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Conducting PAR with Sex Workers in Coimbra, Portugal

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Handbook of Social Inclusion

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Abstract

Sex work is a highly stigmatized activity that compromises the access to human and civil rights of its actors. Academic research tends to be conducted on or about sex work rather than with sex workers. Sex workers are rarely involved as equal research partners and are also excluded from the debate around sociopolitical matters that concern them. This chapter focuses on the importance of conducting participatory action research (PAR) with sex workers to raise awareness, fight against discrimination and stigma, and promote their participation in the public sphere. Aiming to address to what extent might PAR contribute to foster the social inclusion of sex workers, this chapter begins with a summary of PAR with street-based female sex workers, in Coimbra, Portugal. Then, some ethical concerns that guided this research are presented, and the challenges faced during this study are reflected on. Issues relating to power, empowerment, challenges to participation, and sex work stigma are discussed. Throughout this chapter, some initiatives to knockdown identified roadblocks are presented. Finally, future directions on conducting PAR, to promote a paradigm shift with high stigmatized social categories, are discussed.

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Funding and Acknowledgements

This research was financed by FEDER Funds through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Program – COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, within the scope of the project PEst-C/CED/UI0194/2013 – Research Centre “Didactics and Technology in Education of Trainers” (CIDTFF). This study is part of doctoral thesis also funded by FCT (Grant number SFRH/BD/78139/2011). The author thank the sex workers and Associação Existências.

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  1. Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Marta Graça

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  1. Marta Graça
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  1. School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

    Pranee Liamputtong

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Graça, M. (2021). Conducting PAR with Sex Workers in Coimbra, Portugal. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Handbook of Social Inclusion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48277-0_87-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48277-0_87-1

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