Abstractedness: Abstract for Project

The practice of pragmatic tolerance in the Netherlands resulted in the legalization of prostitution in 1988. With legalization comes the ability to regulate and provide for the workers in this industry. Yet, despite legalization many prostitutes are still not registered or considered legal. A prostitute must pay to receive the benefits of being registered and must be a citizen. Illegal immigrants and prostitutes who do not pay to be registered miss out on the benefits of health care. This has led to gaps in the health information many prostitutes receive. This lack of information has led to higher instances of STDs, drug abuse, and other health related conditions prevalent in this marginalized community of sex workers. We are conducting this study with the intention of including both legal and illegal prostitutes in order to get an accurate depiction of the industry as an all encompassing whole. In our study, we will be researching the question: What are the health information needs of sex workers in Amsterdam?

Our research on site will mostly consist of interviews. Though we are exploring the option of supplementing this with anonymous questionnaires. Field sites will include the PIC and health clinics (found by inquiry) frequented by sex workers. The online component will be found in blogs and other discussions on the topic. Perhaps creating a blog or chat on the topic ourselves would also be useful. As our research will be done as a pilot study, we will also be supplementing our study with literature such as Vanwesenbeeck’s Prostitutes' Well-Being and Risk and When Sex Becomes Work by Mariska Majoor. We will also do a literature review of previous health information studies relative to our topic.

Preliminary methods: Because we will mostly be conducting interviews, our approach will be mostly qualitative in nature. We plan to use the information we gather to draw conclusions about what health information needs are missing in the profession. If this was not a pilot study, we would take our information and create a pathfinder for prostitutes to locate this information in the future.