Stigma, Safety, and Support: A Comprehensive Analysis of Sex Worker Wellbeing in Germany, 2024

Stigma, Safety, and Support: A Comprehensive Analysis of Sex Worker Wellbeing in Germany, 2024 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Stigma, Safety, and Support: A Comprehensive Analysis of Sex Worker Wellbeing in Germany, 2024 Erobella Research Team, Brenda Jensen, Oluwasegun Caleb IDOWU, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674747/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigated the health and well-being of sex workers in Germany using the 2024 Erobella Sex Worker Wellbeing Survey, a cross-sectional analysis of over 270 responses collected from May 2024 to January 2025. Findings indicate that 70-80% report good or very good physical health linked to mandatory health checks, yet 20-30% experience medium to poor mental health due to stigma, isolation, and workplace stress. Approximately 60% face discrimination, 40% report safety threats, and 20-30% encounter healthcare barriers due to cost and stigma, notably for STI testing. Social support, valued at 60%, was absent at 30%. Digital sex work, adopted by 20%, reduces physical risks (80% feel safe), but increases mental strain from online harassment and isolation. Despite the 2017 Prostitutes Protection Act, systemic gaps persisted. Recommendations include revising laws to penalize client violence, training providers to counter stigma, funding free STI testing and therapy, establishing online peer networks, and addressing evidence gaps with targeted policy solutions. Sex work health wellbeing stigma Germany survey Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Statement: This study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of the LAUTECH. All participants provided informed consent prior to participation, in accordance with the ethical standards outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6674747","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":457234958,"identity":"fadfacea-3b9e-4074-be6d-7a7504c612b7","order_by":0,"name":"Erobella Research Team","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAvklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNgbGBwwfgAwDBubGA0RqYTZgnAHWwthAnBYGoBZmHpK08Ek3Mz62qbgnZ87e2HDgB4OdnG4DIYfJHGY2zjlTbGzZc7DhYA9DsrEZIbvYJPKPSee2JSRuuJHYcICH4UDiNsJaktmkLf8Btdx/2HDwD9FaGBtAtjA2HCbWFmbDnmMJQL8kNhyWMSDCL/Izkhkf/KhJAIbY4YMP31TYyRHUggYMSFM+CkbBKBgFowAHAAD4M0DKbVdIRAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Erobella","middleName":"Research","lastName":"Team","suffix":""},{"id":457235149,"identity":"61d43b16-38d3-45aa-8d37-c27a6d3a269e","order_by":1,"name":"Brenda Jensen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Brenda","middleName":"","lastName":"Jensen","suffix":""},{"id":457235150,"identity":"ec033f47-01aa-43c1-ab7e-0b71f2018a4a","order_by":2,"name":"Oluwasegun Caleb IDOWU","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Oluwasegun","middleName":"Caleb","lastName":"IDOWU","suffix":""},{"id":457235151,"identity":"c0391ea5-a71b-451f-9fbb-7b24e2a79bf8","order_by":3,"name":"Ratif Abdulai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ratif","middleName":"","lastName":"Abdulai","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-15 17:19:32","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674747/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674747/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83262755,"identity":"4fb75057-4279-4058-b85b-1bb5c6fa8ad9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-22 04:29:12","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":326010,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ComprehensiveAnalysisofSexWorkerWellbeinginGermany2024.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6674747/v1_covered_58b3ca7c-f918-412f-a4e4-49ecfbda0a44.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthics Statement: This study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of the LAUTECH. 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