“Sex work is work” – breaking stigmas
Last week African Potential Foundation co-founder and director, Dr Jenny Coetzee, was interviewed by renown sexologist Catriona Boffard on her podcast “Asking For A Friend.”
Dr Coetzee – or Doctor Jen as she is affectionately known – has worked extensively on several projects (listed at the bottom). Her passion is to make the topic of sex work less taboo in order to make the realities of sex workers better.
“This week, when you listen to the episode, you’ll hear that I’m very quiet. I was so enthralled in what my knowledgeable and experienced guest had to say! This is a topic that most of us (including myself) know little about, and yet when I interviewed Dr Jenny Coetzee – a highly experienced public health researcher – I knew I wanted to share what I’d learnt.
Despite sex work apparently being the world’s oldest profession, most people don’t have enough understanding of what actually happens.
We hold particular opinions about sex work, and don’t have a enough understanding of what it’s really like and what sex workers in low income areas might experience and be exposed to.
Jenny shares the human side of sex work with me, and her fascinating findings of the research she’s done in South Africa. This is a real and honest conversation, and Jenny doesn’t sugar coat things about the experiences these female sex workers go through.”
Listen to our co-founder and director in this podcast with sexologist Catriona Boffard, as she breaks down stigmas around sex work, and brings a very human element to the struggles these women experience:
A warning on this episode – some of the things that Jenny speaks about could be triggering. A warning for sensitive listeners.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES BY DR JENNY COETZEE:
- Depression and Post Traumatic Stress amongst female sex workers in Soweto, South Africa: A cross sectional, respondent driven sample
- Modelling trends associated with HIV and violence perpetration among male clients of sex workers in Soweto, South Africa
- Cross-sectional study of female sex workers in Soweto, South Africa: Factors associated with HIV infection
