Evaluation of the Health Rights of Sex Workers in Turkey from the 1990s to the Present: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Sex workers are a group of individuals that present with various health problems because of their working conditions, but have limited access to health services due to discrimination and not having social security. This study aimed to evaluate the violations of the right to health of sex workers in Türkiye with historical comparison.

This study employed a phenomenological qualitative research design and data were collected through in-depth interviews involving 19 sex workers and 5 physicians in Istanbul. The data were analyzed from a critical phenomenological point of view.

Findings from the study were gathered under three themes: the attitude of the health personnel, the quality of the health service, and the behaviors developed. Transphobia generally occurs in the form of addressing people with their dead name (assigned/identity name), sarcastic looks, and being admitted to hospital wards according to assigned genders. Stigmatization, on the other hand, is seen in the form of associating sex work with various STIs, especially HIV/AIDS. Violations of rights mostly occur when physicians do not perform examinations in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol during assault examinations. Challenges encountered during healthcare access push individuals to adopt radical methods including hesitating to receive health care services. Social security, economic situation, gender identity, and occupation are among the most important factors affecting the quality of health care.

The 90s were considered the years in which the health rights of sex workers in Turkey were frequently violated due to reasons such as excessive violence, the fact that NGO activities were not widespread, inability to prove rights violations due to technology underdevelopment, ineffectiveness of complaint mechanisms, and lack of knowledge and training of physicians. In the following years,  even though medical literature has developed in a more inclusive direction, and the perspective of young physicians who grew up with these developments has changed in a limited but positive way; most importantly, ensuring that health personnel receive training against discrimination, regulation of social rights of sex workers, and contributing towards changing society's perspective with egalitarian and inclusive policies is greatly required.