An Evaluation of Indoor Sex Workers’ Sexual Health Access in Metro Vancouver: Applying an Occupational Health & Safety Lens in the Context of Criminalization

Abstract

The criminalization of sex work has been consistently shown to undermine workers’ Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), including sexual health. Drawing on the ‘Guide to OHS in the New Zealand Sex Industry’ (the Guide), we assessed barriers to sexual health best practices among indoor sex workers in Metro Vancouver, Canada, in the context of ongoing criminalization. Part of a longstanding community-based study, this analysis drew on 47 qualitative interviews (2017–2018) with indoor sex workers and third parties. Participants’ narratives were analyzed drawing on a social determinants of health framework and on the Guide with specific focus on sexual health. Our findings suggest that sex workers and third parties utilize many sexual health strategies, including use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and peer-driven sexual health education. However, participant narratives demonstrate how structural factors such as criminalization, immigration, and stigma limit the accessibility of additional OHS best practices outlined in the Guide and beyond, including access to non-stigmatizing sexual health assessments, and distribution of diverse PPE by third parties. Our current study supports the need for full decriminalization of sex work, including im/migrant sex work, to allow for the uptake of OHS guidelines that support the wellbeing and autonomy of all sex workers.