Although the number of male sex workers is thought to be smaller than that of females, men are involved in sex work in the same way as women, selling services globally. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (2012) considered sex work to involve the receipt of money or goods in exchange for any sexual service.
Hubbard (2016), an international expert on the regulation of the sex industry, suggested that the extent of male sex work is considerably miscalculated. The absence of male sex workers from debates and narratives about the industry potentially erases the experiences of many men, according to Raine (2019). Raine's (2019) systematic scoping review of quantitative data aimed to identify the prevalence of violence against male sex workers worldwide. He revealed that some male sex workers, particularly those in non-Western countries, experience high levels of violence. The majority of studies reported data on sexual violence, with the most common type being that of ‘verbal or emotional abuse or threats’.
Generally, sex work is constructed through a heterosexual norm, with men viewed principally as the purchasers of sexual services and females as vendors and the victims of exploitation. Men are often seen as perpetrators of violence rather than sex workers who are also at risk of crime and abuse. Male sex workers, just like their clients, come from a diverse group with regards to age, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Some male sex workers may not identify as gay or bisexual. Some may have female partners.
All sex workers come from marginalised and stigmatised groups, experiencing high levels of violence and harassment. It has to be acknowledged that the needs of male and female sex workers are complex. The voices of all sex workers have to be heard, respected and their narrative represented in our practice and the services we offer.
The health and wellbeing needs of those men who work in prostitution must be addressed. There is little formal evidence about their world or their health and wellbeing needs. There is a need to challenge the many fallacies and myths that all sex workers are drug users living chaotic lives, or that they are dirty. The care needs of sex workers must be the concern of all nurses and other health and social care professionals.
Successful care provision and outreach is very heavily reliant on interprofessional and multi-agency working between statutory and voluntary services. Working together, particularly with members of groups who are socially marginalised, demands effective interpersonal skills and an obligation to develop practices that are collaborative in nature, ensuring that the diverse expertise of all parties involved are valued and respected and above all put into practice. This has the real potential to reap dividends, as such practices can provide a solid foundation for understanding the working lives of those men who sell sex, ensuring that they receive appropriate help and support if required.
When the nurse gets to truly know these men as individuals, offering care and support in a non-judgemental way, this has the real potential to help demolish those stereotypes that are very often associated with sex workers. This will allow men who sell sex the space in which to talk about the work that they do and to find ways of making it much safer. It will also provide those who devise, develop and commission services with information that will enable them to fashion services that meet the health and wellbeing needs of this group.
Enhancing quality of life and supporting the rights and wellbeing of people are central to the role of the nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2018). These requirements are just as valid when considering those men who work in the sex industry. Nurses are ideally placed to offer practical advice and support to those who reach out for this.