Gender, Ethnicity, Immigration Status, and Public Opinion: An Experimental Study of Attitudes Toward Sex Work




Hansen, Michael A.; Johansson, Isabelle; Navarro, John C.

PublisherSage

2025

Crime and Delinquency

71

0011-1287

1552-387X

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1177/00111287251359200

https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287251359200

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499208810



This study explores how sex workers’ gender, ethnicity, and immigration status influence public attitudes toward sex work in the United States. Using a randomized experiment, 1,193 respondents evaluated a hypothetical news story featuring a sex worker as either a “Caucasian woman,” “Caucasian man,” or “undocumented Mexican woman.” Respondents rated the acceptability of sex work, worker agency, venue liability, and preferences for supportive or punitive interventions. Sex work by a Caucasian man was viewed least favorably, and the undocumented Mexican woman was perceived as having the lowest agency. Supportive interventions were endorsed more for women, while punitive measures, particularly fines, were favored for the man. Results highlight how the intersecting factors shape perceptions of agency, culpability, deservingness, and intervention preferences.


The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The Field Impact Grant from the College of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Sam Houston State University supported this work.


Last updated on 2025-12-08 at 14:23