Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmas

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 vis...

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Main Author: Izabela Ślęzak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law 2018-12-01
Series:Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Subjects:
Online Access:http://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/916
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author Izabela Ślęzak
author_facet Izabela Ślęzak
author_sort Izabela Ślęzak
collection DOAJ
description 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&rsquo;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. <br /><br /> El art&iacute;culo expone algunos dilemas propios de la realizaci&oacute;n de un estudio sociol&oacute;gico emp&iacute;rico en Polonia sobre trabajo sexual en interiores. Los dilemas provienen del contexto social, cultural y jur&iacute;dico en el que operan las agencias de acompa&ntilde;antes. 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 informaci&oacute;n. Mis consideraciones se basan en la investigaci&oacute;n cualitativa de campo que realic&eacute; entre 2007 y 2013, en cuatro agencias de acompa&ntilde;antes de la ciudad de Lodz. El art&iacute;culo comienza con una explicaci&oacute;n de qu&eacute; son las agencias de acompa&ntilde;antes y con unas pinceladas sobre las normas jur&iacute;dicas polacas sobre prostituci&oacute;n, con especial atenci&oacute;n a la situaci&oacute;n de las agencias de acompa&ntilde;antes. Despu&eacute;s, definir&eacute; brevemente el proyecto de investigaci&oacute;n y expondr&eacute; algunas de las dificultades que se presentaron en su transcurso.<br /><br /> <strong>DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: </strong><a href="http://ssrn.com/abstract=3192546" target="_blank">http://ssrn.com/abstract=3192546</a>
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spelling doaj.art-bd76402dd35c4c8abe2442609a6318382022-12-22T03:08:42ZengOñati International Institute for the Sociology of LawOñati Socio-Legal Series2079-59712018-12-018811341150809Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmasIzabela Ślęzak0Lodz UniversityIn 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&rsquo;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. <br /><br /> El art&iacute;culo expone algunos dilemas propios de la realizaci&oacute;n de un estudio sociol&oacute;gico emp&iacute;rico en Polonia sobre trabajo sexual en interiores. Los dilemas provienen del contexto social, cultural y jur&iacute;dico en el que operan las agencias de acompa&ntilde;antes. 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 informaci&oacute;n. Mis consideraciones se basan en la investigaci&oacute;n cualitativa de campo que realic&eacute; entre 2007 y 2013, en cuatro agencias de acompa&ntilde;antes de la ciudad de Lodz. El art&iacute;culo comienza con una explicaci&oacute;n de qu&eacute; son las agencias de acompa&ntilde;antes y con unas pinceladas sobre las normas jur&iacute;dicas polacas sobre prostituci&oacute;n, con especial atenci&oacute;n a la situaci&oacute;n de las agencias de acompa&ntilde;antes. Despu&eacute;s, definir&eacute; brevemente el proyecto de investigaci&oacute;n y expondr&eacute; algunas de las dificultades que se presentaron en su transcurso.<br /><br /> <strong>DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: </strong><a href="http://ssrn.com/abstract=3192546" target="_blank">http://ssrn.com/abstract=3192546</a>http://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/916Escort agencyindoor sex workqualitative researchethnographyAgencia de acompañantestrabajo sexual en interiorinvestigación cualitativaetnografía
spellingShingle Izabela Ślęzak
Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmas
Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Escort agency
indoor sex work
qualitative research
ethnography
Agencia de acompañantes
trabajo sexual en interior
investigación cualitativa
etnografía
title Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmas
title_full Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmas
title_fullStr Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmas
title_full_unstemmed Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmas
title_short Research on indoor sex work in Poland – an ethnographer's dilemmas
title_sort research on indoor sex work in poland an ethnographer s dilemmas
topic Escort agency
indoor sex work
qualitative research
ethnography
Agencia de acompañantes
trabajo sexual en interior
investigación cualitativa
etnografía
url http://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/916
work_keys_str_mv AT izabelaslezak researchonindoorsexworkinpolandanethnographersdilemmas