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Department of
Sociology and Anthropology,
Concordia University,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The
challenges involved in the
design of ethical,
nonexploitative research
projects with sex workers or
any other marginalized
population are significant.
First, the size and
boundaries of the population
are unknown, making it
extremely difficult to get a
representative sample.
Second, because membership
in hidden populations often
involves stigmatized or
illegal behavior, concerns
regarding privacy and
confidentiality are
paramount and difficult to
resolve. In addition, they
often result in challenges
to the validity of the data.
Third, in spite of evidence
to the contrary,
associations between sex
work and victimization are
still strong, dichotomies
remain prevalent, and sex
workers are often
represented as a homogeneous
population. Drawing on three
research projects in which
the author has been
involved-all grounded in a
sex-as-work approach-as well
as the work of others, this
article provides several
strategies for overcoming
these challenges. Clear
guidelines for ethical,
nonexploitive methodologies
are embedded in the
solutions provided.
PMID:
15684139 [PubMed - indexed
for MEDLINE]
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