WUNRN
The Economic and Social Research
Council - ESRC - is the UK's leading agency for research funding and
training in economic and social sciences.
The Institute for the Study of
European Transformations - ISET - London Metropolitan University - ISET
- is an interdisciplinary team researching social, economic, cultural and
political transformations in contemporary Europe.
UK - MIGRANTS IN THE UK SEX INDUSTRY
ESRC RESEARCH PROJECT - FIRST
FINDINGS
Summary
The
main aim of the project is to improve understanding of the links between the
sex industry and migration in the UK. This is predominantly addressed in
current public debates in terms of trafficking and exploitation. Interviews
with 100 migrant women, men and transgender people working in all of the main
jobs available within the sex industry, and from the most relevant areas of
origin (South America, Eastern Europe, EU and South East Asia), suggest that
although some migrants are subject to coercion and exploitation, a majority are
not. The research shows a great variety of experiences and trajectories within
the sex industry, which were influenced by key factors such as:
- social-economic background,
- family history,
- educational aspirations and achievements,
- immigration status and policy,
- professional and language skills,
- gender and sexuality,
- individual emotional history.
The
research underlines that the current emphasis on trafficking and exploitation
to explain the variety of the trajectories of migrants into the UK sex industry
risks concealing their individual and shared vulnerabilities and strengths, the
understanding of which could form the basis of more effective social
interventions.
Key
points
- The majority of the migrant workers in the UK sex
industry we interviewed were not forced or trafficked
- Immigration status is by far the single most important
factor restricting their ability to exercise their rights in their
professional and private lives.
Working in the sex industry is often a way for those interviewed to avoid the unrewarding and sometimes exploitative conditions they meet in non-sexual jobs
- By working in the sex industry, many interviewees are
able to maintain dignified living standards in the UK while dramatically
improving the living conditions of their families in the country of
origin.
- The stigmatisation of sex work is the main problem
interviewees experienced while working in the sex industry and this
impacted negatively on both their private and professional lives
- The combination of the stigmatisation of sex work and
lack of legal immigration documentation makes interviewees more vulnerable
to violence and abuse
- Relations between sex workers and clients are described
as generally characterised by mutual consent and respect, although some
reported problematic clients who were disrespectful, aggressive or abusive
- The impossibility of guaranteeing indefinite leave to
remain to victims of trafficking undermines the efforts of the Police and
other authorities against criminal organisations
- Most interviewees feel that the criminalisation of
clients will not stop the sex industry and that it would be pushed
underground, making it more difficult for migrants working in the UK sex
industry to assert their rights in relation to both clients and employers
- All interviewees thought that legalising sex work and
the people involved and making it easier for all migrants to become and
remain documented would improve their living and working conditions and
enable them to exercise their rights more fully
Research
Background
In an environment of increasing labour migration, ever more restrictive
immigration policy and an increasingly globalised capitalism that favours
‘flexible’ workers, migrants have come to form the majority of those who sell
sex. Debates on migration and the sex industry are often characterised by an
ethnicist anti-migrant discourse, by an almost exclusive focus on women, as
well as by a marked emphasis on trafficking and exploitation. In the UK, the
Home Office is promoting new prostitution strategies aimed at reducing the exploitation
of women by criminalising clients and by introducing potentially arbitrary ways
of disrupting or closing down commercial sex premises. By gathering 100 life
histories of migrant women, men and transgendered people working in the UK sex
industry the research provides an evidence-based analysis which can contribute
to the elaboration of more effective policies and social interventions on
migration, prostitution, trafficking and social exclusion.
Conclusion
Contrary
to the emphasis given in current public debates about cases of trafficking and
exploitation, the evidence gathered in the context of this project shows a
great variety of trajectories within the sex industry, which were influenced by
key factors such as: social-economic background; educational aspirations and
achievements; immigration status; professional and language skills; gender and
sexuality; family history; and individual emotional history. Amongst these
factors, being able to maintain legal immigration status determines the possibility
for migrant sex workers to assert their rights and counter stigmatisation and
exploitation. At the same time, the research shows that most interviewees chose
to work in the sex industry and that only a minority felt that they had been
forced to. The research strongly suggests that vulnerability, particularly to
trafficking and exploitation, results from migrants’ socio-economic conditions,
lack of information about their rights and entitlement to protection in the UK,
their personal family and emotional circumstances, but, most of all, from their
immigration legal status.
Policy
Implications
By engaging
with the life histories of migrants working in the UK sex industry the research
highlighted a number of vulnerabilities and strengths that are obscured by the
current emphasis on trafficking and exploitation in public debates and policy.
These can inform more efficient and ethical policies of social intervention
aimed at improving their living and working conditions. The research evidence
strongly suggests that current attempts to curb trafficking and exploitation by
criminalising clients and closing down commercial sex establishments will not
stop the sex trade and that as a result the sex industry will be pushed further
underground and people working in it will be further marginalised. This would
discourage migrants and UK citizens working in the sex industry, as well as
clients from co-operating with the police and sex work support projects in the
fight against actual cases of trafficking and exploitation. The interviews
informing this research support the view that the success of initiatives
against trafficking and sexual exploitation could be greatly enhanced by
provisions that would:
- make it easier for migrants to become and remain
documented;
allow the sex industry to operate legally;
- guarantee victims of trafficking the certainty of
obtaining undetermined leave to remain in the UK, regardless of their
ability or choice to denounce their exploiters and to co-operate usefully
with the authorities;
- andprovide victims of trafficking with adequate
long-term support and protection to successfully integrate within the UK
society or, if they so wish, in their countries of origin.
About the project
The research team was led by Dr Nick Mai from the Institute for the Study of
European Transformations, London Metropolitan University. London was chosen as
the main site of the research (selected interviews were undertaken in Sheffield
and Liverpool) because of the scale and diversity of its sex industry and of its
migrant population, which offered a great potential to illustrate a variety of
links between migration and the sex industry.
The
research draws on 100 (67 women, 24 men, 9 transgender) in-depth
semi-structured interviews with migrants working in all sectors of the sex
industry and from the main areas of origin involved (South America, Eastern
Europe, EU and South East Asia). The project adopted a participative ethical
approach. The research team included people working in the sex industry and
members of organisations representing sex workers. A monetary acknowledgement
of subjects’ participation in the research was given.
Dr
Nick Mai is Senior Research Officer in Migrations and Immigrations at
ISET, the Institute for the Study of European Transformations at London
Metropolitan University. His main research interest is on the relation
between child and youth migration from Eastern Europe and North Africa
into the EU, the negotiation of youth, gender and sexual identities and
the associated risks and opportunities, including issues of exploitation
and the engagement in illegal or irregular activities.
Further
information
The
final report of the research will be available on this page in October 2009
View film of 10 July 2009 research presentation click here:
mms://streamwm.londonmet.ac.uk/Iset1.wmv
Below find July 2009 First Findings (full document)
Email:
n.mai@londonmet.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7133 4205 (direct line)
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