana, Santosh & Pasupuleti, Samba Siva Rao & Richardson, Ken, 2014. "Nativity, duration of residence and chronic health conditions in Australia: Do trends converge towards the native-born population?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 53-63.
    15. Chapman, Mimi V. & Hall, William J. & Lee, Kent & Colby, Robert & Coyne-Beasley, Tamera & Day, Steve & Eng, Eugenia & Lightfoot, Alexandra F. & Merino, Yesenia & Simán, Florence M. & Thomas, Tainayah , 2018. "Making a difference in medical trainees' attitudes toward Latino patients: A pilot study of an intervention to modify implicit and explicit attitudes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 202-208.
    16. Terriquez, Veronica & Joseph, Tiffany D., 2016. "Ethnoracial inequality and insurance coverage among Latino young adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 150-158.
    17. Xiang Kang & Mingxi Du & Siqin Wang & Haifeng Du, 2022. "Exploring the Effect of Health on Migrants’ Social Integration in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-20, April.
    18. Woranan Witthayapipopsakul & Hathairat Kosiyaporn & Sonvanee Uansri & Rapeepong Suphanchaimat, 2022. "Effect of the Promulgation of the New Migrant’s Employment Law on Migrant Insurance Coverage in Thailand: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis, 2016–2018," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-12, April.
    19. Shirley J Semple & Jamila K Stockman & Eileen V Pitpitan & Steffanie A Strathdee & Claudia V Chavarin & Doroteo V Mendoza & Gregory A Aarons & Thomas L Patterson, 2015. "Prevalence and Correlates of Client-Perpetrated Violence against Female Sex Workers in 13 Mexican Cities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(11), pages 1-15, November.
    20. Adetayo Olaniyi Adeniran & Samuel Oluwaseyi Olorunfemi & Feyisola Olajire Akinsehinwa & Taye Mohammed Abdullahi, 2021. "Nexus between urban mobility and the transmission of infectious diseases: evidence from empirical review," Post-Print hal-03583997, HAL.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0170642. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.