While Canadian federal and provincial governments have sponsored a number of consultations and research initiatives concerning sex work over the past 25 years, virtually no documentation exists that looks at male sex work specifically.[11] Most Canadian research and attention have focused on female sex workers, as they are involved in an estimated 80% of interactions where money is exchanged for sex.

The erratic data on male sex workers imply that they may be more at risk than female sex workers for infection and transmission of STDs -- including HIV -- due to age, level of knowledge, multiple risk-taking activities and sexual activities which involve acts and partners which themselves may pose a higher risk of infection and transmission.

Sources of information

The information used in this project was gathered from university and reference libraries; municipal, provincial and federal libraries and archives; community-based resource centres; public health departments; and sex workers' alliances such as CORP (the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes), Maggie's (Toronto) and SWAV (the Sex Workers Alliance of Vancouver).
  Also, many past and ongoing HIV prevention studies of populations at particularly high risk for HIV infection have collected some data on male sex work.[12] These too have been important sources of information.

This document is not limited to published sources, but includes sources that are either a matter of public record or used with permission (such as written communications). The focus will be limited primarily to male sex work, though studies of female sex work will occasionally be drawn upon for contextual or comparative purposes. This document focuses almost exclusively on Canadian research, authors and activists.

Transgendered sex workers

This paper does not consider the role of transgendered sex workers. This is due largely to the thoughts of Namaste (1995), who believes that, regardless of anatomy, transgendered sex workers may not self-identify as male sex workers. Namaste also believes that many of the issues related to HIV and AIDS are distinct for this population and that, for both of these reasons, transgendered sex workers should be considered separately.[13]

However, in cases where data on transgendered sex workers are integral to a study's sample and reported findings, this information has been included.

Pornography, stripping and pimping

This document also does not tackle forms of male sex work significantly less researched than prostitution, such as male pornography, male stripping and the pimping of male sex workers.[14] This is not because these occupations are uninteresting or unimportant, but purely because of the lack of information.

What this investigation does do is provide a rational discussion regarding health promotion and sex work in Canada. It recognizes that the legal issues confronting sex work in Canada cannot be divorced from HIV- and AIDS-related issues, the consequences of which sex workers and their clients actively experience.

Footnotes

11. Allman, D., Sorfleet, A., Schellenberg, J. and Linnebach, K., Male Sex Work and HIV/AIDS in Canada: Research, Outreach and Advocacy, paper presented to the Tenth Annual B.C. HIV/AIDS Conference, Vancouver, October 1997; Allman, D. and Myers, T., Examining the AIDS Knowledge, Experiences and Behaviours of Canadian Male Sex Workers, paper presented to the Seventh Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research, Quebec City, April/May 1998; Allman, D. and Myers, T., "Male Sex Work and HIV/AIDS in Canada," in Aggleton, P., ed., Men Who Sell Sex: International Perspectives on Male Prostitution and HIV/AIDS, London, UCL Press, 1999. [back]

12. Such as studies of injection drug users, street youth and men of different sexual identities who have sex with men. [back]

13. Namaste, K., HIV/AIDS and Transgender Communities in Canada: A Report on the Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour of Transgendered People in Canada with Respect to HIV and AIDS, Toronto, genderpress, 1995; Namaste, K., Laframboise, S. and Brady, D., Transgendered People and AIDS: An Introduction to Transgendered People's Concerns Regarding HIV and AIDS, Vancouver, High Risk Project Society, 1996. [back]

14. In 1977, Constable Forbes of the Vancouver Police Department reported to the city that 1) males do not appear to have psychological dependence on pimps as do female prostitutes; 2) males do not tolerate physical abuse by pimps; they simply leave town; and 3) prices for male prostitutes' services are generally lower than those of female prostitutes, who usually support pimps. Experts believe that male prices would be higher if pimps were involved. Forbes, G. A., Street Prostitution in Vancouver's West End, prepared for the Vancouver Police Board and Vancouver City Council, Vancouver, Vancouver Police Department, 1977, p. 5. [back]