| In Tijuana, Mexico, official discourse depicts sex work as a low risk and harmless part of the entertainment industry. The harm reduction approach offered by the city in legalizing and regulating a significant portion of the industry has acted to reduce occupational risks for workers. However, official portrayals mask severe social inequalities and decreasing quality of life among Mexican citizens and contrast strongly with the lived experience of occupational risks faced by those who work illegally. Because sex work provides one of the only opportunities for socio-economic advancement and family survival, policy interventions should consider the role of northward migration, continuing gender discrimination, and low educational status in supplying such a significant source of labor for the industry. Health interventions should acknowledge: (1) the impact of legal status and policing on workers; (2) the social diversity and stratification between workers; (3) worker health priorities, which may give risk for sexually transmitted infections a lower priority in reference to other occupational hazards including violence, substance abuse, stress, depression; and (4) the impact of sex work on sexuality and violence at home. Lastly, work with sex workers and customers suggest that the lines between recreational sex, work sex, and courtship are continually called into question. This suggests that the strong demarcation made by other researchers between “sex at work” and “sex at home” may not apply to every social context, and may make health interventions which rely exclusively on one or the other less effective. |
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