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Factors associated with force/coercion into job as female bar/spa worker in the Philippines
Introduction
The objective of this study was to determine the factors independently associated with trafficking (force/coercion) among female bar/spa workers who traded sex in the Philippines (N = 166).
Method
166 female bar/spa workers who traded sex in the past six months were surveyed from 54 venues in Metro Manila (2009-2010). Factors associated with force/coercion into their jobs were examined. The cross-sectional design employed logistic regression and multilevel modeling, controlling for individuals nested within venues.
Results
The median age of bar/spa workers was 22, median education (n=10 years), 42% had children, and median months worked (n=13). Of the 166 female bar/spa workers who traded sex in the past six months, 19 (11%) self-reported being trafficked, i.e. deceived and/or forced into a job as an entertainer. Trafficking was independently associated with current drug use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.00-3.97), decreased availability of condoms at venue for the workers (AOR=0.19, CI=0.05-0.71), and increased peer support in practicing safer sex behaviors (AOR=2.88, CI=1.63-5.09). Trafficked bar/spa workers were more likely to get their first job as a bar/spa worker after an agency recruited them from their province, as opposed to getting the job from an advertisement, friend/acquaintance, or other (AOR=0.10, CI=0.02-0.65; AOR=0.02, CI=0.00-0.48; AOR=0.08, CI=0.00-1.40, respectively).
Conclusion
The findings have implications for points of interventions with women who are trafficked in the Philippines who tend to be recruited from provinces, have higher substance use and less support at venues for condom use, but more support from peers around safer sex practices.
Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health educationPlanning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe the complicated dynamics of sex trafficking of women and girls.
Assess the social and structural sexual health risk factors associated with force/coercion into work in bar/spa venues in the Philippines.
Keyword(s): Women and HIV/AIDS, Sex Workers
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an Assistant Professor in the Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, at the University of California, San Diego, with a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles. My research is focused on women and girls involved in the sex trade and on HIV/AIDS prevention interventions globally. I have conducted studies and published on populations in the Philippines, Mexico, and Russia.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.