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Diversity at the Margins: The Interconnections Between Homelessness, Sex Work, Mental Health, and Substance Use in the Lives of Sexual Minority Homeless Young People

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Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime, and Justice

Abstract

The unique challenges facing homeless sexual minority young people have received increasing attention in recent years. This chapter reviews the research surrounding LGBTQ young people on the street with a particular focus on the interconnections between homelessness, sex work, drug use, and mental health problems. Homeless sexual minority young people are consistently found to have higher rates of mental health problems, drug use, sexual health risk, and victimization than their heterosexual counterparts—findings that highlight the particular vulnerability of this group of young people. However, there is research that cautions against focusing on a single story by underscoring the resilience and creativity of homeless LGBTQ young people, the diversity of experience, and the opportunities that street life holds for finding acceptance and belonging. This chapter aims to capture the complexity of street life for homeless sexual minority young people and concludes with suggestions for avenues of future research and policy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In addition to problems of estimating homeless populations in general, estimating the number of sexual minority young people is complicated by the complexity of identity, including same-sex sexual behavior among individuals who might identify as heterosexual on surveys. Although there are a diversity of identities on the street, the research tends to focus on the more general categories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.

  2. 2.

    The discussion primarily focuses on the U.S. and Canada, but also includes research from Western Europe.

  3. 3.

    For clarity, the remainder of the discussion will generally use the term “sex work” to capture the full range of activities denoted by the terms “survival sex,” “prostitution,” and “sex work.” I prefer this term because it avoids connotations of desperation and coercion, it can be inclusive of formal and informal types of sexual exchange, and it highlights its connection to subsistence.

  4. 4.

    Sexual exchange is a political topic and there are commentators who would challenge the distinction between these terms at both ends of the debate; arguing on one side that all sex work is usefully classified as for the purposes of survival, and on the other that what is typically labeled as survival sex should be redefined as sex work in order to give it legitimacy and make visible the economics of sexual exchange (see Simmons 1999).

  5. 5.

    There appear to be racial and ethnic differences in participation rates, but the findings are inconclusive and lack important detail. Greene et al. (1999), in their multicity study, find higher rates among whites and young people in the “other” racial/ethnic category. In comparison, Walls and Bell (2011), in another large multicity study, find that African-American and young people in the “other” category are more likely to participate in survival sex than whites.

  6. 6.

    Earls and David (1989), in their matched comparison, find that men involved in sex work were no more likely to report abuse, but they did have earlier sexual experiences and were more likely to have sexual contact with a family member.

  7. 7.

    There are critics who point out that sex work is not inherently traumatizing and that much of its negative psychological consequences have to do with the current social attitude and response toward it (Sanders 2004).

  8. 8.

    However, critics point out that risk posed by sex workers can sometimes be overblown in that the most common sexual services are low-risk, and that there is evidence that safe sex is a primary concern of many sex workers (Browne and Minichiello 1995, 1996). Further, there is evidence to suggest that sex with nonpaying partners may actually be riskier because individuals feel like they do not need to be as diligent with someone they know or who will perceive protection as a barrier to intimacy (Pleak and Meyer-Bahlburg 1990).

  9. 9.

    Caution should be used when interpreting these findings because this research was conducted with a relatively small sample (N = 147). The other research on the interaction between gender and sexual identity is mixed (Cochran et al. 2002; Gangamma et al. 2008; Leslie et al. 2002; Noell and Ochs 2001; Walls and Bell 2011; Whitbeck et al. 2004).

  10. 10.

    Those characteristics deemed physically attractive and that elicit an erotic response in others (Green 2008).

  11. 11.

    There are a few countries or jurisdictions where prostitution is legalized, such as the Netherlands and particular counties in Nevada. Although preferred to criminalization, some sex work advocates reject the regulation that accompanies legalization as unfair when compared with the limited regulation of other types of businesses (Lutnick and Cohan 2009; Stella 2012).

  12. 12.

    The movement of sex work online also has implications for safety and social control. Although the Internet can bring workers indoors, increase autonomy, and facilitate political organizing, it can also break down some of the traditional protections that a community of workers can provide for each other, as well as isolate and separate sex workers from social services.

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  1. Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 455 Spadina Ave, Suite 300, Toronto, ON, M5S 2G8, Canada

    Tyler Frederick

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    Dana Peterson

  2. School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA

    Vanessa R. Panfil

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Frederick, T. (2014). Diversity at the Margins: The Interconnections Between Homelessness, Sex Work, Mental Health, and Substance Use in the Lives of Sexual Minority Homeless Young People. In: Peterson, D., Panfil, V. (eds) Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime, and Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9188-0_22

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