The result presented and discussed are part of a longitudinal study on impact of stigma and access to health care services for sex workers, hair stylists & food & beverage servers with a qualitative study to gain in-depth insights into stigma and impact on socio-emotional well-being of sex workers.
This study researched how is stigma experienced, interpreted and given meaning for workers in the sex trade and in their personal contexts? How stigma infuences the participant's socio-emotional well-being with a focus on the narratives of survival, ambivalence and of service. It looks at the impact of stigma on their personal lives.
Sex workers' experiences of stigma are not uniform but are linked to identities with multiple disadvantages. Social networks porvide some supports but can also be sources of distress. Concealment and withdrawal can protect the individual from overt discrimination but sometimes at a cost to their emotional well-being.
Conflict of Interest: None Disclosed
Financial Support: None Disclosed
Recorded at the World Association of Sexual Health XIXth Congress; Sexual Health & Rights: A Global Challenge, Göteborg (Sweden) - June 21 – 25, 2009
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