Campbell, Del

Harley,

Laing, Mary

Strohmayer, Angelika

Northumbria Research Link

TRANSACTIONS3TRANSACTIONS .A PROJECT WITH TRANS PEOPLE WHO SELL SEXTRANSACTIONS32 3Our STory.TransActions started out as a conversation between researchers at Northumbria University and National Ugly Mugs, an organisation whose mission it is to end violence against sex workers. National Ugly Mugs wanted to understand the needs of trans sex workers so they could provide better services and do more work ending vio-lence and tackling stigma. Researchers from Northumbria Universi-ty were concerned about the absence of trans sex workers’ voices and experiences in the research and policy literature.As this conversation developed, Open Lab at Newcastle Universi-ty became involved and offered seed funding. Open Lab use and develop digital technologies to support and foster social inclusion among communities. They use participatory processes for engage-ment, consultation and representation in the design and adoption of new digital services. Together, we started to develop TransActions and in May 2017 host-ed workshops with sex workers and practitioners. The aim of these workshops was to find out what the key areas of concern for sex workers and practitioners are, with the aim of securing the funding to produce a set of resources to enable knowledge sharing. In the workshop we asked: (i) what topics/areas should new resources focus on; (ii) what type of resources would be useful; (iii) how best to collect the information needed; and (iv) how should we create them.Initially we thought the workshop itself would just be a ‘stepping stone’ for the project. However, the workshop itself proved to be a valuable safe space for knowledge sharing. The university-based part of the team then analysed the recordings and met again with some of the attendees for further discussion. This leaflet is the result!In here, we discuss a number of themes that were covered by both sex workers and practitioners on the day -  you will note as you read that there are similarities and differences of opinion on the same topics.We do not claim that the information provided in this leaflet is rep-resentative of all trans people who sell sex, or all practitioners who work with trans sex workers, but it provides a snapshot of the ex-periences of the 14 sex workers and practitioners who took part in the first TransActions workshops. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful. Please get in touch to share any feedback!   As TransActions progresses, we hope that others will join us and become part of the project team. Interested? Get in touch!The TransActions Team: Harley, Del, Mary and AngelikaContact us at: Mary.laing@northumbria.ac.ukTranswhorephobia.4 5PractitionersImportant questions for practitioners are: ‘Are trans services sex worker friendly?’ and ‘Are sex worker spaces trans friend-ly?’ Being inclusive to everyone is vital.Trans Sex WorkersTrans sex workers can feel marginalised as a trans person in sex worker circles and as a sex worker in trans circles, as well as in HIV and health spaces.PractitionersSome trans people who do sex work might not want to dis-close this to other trans people, some might work without disclosure, whilst others may be out and proud.PractitionersSome critics say that in some LGBT services, the T stands for ‘token’. Services who support LGBT people should be trans and sex worker inclusive.Trans Sex WorkersThis kind of tokenism was also discussed by trans sex work-ers. They also discussed that for some there may be a desire to fit in with society, but that there is often unwanted attention around their trans status.Trans Sex WorkersSometimes trans people are asked very personal questions by people of all genders, but “it’s none of your business!”PractitionersSex work projects must be cautious about having a gender-bi-nary focus, which could make trans people feel excluded.Trans Sex WorkersAdditional peer support is important for some trans sex work-ers as “we all go through that stuff and we need each other.”PractitionersSome trans people who do sex work have felt that some ser-vices are ill-equipped to support them, despite being trans and sex worker friendly in theory. Service providers can sometimes lack the language to be inclusive. Trans Sex Workers“Why do you need to lose everything to start transitioning?”PractitionersTrans masculine experiences and voices must be included. Trans men and non-binary people can feel marginalized and/or under-represented in trans support services. TRANSACTIONS3MigrAtion.6 7PractitionersSome trans sex workers are migrant workers. Trans Sex WorkersIt’s important to have a wide view of migration to include trav-elling abroad as well as travelling within Britain: “I travelled the world as a trans sex worker.” PractitionersSome might be ‘on tour’ or on tourist or student visas. Some might be waiting for leave to remain in the UK. Trans Sex Workers“My experience is different I come from a horrible place where people are killed because of their sexuality”PractitionersA key issue for migrant workers is ensuring they have access to information about their rights in the UK, especially in rela-tion to access to health and medical care, and access to the police if needed.PractitionersTrans sex workers accessing services might have very differ-ent experiences of sex work and equality law. Practitioners may not legally be able to give out immigration advice, but should know of referral pathways, sign-posting and advocacy.PractitionersMigrant workers might feel especially marginalized if their cul-tural needs are not represented, and where possible resources should be made available in multiple languages.Trans Sex WorkersSome sex workers were impacted by conflict in their home countries, some had to leave education, some were arrested because of their trans status.Trans Sex Workers“I think your luck will change because you came to the UK”TransActions TeamLanguage should be inclusive and varied, lan-guage and terminology is constantly evolving. Some people in the group said that insensitive language could be harmful. TRANSACTIONS3Health andTransition.8 9PractitionersSexual Health advice is important given varied levels knowl-edge. It needs to be both trans and sex worker specific.  Trans Sex Workers“You can never get the right tick box on forms” There should be trans-inclusive language on forms; perhaps a “box for gen-der and a box for trans history”PractitionersService Users need to feel they can be open about their work and gender identity, the sex they are having, and treatment.Trans Sex WorkersNon-judgmental support is needed around transitioning and sex work, including open dialogue with practitioners. This is especially important in Gender Identity Clinics (GICs). PractitionersPractitioners should be trained, sensitive and non-judgmental; they should provide a safe space for disclosure so the most effective care and treatment can be provided. Trans Sex WorkersSome cited the concern that trans health care access and treatments can be jeopardised by being a sex worker or outing themselves as sex workers. PractitionersTrans sex workers may need support managing hormones which they could have accessed for free on the NHS, or have purchased on-line which may carry different risks. Trans Sex Workers“I ran out of meds I couldn’t go to the hospital” because of the stigma and shame attached to being trans Trans Sex Workers “I was treated like a leper by trans people” because I was HIV+. There are exclusions for trans people in healthcare.PractitionersPost-surgery some trans sex workers need extra support, re-covery time might mean reduced or no income.Trans Sex WorkersConcerns about “convincing health care professionals that income is coming from somewhere entirely respectable.”PractitionersComplex referral pathways from GP to the GICs can be over-whelming, but continuity of care and support is important.Trans Sex WorkersSome trans sex workers access both NHS and private services and pay for surgeries themselves. TRANSACTIONS3Choice and Routes.10 11PractitionersSome trans sex workers see their work as an empowered choice in which they are offering a unique and highly skilled service to a specific market. Trans Sex Workers“When I became a sex worker I can do things I like, I choose clients I choose the men I want to see.”Trans Sex WorkersBeing a sex worker isn’t always negative. “Many of us make a choice and my choice was made”PractitionersOthers may feel like a commodity, or see sex work as a re-sponse to poverty, or lack of choice. Services and practitioners should recognize diversity of sex work experience and gender identity and remain non-judgmental and supportive.Trans Sex WorkersPeople said they ended up doing sex work for different rea-sons. Some worked because they had to survive illness.Trans Sex WorkersOthers said that choices were made under the system we live in: “I chose sex work in the constraints that I had” someone else said: “I chose to do it within constraints of homelessness”PractitionersFor some, housing can be factor in doing sex work. This might be linked to transition as gender identity can be a factor in ac-cessing or loosing housing, and sex work and housing/home-lessness also intersect in different ways. Trans Sex WorkersTransitioning can also lead to fetishization where “people want the thing that you don’t like” Trans Sex WorkersThe psychology is hard. In marketing as a trans sex worker, the focus is on personal image/identity and it’s all about the body, which is often difficult to deal with. The marketed identity might be very far away from who you are as a personTrans Sex WorkersSome trans people struggle with self perception, one said: “I don’t look like a real woman”and another: “once you become a trans woman it’s a battle that never ends, a battle that goes everywhere you go.”TRANSACTIONS3victim-isation.12 13Trans Sex Workers“People believe all sex workers are victims and we are not”Trans Sex Workers“We are not victims…I do agree people have a hard time, but it made me a stronger person. When I became a sex worker I learnt I can do what I like; to be a stronger person”PractitionersSome trans sex workers report violent responses from clients after sex. This might be from cis-male clients who often iden-tify as ‘straight’ but seek services from trans women who have not had lower surgery. Trans Sex Workers“Clients kill us. It’s fairly self explanatory.”PractitionersSome report violence if trans history is not disclosed.Trans Sex Workers“I get assaulted at work quite a lot”Trans Sex Workers“I’ve lost my feeling I don’t cry anymore complete depression”PractitionersHarassment, blackmail, nuisance phone calls and time wast-ers can be significant issues for trans sex workers; as can serious violent and sexual crimes. Trans Sex Workers“There is not a history of clients being murdered by rampant trans sex workers.” PractitionersTrans-affirmative hook up adds are on the increase, but safety with a stranger can often be compromised as a result. PractitionersTransphobia and harassment in multiple guises are key issues for trans sex workers and services should work to support people to report all types of crime, abuse and violence to the police and National Ugly Mugs. Trans Sex WorkersParticipants had experiences of unwanted touching and said that people fetishize and want to touch them; that they have been asked personal and invasive questions. Trans Sex WorkersVictimisation ties in closely with transphobia: “people touch us they don’t do that to you -  it’s so hard”; whorephobia: “We are sex workers, ‘they are allowed to touch us’” and the inter-section of the two, which we have called transwhorephobia.TRANSACTIONS3criminal andsocial justice.14 15Trans Sex Workers“We shouldn’t be arrested, and if clients are positioned as criminal and are arrested for seeing sex workers, then sex workers are positioned as criminal too by implication.” TransActions TeamIn all sections of the workshop with sex workers all supported decriminalization although different languages were used to express this and issues of the law were important for all. PractitionersMany trans sex workers work alone which is legal in the UK.Trans Sex Workers“So many of us are working very precariously”PractitionersMore than one person working from a premise would consti-tute a brothel and would be illegal.Trans Sex Workers“The laws should allow you to work and make money - decrimi-nalisation allows you to pay taxes and earn a legal income.”Trans Sex WorkersHaving someone there makes you feel safer (e.g a maid, but they can also be at risk of prosecution)PractitionersMigrant trans sex workers may need support around immigra-tion laws; even those who are EU nationals who might need support around exercising treaty rights. PractitionersLoitering and soliciting on the street and carding (advertising in phone boxes) are also illegal; a criminal record can become a barrier to exiting sex work if the individual wants to.Trans Sex WorkersWe already have laws for assault, one sex worker said: “crimi-nalising people in prostitution will never work”PractitionersAll trans sex workers should be encouraged to sign up to Na-tional Ugly Mugs who will support them if they are victims of crime; and will help them access the police if this is what they want. Trans Sex Workers“Sex workers are more likely to report violence when working in a decriminalised system.” Trans Sex Workers“Assaults against trans sex workers are clearly hate crimes.”TRANSACTIONS3TransActions TeamDuring the workshop practitioners and sex workers talked about the things they thought researchers should think about in the context of their work with trans sex workers.  16ResearchImplications.TransActions TeamTrans experiences are less visible in the research literature compared to those of male and female sex workers. Practitioners and Trans Sex WorkersThere should be research and resources developed by, with and for trans sex workersPractitioners‘Trans’ is not a monolith -  it’s important to recognize diversity, including trans-masculine identities; research and resources should reflect this diversity. Trans Sex WorkersThere are oppourtunities for learning and knowledge sharing between academics, practitioners, sex workers and other experts: “We all need to learn from each other it should be a balance.”17Practitioners and Trans Sex WorkersThere should be recognition (financial and/or otherwise) for the provision of expertise.Trans Sex WorkersWherever possible trans sex workers and experts should lead or be part of projects and act as co-researchers. Trans Sex WorkersThere must be recognition of the valuable skill set many trans sex workers have in the context of research.Trans Sex WorkersThe voices of sex workers and experts are integral to the pro-cess of research; not just data collection and dissemination. Practitioners and Sex WorkersHow trans sex workers advertise in relation to their gender identity was an area highlighted for further research, as were key areas of health, migration, transwhorephobia, victimisa-tion, law and criminal justice, language and entry into sex work. TRANSACTIONS318Get Involved.We want to grow TransActions. We want more people to become part of the team and part of the project. We want to understand more and share more knowledge. We want to learn from sex work-ers, practitioners and experts and share this so others can improve the ways in which they work and engage with trans sex workers.Get in touch to:• Tell us what you think is important• Share your expertise and experiences and have your say• Share ownership of the project• Be part of a creative process• Learn and share new skills with others• Create something that supports trans sex workers• Help us with grant applications• Join us at a future meeting or workshop• Share a story with us on our blog www.transactions.spaceIf you would like to get involved with TransActions in any capacity including one that is not listed above, please get in touch and let us know! We are keen to continue to build our networks and areas of exper-tise and interest to reflect the diversity of trans and sex worker experiences.19 If you have any questions, comments, queries, or concerns about the TransActions project, please don’t hesitate to get in touch:  Mary Laing, at Northumbria University: mary.laing@northumbria.ac.uk Del Campbell, at National Ugly Mugs: del@uglymugs.org or visit www.transactions.spaceTRANSACTIONS3TRANSACTIONS .A PROJECT WITH TRANS PEOPLE WHO SELL SEXParts of this project were funded through the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Civics (EP/L016176/1) and the EPSRC Digital Economy Research Centre (DERC) (EP/M023001/1).We also want to thank National Ugly Mugs, CliniQ, harley from swarm, Dr. Matt Jones at the Open University,  and all of our participants for joining us on the journey that is transactions.

TransActions: A Project with Trans Sex Workers

http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/41258/1/TransActions%20-%20A%20Project%20with%20Trans%20Sex%20Workers.pdf

TransActions: A Project with Trans Sex Workers

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Northumbria Research Link