Sex workers’ professional experiences in the interplay of structure and agency in Croatia

Radačić, Ivana and Antić, Marija and Adamović, Mirjana (2023) Sex workers’ professional experiences in the interplay of structure and agency in Croatia. Politička misao, 60 (4). pp. 112-136. ISSN 0032-3241 (Print), 1846-8721 (Online)

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Abstract

IN ENGLISH: There are still relatively few studies on job satisfaction and the quality of work ‎among sex workers, partly due to the ideologies surrounding sex work. In this ‎paper we move away from dichotomous thinking and investigate the professional experiences of indoor independent sex workers in Croatia against the ‎background of criminalised context and gendered socio-economic realities. ‎We look into sex workers’ motivations, perceptions and experiences, their ‎control and safety strategies.‎ The study shows that despite many structural constraints on the sex workers’ agency, all participants exercise some degree of autonomy and control ‎over their working lives. The factors that seem to be the most relevant in terms ‎of their ability to set up their own conditions, which in turn influences their experiences, are their economic situation, motivation and self-perception. Negative experiences mostly stem from criminalisation and stigmatisation of sex ‎work, which affects women primarily, and creates more risks to their health ‎and safety. The results of the study call for integrative policy approaches, ‎which presuppose full decriminalisation of adult voluntary sex work. --------------- IN CROATIAN: Još uvijek je relativno malo studija o zadovoljstvu poslom i kvaliteti posla u odnosu na seksualni rad, djelom zbog ideoloških prijepora oko seksualnog rada. U ovom članku odmičemo se od dihotomnog razumijevanja ovog fenomena i analiziramo profesionalna iskustva seksualnih radnica/ka koje/i rade samostalno u zatvorenim prostorima, a u kontekstu kriminalizacije i orođenih socio-ekonomskih realnosti. Raspravljamo o njihovim motivacijama, percepcijama i iskustvima te o strategijama kontrole i zaštite. Istraživanje pokazuje kako svi sugovornici imaju određenu autonomiju i kontrolu u poslu, unatoč strukturalnim ograničenjima. Čimbenici koji najvišu utječu na mogućnost kontrole uvjeta rada te time iskustava seksualnih radnica/ka tiču se njihovih ekonomskih pozicija, motivacija za seksualni rad i samo-percepcije. Negativna iskustva uglavnom su povezana s kriminalizacijom i stigmatizacijom prostitucije koje prvenstveno pogađaju žene, stvarajući tako dodatne rizike za njihovu sigurnost i zdravlje. Rezultati istraživanja stoga pozivaju na integrativni pristup javnim politikama koji pretpostavlja punu dekriminalizaciju dobrovoljnog seksualnog rada odraslih.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Language: English. - Title in Croatian: Profesionalna iskustva seksualnih radnika/ca u interakciji strukture i djelovanja u Hrvatskoj.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Sex work, motivations, experiences, control and safety strategies, autonomy (seksualni rad, motivacije, iskustva, strategije kontrole i zaštite, autonomija)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Depositing User:	Karolina
Date Deposited:	27 Dec 2023 07:26
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2024 08:42
URI:	http://idiprints.knjiznica.idi.hr/id/eprint/1117

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