Training and support needs

This chapter considers how sex workers acquire relevant knowledge and the extent to which they are supported in meeting a variety of needs, including the decision to leave the industry. Almost all workers who thought training was needed endorsed a number of key areas, including the proper use of condoms, sexually transmitted diseases checking, and client management. The chapter examines the role of Self-Health for Queensland Workers in the Sex Industry (SQWISI), a community-based organisation operated for and by workers in the sex industry. All workers in the sex industry potentially are exposed to a variety of health-related and other risks. Most of the other workers had heard about SQWISI from management. Primary prevention requires workers to incorporate safe practices into all sexual encounters and other potential risk behaviours. Marry workers favoured the introduction of special programs to assist those who wished to leave the sex industry.