Occupational influences on the wellbeing, intimate relationships and sexuality of the social worker assisting sex workers: literature review and case study

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Abstract

Previous studies suggest the existence of occupational influences on the private life and personal wellbeing of social workers in general. These influences can be burnout, compassion fatigue/satisfaction, secondary traumatisation etc. This paper demonstrates that very limited research is available for the specific case of social workers providing services and support to sex workers. Furthermore, when occupational influences on social workers are discussed, there is no specific focus on the intimate private relationships and sexuality of the social worker. The paper addresses this emerging topic by exposing the existing gap through a literature review of available studies on occupational influences for social workers. Additionally, research on occupational influences on specifically the sexuality of other professionals in the social domain is examined. A relationship is found between occupational stress and the private sexuality of these professionals. It becomes evident that limited documented information currently exists on the topic of this paper, while the existence and importance of influences are argued to be considerable. Typically a social worker uses his/herself as a tool in the social work process with the service user. Addressing this topic is therefore of paramount importance towards sustaining and improving the occupational health of the social worker. This can lead to considerable improvement of the quality of the offered services to sex workers. The paper furthermore aims to provide a preliminary case study to expose some aspects of this issue.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSexuality and Social Work Conference 2016
Subtitle of host publicationTransgressing Boundaries and the Intersection of Sexualities in Social Work
PublisherSexuality and Social Work Interest Group
Publication statusPublished - 2016

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