Citation

Kyriakakis S, Goddard-Durant SK. Sex Cult. 2022; 26(3): 951-973.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s12119-021-09926-6

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This phenomenological, grounded theory study, with a sample of 30 cisgender women engaged in sex work in Barbados, examines entry into transactional sex work. Conditions of chronic childhood poverty were found to precipitate family instability and childhood sexual abuse, which lead to early entry into sexual relationships with older men and low educational attainment. A context in which a highly gendered labor market severely disadvantages women with limited education, and where it is normative for adolescent girls to engage in sexual relationships with older men to meet economic needs, leaves sex work as one of few accessible and reliable employment options. These findings further theoretical understanding of entry into sex work.

Language: en

Keywords

Caribbean; Economic policy; Entry factors; Sex work; Sexual norms