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Negotiating violence in the context of transphobia and criminalization : the experience of trans sex workers in Vancouver, Canada Lyons, Tara; Krüsi, Andrea; Pierre, Leslie; Kerr, Thomas; Small, Will; Shannon, K.

Abstract

A growing body of international evidence suggests that sex workers face a disproportionate burden of violence, with significant variations across social, cultural, and economic contexts. Research on trans sex workers has documented high incidents of violence; however, investigations into the relationships between violence and social-structural contexts are limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to qualitatively examine how social-structural contexts shape trans sex workers’ experiences of violence. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 33 trans sex workers in Vancouver, Canada, between June 2012 and May 2013. Three themes emerged that illustrated how social-structural contexts of transphobia and criminalization shaped violent experiences: (a) transphobic violence, (b) clients’ discovery of participants’ gender identity, and (c) negative police responses to experiences of violence. The findings demonstrate the need for shifts in sex work laws and culturally relevant antistigma programs and policies to address transphobia.

Item Metadata

Title
Negotiating violence in the context of transphobia and criminalization : the experience of trans sex workers in Vancouver, Canada
Creator
Lyons, Tara; Krüsi, Andrea; Pierre, Leslie; Kerr, Thomas; Small, Will; Shannon, K.
Contributor
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS; British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Gender and Sexual Health Initiative; British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Urban Health Research Initiative
Publisher
Qualitative Health Research
Date Issued
2017
Description
A growing body of international evidence suggests that sex workers face a disproportionate burden of violence, with significant variations across social, cultural, and economic contexts. Research on trans sex workers has documented high incidents of violence; however, investigations into the relationships between violence and social-structural contexts are limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to qualitatively examine how social-structural contexts shape trans sex workers’ experiences of violence. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 33 trans sex workers in Vancouver, Canada, between June 2012 and May 2013. Three themes emerged that illustrated how social-structural contexts of transphobia and criminalization shaped violent experiences: (a) transphobic violence, (b) clients’ discovery of participants’ gender identity, and (c) negative police responses to experiences of violence. The findings demonstrate the need for shifts in sex work laws and culturally relevant antistigma programs and policies to address transphobia.
Subject
Sex work; Violence; Police; Transgender; Criminalization; Structural violence; Participatory analysis; Qualitative; Interviews; Vancouver
Geographic Location
Downtown-Eastside (Vancouver, B.C.)
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2018-02-21
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0363965
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/64690
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Other UBC; Non UBC; Medicine, Department of; Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of
Citation
Lyons, T., Krüsi, A., Pierre, L., Kerr, T., Small, W., & Shannon, K. (2017). Negotiating Violence in the Context of Transphobia and Criminalization: The Experiences of Trans Sex Workers in Vancouver, Canada. Qualitative Health Research, 27(2), 182-190. doi:10.1177/1049732315613311
Publisher DOI
10.1177/1049732315613311
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Researcher; Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International