5.4 Personal Health
The personal health perception varies in male, transgender and female sex workers, and it is mainly based on their lifestyle and the way they work. The personal health in sex workers was researched in this study via a series of questions, such as:“ How would you describe your health?” and“ Do you think that your professional engagement has impact on your health?” The male and transgender sex workers emphasized the negative impact of their job on their mental health, whereas the female sex workers considered their mental and physical health to be good by stating:“ I’ m good” or“ OK.”
K:“ Psychologically, I am really nervous about people who call. Some call for a joke, others call and make an appointment and never show up.” I:“ How about your physical health?” K:“ I’ m fine.” Transgender sex worker
L:“ When it comes to my mental health, I could say that I’ m not quite all right, as for my physical health – it is OK. I can be impulsive at times, which mainly depends on the clients, as I work over the phone which can be really exhausting.” Transgender sex worker
A:“ Mentally just like everyone else in this country, it’ s very well-known how one may feel, but when it comes to physical health – I’ m good.” Male sex worker
The involvement in sex work considerably impacts sex workers’ mental and physical health. Stress and pressure seem to be prevalent in sex workers due to the difficult conditions they work and live in. There appears to have been various unpleasant situations with their clients, who can sometimes become violent and abuse them, which also results in negative consequences on their mental health.
A:“ Yes, of course there is. There’ s a huge impact. Firstly I would like to point out the impact on the mental health, which is mainly the pressure that you have from state institutions, because this job is forbidden in our country, if you are caught, you get fined – this means you are constantly under pressure while you are working because you can get caught by the police at any given time. Furthermore, the pressure you are under by clients also affects my mental health; the different situations, in which there have been cases of violence by which I am traumatized, which is not only the case with me, I’ m guessing others who are engaged in sex work have also experienced this. In terms of the physical health, oh about the mental health, I almost forgot and it’ s really important- as time goes by you start losing your sex drive, you get worn out as a human being, which is some sort of a professional deformity like in all other jobs. When it comes to physical health, the stress I suffer has its own consequences, not to mention the
huge risk of exposure to infections.” Male sex worker
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