Citation

Goldenberg S, Silverman J, Engstrom D, Bojorquez-Chapela I, Strathdee S. Int. Migr. 2014; 52(4): 26-40.

Affiliation

Division of Global Public Health, University of California, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration [and] Research Group for European Migration Problems)

DOI

10.1111/imig.12104

PMID

25346548

PMCID

PMC4207057

Abstract

Women comprise an increasing proportion of migrants. Many voluntarily migrate for sex work or practice survival sex, while others may be trafficked for sexual exploitation. To investigate how the context of mobility shapes sex work entry and HIV risk, we conducted in-depth interviews with formerly trafficked women currently engaged in sex work (n=31) in Tijuana, Mexico and their service providers (n=7) in Tijuana and San Diego, USA from 2010-2011. Women's experiences of coerced and deceptive migration, deportation as forced migration, voluntary mobility, and migration to a risk environment illustrate that circumstances driving and resulting from migration shape vulnerability to sex trafficking, voluntary sex work entry, and HIV risk.

FINDINGS suggest an urgent need for public health and immigration policies that provide integrated support for deported and/or recently arrived female migrants. Policies to prevent sex trafficking and assist trafficked females must also consider the varying levels of personal agency involved in migration and sex work entry.

Language: en