Loading...
Publication
Trabalho sexual, estigma e saúde: discursos e percursos de profissionais portugueses/as
| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.27 MB | Adobe PDF |
Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
O trabalho sexual pode ser entendido como o prestar de serviços sexuais em troca de dinheiro, bens ou outros serviços, sendo as partes envolvidas o/a trabalhador/a do sexo e o/a cliente. Comummente conhecida como prostituição, esta atividade é praticada por um conjunto diverso de pessoas, nos mais distintos contextos, com diferentes experiência e vivências, e à qual está fortemente associada um estigma.
O presente estudo descreve um conjunto de experiências de ajustamento psicossocial relacionadas com o exercício de trabalho sexual de profissionais portugueses/as, contextualizando a sua emergência, e discute a relação entre esta ocupação laboral, alvo de estigma social, e a saúde mental. Foram realizadas três entrevistas online, em profundidade, semiestruturadas, a pessoas com idades entre os 25 e os 44 anos, que se apresentaram como trabalhadores/as sexuais. A análise temática foi o método utilizado para analisar os discursos dos/as participantes, os quais foram organizados em dois temas: i) Percursos no trabalho sexual: Emergência, estigma e balanço geral; ii) Trabalho sexual: Ajustamento psicossocial e saúde mental.
Os resultados obtidos apontam para a emergência do trabalho sexual com base em situações psicossociais vulneráveis e motivações de ordem financeira e psicológica. Apontam, ainda, para a existência e utilização de diversas estratégias de coping, de modo a enfrentar um trabalho socialmente estigmatizado. A presença de problemas de caráter psicológico, anteriores ou decorrentes do trabalho sexual, deve ser percebida à luz das especificidades desta atividade laboral e das vicissitudes de cada participante, não podendo ser inferida uma relação simples de causalidade entre trabalho sexual e precarização da saúde mental.
Sex work can be understood as the provision of sexual services in exchange for money, goods or other, with the parties involved being the sex worker and the client. Commonly known as prostitution, this activity is practised by various groups of people, in the most diverse contexts, with different experiences and backgrounds, and is strongly associated with a stigma. This study describes a set of experiences of psychosocial adjustment related to sex work among Portuguese sex workers, contextualising its emergence, and discusses the relationship between this occupation, which is a target of social stigma, and mental health. Three online, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with people aged between 25 and 44, who presented themselves as sex workers. Thematic analysis was the method used to analyse the participants’ speeches, which were organised into two themes: i) Trajectories in sex work: Emergence, stigma and overall assessment; ii) Sex work: Psychosocial adjustment and mental health. The results point to the emergence of sex work based on vulnerable psychosocial situations and financial and psychological motivations. They also point to the existence and use of various coping strategies in order to face a socially stigmatised work. The presence of psychological problems, prior to or resulting from sex work, should be perceived in the light of the specificities of this labour and the vicissitudes of each participant, and a simple causal relationship between sex work and mental health precariousness cannot be inferred.
Sex work can be understood as the provision of sexual services in exchange for money, goods or other, with the parties involved being the sex worker and the client. Commonly known as prostitution, this activity is practised by various groups of people, in the most diverse contexts, with different experiences and backgrounds, and is strongly associated with a stigma. This study describes a set of experiences of psychosocial adjustment related to sex work among Portuguese sex workers, contextualising its emergence, and discusses the relationship between this occupation, which is a target of social stigma, and mental health. Three online, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with people aged between 25 and 44, who presented themselves as sex workers. Thematic analysis was the method used to analyse the participants’ speeches, which were organised into two themes: i) Trajectories in sex work: Emergence, stigma and overall assessment; ii) Sex work: Psychosocial adjustment and mental health. The results point to the emergence of sex work based on vulnerable psychosocial situations and financial and psychological motivations. They also point to the existence and use of various coping strategies in order to face a socially stigmatised work. The presence of psychological problems, prior to or resulting from sex work, should be perceived in the light of the specificities of this labour and the vicissitudes of each participant, and a simple causal relationship between sex work and mental health precariousness cannot be inferred.
Description
Keywords
Trabalho sexual Prostituição Estigma Saúde mental Sex work Prostitution Stigma Mental health