ArticleBMJ open2022
How client criminalisation under end-demand sex work laws shapes the occupational health and safety of sex workers in Metro Vancouver, Canada: a qualitative study.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mental health and substance use among women frequenting high-risk venues in Haiphong, Vietnam: findings from an adapted PLACE survey.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Identification of common genes associated with diabetic nephropathy and diabetic retinopathy.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Article
- Difficulty accessing contraceptives in a 2010-2022 prospective cohort of sex workers in Vancouver, Canada: intersectional influence of im/migration status and racialization.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Everyday discrimination and barriers to primary care, mental health, and substance use services: Findings from a community-based cohort of sex workers in Vancouver, Canada (2015-2024).PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- IMPACTS OF SEX WORK CRIMINALIZATION AND CENSORSHIP FOR INDOOR WORKERS: EXPLORING HOW BARRIERS TO ONLINE ADVERTISING SHAPE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY.Sexuality research & social policy : journal of NSRC : SR & SP · 2024Article
- AN EVALUATION OF INDOOR SEX WORKERS' PSYCHOSOCIAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN METRO VANCOUVER, CANADA.Occupational health science · 2024Article
- Sex work-related homicides: Insights from the National Violent Death Reporting System, 2012-2020.Journal of forensic sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesIn 2014, Canada implemented end-demand sex work legislation that criminalises clients and third parties (eg, managers, security personnel, etc) involved in sex work. The focus of this analysis is to explore how the criminalisation of clients shapes the occupational health and safety of sex workers.
designAs part of a longstanding community-based study (An Evaluation of Sex Workers' Health Access), this analysis draws on 47 in-depth qualitative interviews with indoor sex workers and third parties. Informed by an intersectional lens and guided by a structural determinants of health framework, this work seeks to characterise the impact of client criminalisation in shaping the occupational health and safety of indoor sex workers.
settingIndoor sex work venues (eg, massage parlour, in-call, brothel, etc) operating in Metro Vancouver, Canada.
participants47 predominately racialised sex workers and third parties working in indoor environments between 2017 and 2018.
resultsWhile participants highlighted that the majority of their client interactions were positive, their narratives emphasised how end-demand criminalisation impeded their occupational safety. The criminalisation of clients was linked to reduced ability to negotiate the terms of sexual transactions, including type of service, price and sexual health. Client preference for cash payments to maintain anonymity led to increased risk of robbery and assault due to knowledge of high cash flow in sex work venues and a reluctance to seek police protection. Workers also noted that client fear of being prosecuted or 'outed' by police enhanced feelings of shame, which was linked to increased aggression by clients.
conclusionPolicies and laws that criminalise clients are incompatible with efforts to uphold the occupational health and safety and human rights of sex workers. The decriminalisation of sex work is urgently needed in order to support the well-being and human rights of all those involved in the Canadian sex industry.
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