Abstract

This article presents findings from a qualitative research project that sought to explore the organization of sex work and women’s experiences in the trade in a medium-size Canadian city. Drawing upon 14 semi-structured life-history interviews with women between 24 and 60 years of age who have taken part in sex work, primarily street-based, this discussion examines the women’s accounts of childhood and early family experiences. Findings related to childhood highlight the role of the women’s mothers, fathers, and a range of non-normative conditions in shaping their social experience of childhood. Our participants’ accounts of family dynamics feature discussions of loving familial relations, inter-generational involvement in the sex trade, and feelings of exclusion. These findings support existing studies on childhood and family experiences among street-based sex workers and contribute new data to this relatively under-developed area of study within the sex work literature. One of the most unique insights is that although the women’s accounts reveal difficult experiences across the spheres of socialization related to childhood and family, they did not identify them as the root cause of their sex trade participation. We discuss the practical significance of this finding for health care and social service professionals (i.e., case worker, support staff, community clinic workers), who work with women in the sex trade but may be uncertain how to broach and/or navigate the sensitive issues of childhood and family in their work with these marginalized groups of women.

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