Male Sex Work in Slovenia
Purpose:
The aim of this paper is to determine whether male sex work in Slovenia exists, if there are statistically significant differences in sexual orientation between male sex workers in Slovenia and men who do not engage in this type of work, and whether any factors (i.e. sexual orientation, dysfunctional family etc.) exist that can be used as predictive criteria for such behaviour.
Design/Methods/Approach:
In the first part, we used a descriptive method and in the second an empirical method. We conducted an online survey which included male sex workers and men who do not engage in this type of work. We used descriptive statistics, a chi-square test, and factor and discriminant analyses. The data collected were analysed using the SPSS program. We discussed the research results with some respondents and Dr Iztok Šori, a researcher at the Slovenian Peace Institute – Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies.
Findings:
Male sex work exists in Slovenia. Such workers generally define themselves as homosexual or bisexual. Among male sex workers and men who do not engage in this type of work, there are no significant differences in the socialisation process (in terms of a dysfunctional family background). In most cases, they come from functional families.
Research Limitations / Implications:
The limitation of our research is the small sample size. It is therefore questionable whether the findings can be generalised from the sample to the entire population.
Practical Implications:
Male sex work is clearly a part of Slovenian society. This should be taken into consideration while establishing policies and practices in the field of sex workers’ protection and, in particular, with regard to destigmatising sex work in Slovenia.
Originality/Value:
Dealing with the comparison of male sex workers and men who are not engaged in this type of work, our study is one of the first of its kind in Slovenia. It may be seen as a starting point for future empirical studies that deal only with male sex workers.
UDC: 343.544-055.1(497.4)
Keywords: male sex work, sexual orientation, dysfunctional family, stigmatisation