Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmas
Keywords:
Escort agency, indoor sex work, qualitative research, ethnography, Agencia de acompañantes, trabajo sexual en interior, investigación cualitativa, etnografíaAbstract
In this article, I would like to present selected dilemmas connected with conducting empirical sociological studies of indoor sex work in Poland. The dilemmas result from the social, cultural and legal context in which escort agencies operate. The impact of different dimensions of the context is visible both at the level of actions undertaken by escort agency managers and workers as well as the researcher’s opportunities and possibilities for data collection. My considerations are based on qualitative field research which I carried out between 2007 and 2013, at four premises, so-called escort agencies, operating in the Polish city of Lodz. The article will start with an explanation of what escort agencies are, and with a brief outline of the Polish legal provisions related to prostitution, with special emphasis on the situation of escort agencies. I will then characterize the research project briefly, and present some of the challenges posed during its realization.
El artículo expone algunos dilemas propios de la realización de un estudio sociológico empírico en Polonia sobre trabajo sexual en interiores. Los dilemas provienen del contexto social, cultural y jurídico en el que operan las agencias de acompañantes. El impacto de las diferentes dimensiones del contexto se percibe tanto en las acciones de los responsables de las agencias como en las oportunidades y posibilidades que tiene la investigadora para obtener información. Mis consideraciones se basan en la investigación cualitativa de campo que realicé entre 2007 y 2013, en cuatro agencias de acompañantes de la ciudad de Lodz. El artículo comienza con una explicación de qué son las agencias de acompañantes y con unas pinceladas sobre las normas jurídicas polacas sobre prostitución, con especial atención a la situación de las agencias de acompañantes. Después, definiré brevemente el proyecto de investigación y expondré algunas de las dificultades que se presentaron en su transcurso.
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