Navigating Risk and Safety: An ethnographic analysis of body rub centres in Edmonton, Alberta

Abstract

This Master’s thesis focuses on the experiences of indoor sex workers working in body rub centres in Edmonton, Alberta. In Canada, the research on sex work tends to focus primarily on the experiences of outdoor sex workers although the majority of Canadian sex workers work indoors (Hanger, 2006). To address this gap in the literature, I ask two questions: 1. How do indoor sex workers view working in body rub centres in comparison to other sex work settings? 2. How do body rub centres mitigate some of the physical and psychological risks associated with sex work? Using an ethnographic approach to conduct 14 semi-structured interviews, 20 informal interviews, and over 700 hours of fieldwork, my findings outline the importance of body rub centres as sites of risk mitigation for sex workers. I find that body rub centres are associated with increased feelings of safety and a decrease in risks for sex workers in comparison to street-level sex work and indoor sex work in other settings (such as escorting). I also discuss how the unique social organization of body rub centres can mitigate some of the physical and psychological risks sex workers may experience. Finally, I discuss the benefits of the City of Edmonton’s harm-reduction approach to body rub centres and argue that Edmonton’s model should be considered by other Canadian municipalities.