“It Is Important for Everyone as Humans to Feel Important, Right?” Findings from a Community-Based Participatory Needs Assessment with Street-level Sex Workers

ABSTRACT

A community-based participatory research design informed the development and conduct of a needs assessment with street-level sex workers within a mid-sized city in Ontario, Canada. The research question was: What would help street-level sex workers to live with enhanced safety and dignity within their community? Twenty-four women who accessed a peer-driven drop-in center (SafeSpace) participated in in-depth interviews. Observational data of items requested by women who accessed SafeSpace were also documented over a 6-month time period. The overarching theme of relationships was identified as vital to participants’ ability to live and work with enhanced safety and dignity in their community. Subthemes included: Informal/formal surveillance: Relationships to public space(s); Nowhere to go for us: Relationships with/in community services; and You’re given the time you need: Relationships in a peer-driven drop-in center for/with/by sex workers. Our findings demonstrate how central relationships are, particularly peer, to enhancing or diminishing sex workers’ sense of dignity, self-worth, safety, and enhanced their access to services.

KEYWORDS:

• Public health
• needs assessment
• street-level sex work
• health promotion
• community-based research

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the community that is SafeSpace London, Kathleen Harding, Research Coordinator.

Disclosure Statement

There has been no financial interest or benefit that has arisen from the direct applications of this research.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Fanshawe College’s Centre for Research and Innovation, under the Research Innovation Fund, [2015-01-RIF];Fanshawe College’s Centre for Research and Innovation, Research Innovation Fund [2015-01-RIF].