Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 1/2014

Open Access 01-02-2014 | Original Paper

Migration Status, Work Conditions and Health Utilization of Female Sex Workers in Three South African Cities

Authors: Marlise Richter, Matthew F. Chersich, Jo Vearey, Benn Sartorius, Marleen Temmerman, Stanley Luchters

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 1/2014

Login to get access

Abstract

Intersections between migration and sex work are underexplored in southern Africa, a region with high internal and cross-border population mobility, and HIV prevalence. Sex work often constitutes an important livelihood activity for migrant women. In 2010, sex workers trained as interviewers conducted cross-sectional surveys with 1,653 female sex workers in Johannesburg (Hillbrow and Sandton), Rustenburg and Cape Town. Most (85.3 %) sex workers were migrants (1396/1636): 39.0 % (638/1636) internal and 46.3 % (758/1636) cross-border. Cross-border migrants had higher education levels, predominately worked part-time, mainly at indoor venues, and earned more per client than other groups. They, however, had 41 % lower health service contact (adjusted odds ratio = 0.59; 95 % confidence interval = 0.40–0.86) and less frequent condom use than non-migrants. Police interaction was similar. Cross-border migrants appear more tenacious in certain aspects of sex work, but require increased health service contact. Migrant-sensitive, sex work-specific health care and health education are needed.
Literature
1.
Adepoju A. Continuity and changing configurations of migration to and from the Republic of South Africa. Int Migr. 2003;41:3–28.CrossRef
2.
Agustin L. Sex at the margins: migration, labour markets and the rescue industry. New York & London: Zed Books; 2007.
3.
Akers N, Evans C. St James Infirmary Occupational Health & Safety Handbook, San Francisco. 2010.
4.
Akileswaran C, Lurie M. Overcoming socioeconomic struggle and encountering risk: lived experiences of South African female migrants. Annal Anthropol Pract. 2010;34:176–94.
5.
Bähr J, Jürgens U. Johannesburg: life after apartheid. In: Schneider-Sliwa R, editor. Cities in transition: globalization. Political Change and Urban Development: Springer; 2006.
6.
Baral S, Beyrer C, Muessig K, Poteat T, Wirtz A, Decker M, Sherman M, Kerrigan D. Burden of HIV among female sex workers in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2012;. doi:10.​1016/​S1473-3099(12)70066-X.
7.
Biradavolu MR, Burris S, George A, Jena A, Blankenship KM. Can sex workers regulate police? Learning from an HIV prevention project for sex workers in southern India. Soc Sci Med. 2009;68:1541–7.PubMedCrossRef
8.
Blankenship KM, West BS, Kershaw TS, Biradavolu MR. Power, community mobilization, and condom use practices among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India; 2008.
9.
Bodin C, Richter M. Adult, consensual sex work in South Africa—the cautionary message of criminal law and sexual morality. S Af J Hum Rights. 2009;25:179–97.
10.
Bujra JM. Women “Entrepreneurs” of Early Nairobi. Can J Af Stud. 1975;9:213–34.CrossRef
11.
Busza J. Having the rug pulled from under your feet: one project’s experience of the US policy reversal on sex work. Health Policy Plan. 2006;21:329–32.PubMedCrossRef
12.
Campbell C. Selling sex in the time of AIDS: the psycho-social context of condom use by sex workers on a Southern African mine. Soc Sci Med. 2000;50:479–94.PubMedCrossRef
13.
Chersich MF, Luchters S, Ntaganira I, Gerbase A, Lo, Y-R, Scorgie F, Steen R. in press. Priority interventions to reduce HIV transmission in sex work settings in sub-Saharan Africa and delivery of these services. J Int AIDS Soc.
14.
Deane KD, Parkhurst JO, Johnston D. Linking migration, mobility and HIV. Trop Med Int Health. 2010;15:1458–63.PubMedCrossRef
15.
Editorial. Prostitution and immigrants. The Herald Sun. 2011.
16.
Evans C, Jana S, Lambert H. What makes a structural intervention? Reducing vulnerability to HIV in community settings, with particular reference to sex work. Glob Public Health. 2010;5:449–61.PubMedCrossRef
17.
Fick N. Sex workers experiences with the local law enforcement in South Africa. Research for Sex Work. 2005;8:4–8.
18.
Fick N. Enforcing fear—police abuse of sex workers when making arrests. SA Crime Quart. 2006;16:27–33.
19.
Fick N. Sex workers speak out—policing and the sex industry. SA Crime Quart. 2006;15:13–8.
20.
Gould C, Fick N. Selling sex in Cape Town: sex work and human trafficking in a South African city. Institute for Security Studies: Pretoria/Tshwane; 2008.
21.
Hammar A, Mcgregor J, Landau L. Introduction. Displacing Zimbabwe: crisis and construction in Southern Africa. J South Af Stud. 2010;36:263–83.CrossRef
22.
Hawken MP, Melis RD, Ngombo DT, Mandaliya K, Ng’ang’a LW, Price J, Dallabetta G, Temmerman M. Part time female sex workers in a suburban community in Kenya: a vulnerable hidden population. Sex Transm Infect. 2002;78:271–3.PubMedCrossRef
23.
Human Rights Watch. No healing here—violence, discrimination and barriers to health for migrants in South Africa. New York: Hum Rights Watch; 2009.
24.
International Organization for Migration. Healthy Migrants in Healthy Communities. In: Kenya mission with coordinating functions for the horn of Africa (ed.). Nairobi, Kenya; 2011.
25.
Landau L. Transplants and transients: idioms of belonging and dislocation in inner-City Johannesburg. Af Stud Rev. 2006;49:125–45.CrossRef
26.
Landau L, Gindrey V. Migration and populations trends in Gauteng Province, 1996–2055. In: Forced Migration studies programme; University of the witwatersrand; Johannesburg. (ed.) Migr Stud Work Paper Ser; 2008.
27.
Landau LB. Discrimination and development? Immigration, urbanisation and sustainable livelihoods in Johannesburg. Develop South Af. 2007;24:61–76.CrossRef
28.
Landau LB, Wa Kabwe Segatti A. Human development impacts of migration: South Africa case study. In: Programme UnitedNationsDevelopment, editor. Human development reports. USA: United Nations Development Programme; 2009.
29.
Luchters S, Chersich MF, Rinyiru A, Barasa M-S, King’ola N, Mandaliya K, Bosire W, Wambugu S, Mwarogo P, Temmerman M. Impact of five years of peer-mediated interventions on sexual behavior and sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya. BMC Public Health, 8; 2008.
30.
Malmusi D, Borrell C, Benach J. Migration-related health inequalities: showing the complex interactions between gender, social class and place of origin. Soc Sci Med. 2010;71:1610–9.PubMedCrossRef
31.
Mccarthy K, Chersich MF, Vearey J, Meyer-Rath G, Jaffer A, Simpwalo S, Venter WD. Good treatment outcomes among foreigners receiving antiretroviral therapy in Johannesburg, South Africa. Int J STD AIDS. 2009;20:858–62.PubMedCrossRef
32.
Nairne D. ‘Please help me cleanse my womb’ A hotel-based STD programme in a violent neighbourhood in Johannesburg. Res Sex Work. 1999;2:18–20.
33.
Nairne D. ‘We Want the Power’ Findings from focus group discussion in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Res for Sex work. 2000;3:3–5.
34.
O’connor CC, Berry G, Rohrsheim R, Donovan B. Sexual health and use of condoms among local and international sex workers in Sydney. Genitourin Med. 1996;72:47–51.PubMedPubMedCentral
35.
Pauw I, Brener L. ‘You Are Just Whores: You Can’t Be Raped’: Barriers to safer sex practices among women street sex workers in Cape Town. Cult Health Sex, Nov–Dec 2003; 465–481.
36.
Perberdy S. Mobile entrepreneurship: informal sector cross-border trade and street trade in South Africa. Develop South Af. 2000;17:201–9.CrossRef
37.
Platt L, Grenfell P, Fletcher A, Sorhaindo A, Jolley E, Rhodes T, Bonell C. Systematic review examining differences in HIV, sexually transmitted infections and health-related harms between migrant and non-migrant female sex workers. Sex Transm Infect; 2012.
38.
Preston-whyte E, Tollman S, Landau L, Findley S. African Migration in the Twenty-First Century: Conclusion. In: Tienda M, Findley S, Tollman S, Preston-whyte E. (eds.) Africa on the move. African Migration and Urbanisation in Comparative Perspective. Johannesburg: Wits University Press; 2006.
39.
Ramjee G, Karim SS, Sturm AW. Sexually transmitted infections among sex workers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Sex Transm Dis. 1998;25:346–9.PubMedCrossRef
40.
41.
Research and Population UNIT. The people matter—The state of the population in the Eastern Cape. In: Makiwane MB, Chimere-Dan, DO (eds.) Department of Social Development. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council; 2010.
42.
Richter M. Sex work, reform initiatives and HIV/AIDS in inner-city Johannesburg. Af J AIDS Res. 2008;7:323–33.CrossRef
43.
Richter M, Luchters S, Ndlovu D, Temmerman M, Chersich MF. Female sex work and international sport events - no major changes in demand or supply of paid sex during the 2010 Soccer World Cup: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:763.PubMedCrossRefPubMedCentral
44.
Richter ML, Chersich MF, Scorgie F, Luchters S, Temmerman M, Steen R. Sex work and the 2010 FIFA World Cup: time for public health imperatives to prevail. Global Health. 2010;6:1.PubMedCrossRefPubMedCentral
45.
SA Cities Network. State of Cities Report, 2006. Johannesburg; 2006.
46.
Scorgie F, Chersich MF, Ntaganira I, Gerbase A, Lule F, Lo YR. Socio-demographic characteristics and behavioral risk factors of female sex workers in sub-saharan Africa: a systematic review. AIDS Behav. 2012;16:920–33.PubMedCrossRef
47.
Scorgie F, Nakato D, Ogutu AD, Netshivhambe M, Chakuvinga P, Nkomo P, Abdalla P, Sibanda S, Richter M. “I expect to be abused and I have fear”: Sex workers’ experiences of human rights violations and barriers to accessing healthcare in four African countries. In: African sex worker alliance (ed.) April ed. Johannesburg; 2011.
48.
49.
South African Human Rights Commission. “Everything is not okay here. We are not treated like people.” South African Human Rights Commission Report into the Arrest and Detention of Suspected Undocumented Migrants. Parktown: South African Human Rights Commission, 1999.
50.
South African Law Reform Commission. Discussion Paper 0001/2009. Sexual Offences: Adult Prostitution South African Law Reform Commission; 2009.
51.
Stadler J, Delany S. The ‘healthy brothel’: the context of clinical services for sex workers in Hillbrow, South Africa. Cult Health Sex. 2006;8:451–64.PubMedCrossRef
52.
Statistics South Africa. Census 2011. In: Statssa (ed.). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa; 2012.
53.
Tampep. Sex Work, Migration, Health. In: European network for HIV/STI prevention and health promotion among migrant sex workers (ed.). Amsterdam: European Network for HIV/STI Prevention and Health Promotion among Migrant Sex Workers (TAMPEP) 2009.
54.
UNAIDS. Sex Work and HIV/AIDS. In: Unaids (ed.) Techincal Update. Geneva 2002.
55.
UNAIDS. UNADS Guidance Note: HIV and Sex Work 2007.
56.
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic. Geneva: UNAIDS; 2011.
57.
Unaids Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work. The report of the UNAIDS Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work. Geneva: UNAIDS; 2011.
58.
Vanwiesenbeeck I. Another decade of social scientific work on sex work: a review of research 1990–2000. Ann Rev Sex Res. 2001;12:242–89.
59.
Vearey J. Migration, access to ART, and survivalist livelihood strategies in Johannesburg. Af J AIDS Res. 2008;7:361–74.CrossRef
60.
Vearey J. Challenging urban health: towards an improved local government response to migration, informal settlements, and HIV in Johannesburg. South Africa: Glob Health Action; 2011. 4.
61.
Vearey J. Learning from HIV: exploring migration and health in South Africa. Glob Public Health. 2012;7:58–70.PubMedCrossRef
62.
Vearey J, Oliveira E, Madzimure T, Ntini B. Working the City: experiences of migrant women in inner-city Johannesburg. South Af Gender Med Divers J. 2011;9:228–33.
63.
Vearey J, Palmary I, Thomas L, Nunez L, Drimie S. Urban health in Johannesburg: the importance of place in understanding intra-urban inequalities in a context of migration and HIV. Health Place. 2010;16:694–702.PubMedCrossRef
64.
Vearey J, Richter M, Núñez L, Moyo K. South African HIV/AIDS programming overlooks migration, urban livelihoods, and informal workplaces. Af J AIDS Res. 2011;10(Supplement):381–91.CrossRef
65.
Vetten L, Dladla J. Women’s fear and survival in inner-city Johannesburg. Agenda. 2000;45:70–5.CrossRef
66.
Vigneswaran D, Hornberger J. Beyond ‘Good Cop’/‘Bad Cop’: Understanding Informality and Police Corruption in South Africa. In: FORCED Migration Studies Programme Wits University (ed.). Johannesburg 2008.
67.
Vuylsteke B, DAS A, Dallabetta G, Laga M. Preventing HIV among sex workers. In: Mayer, K. & Pizer, H. (eds.) HIV Prevention: A Comprehensive Approach. London: Academic Press; 2009.
68.
69.
Wojcicki JM, Malala J. Condom use, power and HIV/AIDS risk: sex-workers bargain for survival in Hillbrow/Joubert Park/Berea, Johannesburg. Social Sci Med. 2001;53:99–121.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Migration Status, Work Conditions and Health Utilization of Female Sex Workers in Three South African Cities
Authors
Marlise Richter
Matthew F. Chersich
Jo Vearey
Benn Sartorius
Marleen Temmerman
Stanley Luchters
Publication date
01-02-2014
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 1/2014
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9758-4

Other articles of this Issue 1/2014

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 1/2014 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Sending-Country Violence and Receiving-Country Discrimination: Effects on the Health of Colombian Refugees in Ecuador

Original Paper

Changes in the ‘Healthy Migrant Effect’ in Canada: Are Recent Immigrants Healthier than They were a Decade Ago?

Original Paper

Examining the Impact of Patient Characteristics and Symptomatology on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Among Foreign-born Tuberculosis Cases in the US and Canada

Original Paper

A Comparison of Health Access Between Permanent Residents, Undocumented Immigrants and Refugee Claimants in Toronto, Canada

Original Paper

Inequalities in Perinatal Mortality Rates Among Immigrant and Native Population in Spain, 2005–2008

Original Paper

“Judging a Body by Its Cover”: Young Lebanese-Canadian Women’s Discursive Constructions of the “Healthy” Body and “Health” Practices