TY - JOUR
T1 - 'There are a lot of new people in town
T2 - But they are here for soccer, not for business' a qualitative inquiry into the impact of the 2010 soccer world cup on sex work in South Africa
AU - Richter, Marlise L.
AU - Scorgie, Fiona
AU - Chersich, Matthew F.
AU - Luchters, Stanley
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by UNFPA and Atlantic Philanthropies. We would like to thank the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce and the Sisonke Sex Worker Movements for guidance and logistical support, and the research assistants for hard work during data collection for this project. The technical and logistical support of the African Centre for Migration & Society and the Centre for Health Policy, Wits University and their students was key in the conceptualisation and development of the project, as well as the assistance of the Sex Work Project, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute within Hillbrow. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution to this work of the Victorian Operational Infrastructure Support Program. Special thanks for the input and support of Dudu Ndlovu, Marleen Temmerman, Jo Vearey, Dianne Massawe, Carolin Kueppers, Tom Considine, Elsa Oliveira, Agnieszka Flak, Marc Lewis, Ingrid Palmary, Loren Landau, Richard Steen, Gerrit Maritz and Francois Venter. The anonymous reviewers of the draft manuscript provided important insights into the analysis of data and strengthening of the manuscript.
PY - 2014/6/10
Y1 - 2014/6/10
N2 - Background: Sports mega-events have expanded in size, popularity and cost. Fuelled by media speculation and moral panics, myths proliferate about the increase in trafficking into forced prostitution as well as sex work in the run-up to such events. This qualitative enquiry explores the perceptions of male, female and transgender sex workers of the 2010 Soccer World Cup held in South Africa, and the impact it had on their work and private lives.Methods: A multi-method study design was employed. Data consisted of 14 Focus Group Discussions, 53 sex worker diaries, and responses to two questions in surveys with 1059 male, female and transgender sex workers in three cities.Results: Overall, a minority of participants noted changes to the sex sector due to the World Cup and nothing emerged on the feared increases in trafficking into forced prostitution. Participants who observed changes in their work mainly described differences, both positive and negative, in working conditions, income and client relations, as well as police harassment. The accounts of changes were heterogeneous - often conflicting in the same research site and across sites.Conclusions: No major shifts occurred in sex work during the World Cup, and only a few inconsequential changes were noted. Sports mega-events provide strategic opportunities to expand health and human rights programmes to sex workers. The 2010 World Cup missed that opportunity.
AB - Background: Sports mega-events have expanded in size, popularity and cost. Fuelled by media speculation and moral panics, myths proliferate about the increase in trafficking into forced prostitution as well as sex work in the run-up to such events. This qualitative enquiry explores the perceptions of male, female and transgender sex workers of the 2010 Soccer World Cup held in South Africa, and the impact it had on their work and private lives.Methods: A multi-method study design was employed. Data consisted of 14 Focus Group Discussions, 53 sex worker diaries, and responses to two questions in surveys with 1059 male, female and transgender sex workers in three cities.Results: Overall, a minority of participants noted changes to the sex sector due to the World Cup and nothing emerged on the feared increases in trafficking into forced prostitution. Participants who observed changes in their work mainly described differences, both positive and negative, in working conditions, income and client relations, as well as police harassment. The accounts of changes were heterogeneous - often conflicting in the same research site and across sites.Conclusions: No major shifts occurred in sex work during the World Cup, and only a few inconsequential changes were noted. Sports mega-events provide strategic opportunities to expand health and human rights programmes to sex workers. The 2010 World Cup missed that opportunity.
KW - 2010 Soccer World Cup
KW - Prostitution
KW - Sex work
KW - Sports mega-events
KW - Trafficking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904339730&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1744-8603-10-45
DO - 10.1186/1744-8603-10-45
M3 - Article
C2 - 24915943
AN - SCOPUS:84904339730
SN - 1744-8603
VL - 10
JO - Globalization and Health
JF - Globalization and Health
IS - 1
M1 - 45
ER -
