Health Inequalities in Sex Work
Health Inequalities in Sex Work
Article:
Putnis, N. and Burr, J. (2020) Evidence or stereotype? Health inequalities and
representations of sex workers in health publications in England. Health: An
Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 24 (6). pp.
665-683. ISSN 1363-4593
[Link]
Putnis, N., & Burr, J. (2019). Evidence or stereotype? Health inequalities and
representations of sex workers in health publications in England. Health. © 2019 The
Authors. [Link] Article available under the terms of
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representations of sex workers in health publications in England.
Article:
Putnis, N and Burr, J (2019) Evidence or stereotype? Health inequalities and
representations of sex workers in health publications in England. Health: An
Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine. ISSN
1363-4593
[Link]
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Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine
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Page 1 of 110 Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine
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5 Evidence or Stereotype? Health Inequalities and Representations of Sex Workers in Health
6 Publications in England
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9
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11 The health of sex workers is considerably influenced by their position in society and by the
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13 marginalisation and stigmatisation they face worldwide. They are frequently criminalised and
14 labelled as deviant, disordered or ‘vulnerable’: stereotypes that simplify and misrepresent
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16 their realities. Sex work policies create social and structural barriers, creating dangerous work
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18 environments and exacerbating significant health inequalities.
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20 Health organisations and their policies play an important role in highlighting inequalities and
21 guiding health systems in reducing them. In this paper, we use a document analysis design to
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23 analyse how and when sex workers are depicted in policies and publications by English
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25 national health organisations: National Health Service (NHS) England, Public Health
26 England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, alongside the UK’s
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28 Department of Health.
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30 We find that sex workers are largely absent in these documents and, when present, are
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depicted not using evidence, but simplistically with moralistic undertones. The dichotomous
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33 constructions: vulnerable yet also criminal ‘prostitute’ reflect wider political and social
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35 constructions of sex working women. This not only obscures their realities, but homogenises,
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blames and stigmatises, ultimately doing the opposite of what these organisations purport to
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38 do: it damages their health and wellbeing.
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21 England. We provide a critical overview of how sex
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workers are represented in these official texts and the implications for their health and
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28 Sex work is a term used to describe ‘a range of activities relating to the exchange of money
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30 (or its equivalent) for the provision of sexual services’ (Balfour and Allen, 2014: 3). We will
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32 use this term to avoid the negative connotations of the term ‘prostitute’ and to highlight the
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34 diverse nature of this ‘range of activities’ and of the individuals involved. We will return to
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conditions, substance abuse and poor health in general (Balfour and Allen, 2014; Jeal et al.,
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34 2017; Jeal and Salisbury, 2004, 2007; Mc Grath>Lone et al., 2014). Stigma and
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marginalisation both lie at the root and exacerbate these issues, with access to healthcare
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38 generally poor (Jeal and Salisbury, 2013; Mastrocola et al., 2015).
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41 Importantly, however, not all forms of sex work carry the same risks. Sex work is diverse,
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43 with different environments, circumstances and associated issues (Harcourt and Donovan,
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45 2005). For example, the more common ‘indoor’ work is associated with less violence,
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47 substance use and risk overall than ‘street’ work (Hubbard and Prior, 2013; Jeal and
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49 Salisbury, 2007; Sanders and Campbell, 2007). Migrant sex workers and men, transgender or
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non>heterosexual individuals work in different circumstances and have different needs (Baral
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et al. 2015; Platt et al. 2013; Smith and Laing 2012). This diversity is frequently omitted in
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56 sex work policy. Finally, there lies an important distinction between designating all sex
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39 how this could affect their health and wellbeing.
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In England, national health policies are produced by the Department of Health (DH) and
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45 ‘Arm’s Length’s Bodies’ (ALBs). ALBs discussed in this paper: NHS England (NHSE),
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47 Public Health England (PHE) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
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49 (NICE) all play key roles in health service provision and access, commissioning, population
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51 health and standards for care throughout England. They play key roles in reducing health
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53 inequalities and, alongside the DH, repeatedly state this as a priority. This ‘need to reduce
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[health] inequalities’ is enshrined in law (Health and Social Care Act, 2012). These
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Page 7 of 110 Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine
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3 # E states, for example, ‘all our work is
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5 informed by…evidence’ (PHE, 2015: 5). Whilst the debate on the existence or feasibility of
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7 evidence>based policy is complex (see, for example, Smith, 2013), these organisations make
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9 a clear mandate to use evidence to reduce inequality.
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In this paper, we undertake a document analysis of publications released by the UK
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15 government DH and ALBs: NHSE, PHE and NICE. The absence of an overarching sex
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17 workers’ health policy means that these documents are not necessarily designated as policy.
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19 We argue, however, that these documents contain reflections of policy>makers and of those
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21 decisions and non>decisions, action and inaction, perspectives and values that ultimately
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23 constitute policy.
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We are interested in how English national health publications discuss and portray sex
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32 workers. By selecting a systematic search methodology, we aimed to analyse a cross>section
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34 of documents containing every reference to sex work or workers in a 6>year period, from
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36 2010 to May 2016. This period has salience due to the UK’s 5>year political cycles, with the
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38 previous Government taking up post in 2010.
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41 Sex work/workers and synonyms were searched in [Link] (which hosts both DH and PHE
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online platforms); [Link] and [Link]. Synonyms included sex
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46 trade/industry/market; prostitute/ion. Where possible, terms were combined using Boolean
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48 functions and/or truncation. All resultant publications were screened for relevance.
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51 Systematic searches for grey literature has no ‘gold standard’ with a less standardised
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53 methodology than academic searches (Godin et al., 2015). To increase trustworthiness,
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10 ‘commissioning guide’; ‘evidence summaries’; ‘guidance’, ’policy’; ‘service
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development’; ‘patient information’.
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15 Social Care online search ([Link]>[Link]) – advanced search.
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17 Filters: ‘government publication’; ‘legislation’; ‘consultation document’; statutory
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19 guidance’; ‘practice guidance’; ‘practice examples’; ‘standards’.
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21 [Link]
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24 Google Advanced Search.
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27 Inclusion and exclusion criteria were set. Any document containing any search term,
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29 published between 2010 and May 2016 by NHSE, PHE, NICE or DH was included. This
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31 incorporated instances where these terms arose in quotes from individuals, but only when not
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33 used for research or illustrative purposes. Exclusion criteria were publications from countries
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35 outside of England and commissioned documents. This latter criterion is critical, as the DH
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commissions documents written by academics or other health organisations. These
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40 documents have been excluded from this study as their status in relation to both policy and
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42 academia is unclear.
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45 We analysed the documents using a combination of content and thematic analyses,
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47 concurrently assessing the context of the search terms i.e. desired readership and publication
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49 topic. Whilst content and thematic analysis are sometimes regarded as interchangeable, we
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51 conceived content analysis as achieving an additional descriptive layer of reliability by
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quantitatively assessing terms, document types, repetition and terminologies. We analysed
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56 the documents using a descriptive search for the frequency of all accounts of sex workers
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31 Equality Act (2010) and legislation requiring ‘regard to’ health inequalities (Health and
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33 Social Care Act 2012) has spurned a plethora of so>called Equality Impact Assessments
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35 (EIA). The worth of these documents has been called into question (former British Prime
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37 Minister, David Cameron, called them ‘bureaucratic nonsense’ (Cabinet Office 2012)). Yet, it
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39 is in these documents or similar that sex workers arise in a third of cases (11/34). In these
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documents plus in a further ten and therefore in the majority of the texts (21/34) sex workers
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44 arise solely in lists of groups described as ‘disadvantaged’, ‘marginalised’, ‘socially
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46 excluded’, ‘hard>to>reach’, ‘vulnerable’, ‘hidden’ and, once even, ‘easy to ignore’. These lists
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48 include fellow marginalised groups, typically ‘refugees’, ‘homeless’ or ‘traveller
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50 communities’. Whilst a discussion of sex workers’ vulnerabilities or exclusion is welcomed,
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52 these lists risk compounding the issue of their absence, as they recognise inequality, yet lack
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this meaningful discussion. These are lists of ‘others’, even designated as such (‘other
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Understanding the vulnerabilities associated with prostitution and sex workers
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31 of exploitation, abuse, violence and ill health… I "
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36 In only one document, the DH’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England
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38 (2013), is there a recognition and discussion of structural causes of vulnerability and poor
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40 health. Sex work is otherwise described as a ‘behaviour’. First in relation to symptoms of
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42
personality disorder:
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44
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46 …impulsivity and self damaging behaviour (substance abuse, prostitution, self$harm
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48 and suicide attempts) (Motz et al. for NHSE and National Offender Management
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50 Service 2015: 10)
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53 ...impulsive acts of recklessness…(e.g. substance misuse, prostitution, suicide
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55 attempts). (p. 139)
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Page 13 of 110 Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine
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6 behavioural characteristics, for example illicit drug use or commercial sex work…
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8 )( +E, 2014a: 2)
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11 These highlight individualistic concepts of blame and ‘behaviour’. They also introduce the
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concepts of the sex worker as mentally unwell, and the sex worker as a criminal.
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Sex workers are directly associated with mental health or disability in 4 texts, most notably
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22 learning difficulties or personality disorder. In a further 4 they are listed alongside ‘mental
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24 health issues’ (and other causes of ‘vulnerability’). The conflation of sex work and mental
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26 health issues raises serious concerns as we will illustrate through the UK Government’s Care
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28 Act Statutory Guidance case study of Miss P. Miss P is introduced as a person who does not
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have capacity to consent and that:
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Miss P was being coerced into prostitution and physically assaulted (DH, n.d.)
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37 The issue of consent, mental illness and ‘prostitution’ as conceptualised in this case study are
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39 very problematic. We have earlier introduced the ‘sex wars’ debate: put simply, the ‘sex>
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41 work>as>work’ versus ‘prostitute>as>victim/’prostitution>as>violence>against>women’ debate.
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43 The sex workers’ rights movements ‘resist accounts that cast them as mere victims’ (Scoular,
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45 2004: 346), arguing it constructs sex workers as ‘devoid of choice, responsibility or
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accountability’ (Maher, 2000: 1). Sex work is legitimate work, only achievable with consent.
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50 The latter view conceptualises sex work (or prostitution) as inherently a violation against
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52 women’s rights, and argues that they are always coerced regardless of context (see, for
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54 example, Jeffreys, 2010). The implication in this case study, is that consent is irrelevant to
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56 ‘prostitution’ status, which links to this view. Irrespective of these dichotomised views on
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14 & )+ E) (Crellin, 2015).
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17 Despite these issues, this case study does at least imply a recognition of a distinction between
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19 coerced versus non>coerced ‘prostitution’. This is not always the case in these documents, as
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21 we will now discuss.
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24 &
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27 The conflation of sex work with violence, abuse or trafficking is a common theme in sex
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work literature (Kempadoo et al., 2015; Lancet, 2015; Weitzer, 2007). Trafficking or CSE are
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32 widely recognised as human rights’ violations requiring global policy and action, however
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34 conflation with sex work ignores the different experiences of those involved. It again
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36 misrepresents the difference between consensual sex work and non>consensual abuse, with
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38 potentially damaging effects around sex workers’ ability to report rape or violence (Sanders,
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40 2016). These conflations and misconceptions are replicated in these documents.
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Eight documents associate sex work and violence, recognising that sex workers have an
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46 increased risk of violence, but also depicting sex work as violence. Two documents, both
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48 from ‘Health & Justice’ (H&J), list the following:
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51 ..advice for sex workers and those who have been subjected to domestic violence and
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53 abuse (Guite et al. for PHE 2014: 6)
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60 [Link]
Page 15 of 110 Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine
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3 …support for those who may have been victims of domestic abuse or sex workers
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5 ) E, 2014b: 17)
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8 A ‘Liaison & Diversion’ (L&D – a service for offenders with issues around mental health,
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10 learning disability or drugs) document quotes:
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…experiences of domestic violence, sexual violence, prostitution and human
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16 trafficking.
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19 ..Understanding the vulnerabilities associated with prostitution and sex workers who
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21 put themselves at risk of exploitation, abuse, violence…’ (NHSE, 2014: 8–9)
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24 Despite not defining sex work as abuse, there is an implicit association between sex work and
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26 violence in these statements. Going a step further, the EIA accompanying the DH’s
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28 Improving Services for women and child victims of violence explicitly states:
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31 [Violence against women] includes domestic violence, forced marriage, ‘honour’
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crimes, , sexual violence, trafficking for sexual exploitation, stalking and
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female genital mutilation. [emphasis added] (2010c: 5)
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39 This clearly defines all ‘prostitution’ as violence, putting it in apparent parity with human
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41 rights’ violations and violent crime.
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44 The final 2 documents discussing sex work in relation to violence (both regarding sexual
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46 violence) do so in passing, under ‘other services’, in a list of ‘key informants’ and under ‘data
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48 sharing’ (DH, 2011:13,17; NHSE, 2015i:19). This further underlines the lack of presence in
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documents where special attention to sex work is perhaps warranted. In no document is there
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53 a discussion of the heightened risks of violence for sex workers, the potential health impacts
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55 or management.
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18 …prostitution and sex workers…recognising depression, anxiety and personality
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20 disorders which may have gone undiagnosed )( E, 2014: 9)
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23 …with a history of borderline personality disorder and depression…involved in street
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25 prostitution (NHSE, no date, no page numbers)
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28 The following two in relation to symptoms of personality disorder:
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31 impulsive acts of recklessness as a means of emotion regulation (e.g. substance
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misuse, prostitution, suicide attempts). (Motz et al. for PHE and National Offender
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Management Service 2015: 139)
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39 impulsivity and self$damaging behaviour (substance abuse, prostitution, self$harm
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41 and suicide attempts) (10)
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44 The relationship to borderline personality disorder is interesting. Feminist and sociological
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46 commentators contest this psychiatric diagnosis on the grounds that it is the modern
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48 ‘hysteria’, disproportionately associated with ‘femininity’ and ‘emotionally unstable’ women
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(Rogers and Pilgrim, 2014; Ussher, 2011, 2013). Women deemed ‘mad’ have long been
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53 associated with ‘promiscuity’ (Chesler, 2005). These accounts of deviance and sexuality
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55 seem to coalesce both in accounts of sex workers and in accounts of women and ‘madness’,
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Page 17 of 110 Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine
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47 Many acquisitive crimes...are committed by people whose drug use has become an
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49 addiction…[who] support their drug use with low$level dealing or prostitution.
50
51 (NICE, 2014b: 2)
52
53
54 A NICE accompanying document for ‘services for pregnant women with complex social
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56 factors’ii lists:
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60 [Link]
Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine Page 18 of 110
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2
3 …prostitution and criminal activity… )( +E, 2012: 15)
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5
6 All 5 NICE publications discuss sex work only in relation to drug use. Whilst substance abuse
7
8 and sex work may co>exist and interact to confer health problems, the complexities in this
9
10 discussion is missing from these documents, referring to ‘prostitution’ as merely deviant
11
12
criminal activity as a means to fund a drug problem. This misrepresents the myriad potential
13
14
15 economic motivators behind sex work, which include poverty, debt, childcare or funding
16
17 education (Sanders et al., 2009: 39–40).
18
19
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20 The report ‘crime reduction benefits of drug treatment’ (NHS National Treatment Agency for
21
22 Substance Misuse, 2012)iii repeatedly lists ‘prostitution’ between ‘drug dealing’ and ‘other
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24 stealing’, alongside ‘fraud’ and ‘violent theft’. This document also states:
25
26
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27 women involved in street prostitution typically spend over 75% of their income on
28
29
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34
35 (May et al., 1999) which bases its findings on a small sample of sex workers chosen because
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36
37 of their association with both sex and drug markets. This poorly researched statement
38
39 reinforces a simplistic, one>dimensional view of sex work that is easily corroborated with a
40
41 moralistic agenda. This misrepresentation is not an isolated case; as Cusick et al. (2009)
42
43
highlight, the Home Office was criticised in 2009 for the sweeping statement ‘nearly all sex
44
45
46 workers are addicted to drugs or alcohol’ (p. 707).
47
48
49 Sex workers’ needs in these crime>related documents, when they are mentioned, are poorly
50
51 acknowledged. Support for sex workers in prison is both important and lacking (Ahearne,
52
53 2016) yet they arise only 3 times in 2 H&J documents – twice in relation to rehabilitation
54
55 companies, who list sex workers amongst those individuals for whom they provide support.
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Page 19 of 110 Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine
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35 ( E’s ‘Equality Diversity System’ lists ‘women and men involved in prostitution’ (NHS,
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37 2013: 11) and the EIA for the DH’s National Sexual Health Policy lists sex workers under
38
39 ‘gender’, displaying a welcome recognition of diversity:
40
41
42 Sex workers – like the rest of the population – form a diverse group, and their sexual and
43
44 health behaviour will vary greatly. However, sex workers may have particular sexual health
45
46
needs, and these are likely to differ according to their gender and personal circumstances
47
48
49 (2010a: 19)
50
51
52 The case study ‘Billy’ (not a real case, but ‘representative case material’) is a welcome
53
54 example, in presence although not in content, of a male sex worker, in addition to the only
55
56 reference to non>heterosexuality. However, here too there is reference to female sex workers.
57
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Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine Page 20 of 110
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16 ! England clearly demand some focus from
17
18
health organisations > both in relation to human rights and equality but also to cost (and life)>
19
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21 saving prevention and early intervention. The absence and construction of sex workers in
22
these documents portrays not an evidence>based perspective, but a lack of interest and/or a
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24
25 moralistic point of view – one that is unlikely to be conducive to reducing these inequalities.
26
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27
28 There is more however. In addition to a lack of focus, the moral slant of these constructions
29
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30 risks further exacerbating these inequalities. The way people are defined in public documents
31
32 dictate the strategies and plans for how their needs will be met (or not). The language and
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33
34 perspectives used influences how sex workers are envisaged by those reading these
35
iew
36 documents. Whilst we can find no evidence on how widely read these documents are,
37
38
especially given the significant range included in this analysis, it is very likely that many of
39
40
41 these documents are widely read by health service staff, including public health professionals,
42
43 policymakers, managers and frontline staff. In other words: those responsible for organising
44
45 and delivering frontline services. Therefore, the perspectives presented risk exacerbating
46
47 stigma and perpetuating a narrative where sex workers are inferior, deviant and devoid of
48
49 (sensible) choice or agency. They perpetuate a ‘discourse of disposal’ (Lowman, 2000: 1003)
50
51
increasing the risk of violence, abuse and poor health and wellbeing. These documents risk
52
53
54
reinforcing those social and structural norms that create the damaging environment in which
55
56 sex workers currently work and live.
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Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine Page 24 of 110
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7 )5 /000*# $ A ! !
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" ! ! " #E
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14 " ! . $( E, PHE and NICE publications. These documents thus
15
16 form a disjointed collection, not intended to be read together and thus any conclusion drawn
17
18 from examining their entirety needs to be taken in context. However, any member of the
19
Fo
20 public or healthcare staff searching for discussion or guidance on the care or management of
21
22 sex workers come across a similarly disjointed array. Our findings also suggest how an
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24
25
analysis across documents can be as fruitful as an individual policy analysis, the latter
26
ee
27 deemed to be of utmost importance in understanding the roots and direction of health systems
28
29 (Buse et al., 2012).
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31
We have focussed on sex workers as a diverse yet defined group with clear health inequalities
32
ev
33
34 who are marginalised, stigmatised and subject to myriad social constructions typically
35
defined by people other than themselves. We could however have concentrated on any of the
iew
36
37
38 ‘other vulnerable groups’ so often listed alongside them: homeless people; traveller or
39
40 migrant communities. Our findings have salience across this spectrum, posing the question
41
42 of how balanced the views of health organisations are in relation to marginalised groups
43
44
generally?
45
46
47 Recent high profile publications such as by Amnesty International (2016) and the UK
48
49 Government Home Affairs Committee (2016) recognise and advocate the health benefits of
50
51
decriminalising sex work. The Home Affairs Committee Report states ‘current practice…
52
53
54
ha[s] an adverse impact’ and ‘it is wrong that sex workers…[are]…stigmatised and
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Page 25 of 110 Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine
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7
8 Evidence from New Zealand, where the 2003 Prostitution Reform Act decriminalised all
9
10 forms of sex work, indicates a positive effect on sex worker’s health and safety (Abel, 2014).
11
12 A comparative analysis of Australian states with differing sex work laws demonstrates
13
14 similar findings (Harcourt et al., 2010). Whilst legislation lies outside the scope of our
15
16 recommendations, research from these countries highlight the importance of governmental
17
18
and health perspectives to the health of this group. They highlight the health benefits of
19
Fo
20
21 opening the conversation about sex worker’s rights, decriminalisation and their health and
22
safety.
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25
We recommend that UK health policy follow this lead and start considering the root causes of
26
ee
27
28 sex worker’s health inequalities. We recommend they display a balanced, non>partisan view
29
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30 of sex workers and start doing just as they purport to do: use evidence to improve the health
31
32 of this politicised and marginalised group.
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34
35
iew
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37
38
39
40 i
This document also uses the term child ‘prostitution’, as aforementioned contradictory terms (p. 26).
41 ii
Note sex workers are not mentioned in the associated guideline ‘Pregnancy and Complex Social Factors’
42 iii
This agency has been subsumed by PHE and is thus included in this analysis
43
44
45
46
47
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Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, Illness and medicine Page 26 of 110
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2
3 5
4
5
6 4 ?H )/016* 4 " C ' ! % ! &
7
8 # Criminology&Criminal Justice /6)3*' ;30B3:/#
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11 4 ? )/01=* ' " # Prison
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13 Service Journal )//7*' /6B/:#
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16 4 " 4$ - H$ " 4$ # )/011* + "
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18 G' + $ $ # Global Public Health
19
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20 =) 7*' 732B 7=:#
21
22
4" )/01=* Amnesty International Policy on State Obligations to Respect,
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24
25 Protect and Fulfil the Human Rights of Sex Workers# 4 "'
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33
34 Health# 4 "' '88!!!# # 8 " 8 8 > >
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iew
1
2
3 Women Law Journal 10)1*' :1B112#
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5
6
5 ! - )/016* 5 '% & # ' H
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8 ) *$ Social policies and social control: New perspectives on the not$so$
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10 big society$ @ ' ' 7:B3/#
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5 ! - )/016* P G N '+ + !
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15 %G &D # Social Policy and Society 17)7*' 721B7;2#
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24 5 -$ H ( ? )/01/* Making Health Policy# @ 'E ,
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31 /012*#
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34 + 4 F )/013* 9 " ( ! +
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iew
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41 Carter SM, Ritchie JE and Sainsbury P (2009) Doing good qualitative research in public
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14 703–719.
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31 DH (2010c) Improving services for women and child victims of violence: The Department of
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ev
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3 ! > " > ! # Critical Social Policy 77)1*' 160B
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5 13:#
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8 ?$ H . . )/006* Solutions and strategies : drug
9
10 problems and street sex market : guidance for partnerships and providers#
11
12 @ ' " E
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14
15 F ( + )/006* 4 " > ' >
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17 # Journal of Public Health /=)/*' 162B131#
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19
F ( + )/002* >
Fo
20
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22 " ! > '4 > # BJOG 116)2*' ;23B
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27
28
29
# Postgraduate Medical Journal ;:)1037*' 7=:B20#
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3 H @ )/000* Sexed Work: Gender, Race and Resistance in a Brooklyn Drug Market#$
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5 E 'E , #
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8 H EL, Taylor AK and Chew>Graham C (2015) Access to healthcare for long>term
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10 conditions in women involved in street>based prostitution: a qualitative study. BMC
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12 family practice, 16(1): 118.
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15 May T, Edmunds M, Hough M, et al. (1999) Street Business : The links between sex and drug
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17 markets. Webb B (ed.), Police Research Series London:RDS
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ee
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ev
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[Link] (Accessed Oct. 2017)
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14 NHSE (n.d.) Liaison and Diversion Case Study. Available from:
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female street sex workers. Criminology and Criminal Justice 9(4): 507–525.
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33
34 local dimensions of stigma and deviance as barriers to effective interventions. Social
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