Escort Services An International Perspective

find Services An Inter case PerspectiveINTRODUCTIONThis paper leave watch some of the key issues and challenges surrounding determine operate provision. Where possible the arguments and discussions presented look to generate a broader, more(prenominal) international view in found to encourage turn over debate just about this companionablely, heathenishly and effectually thin topic (Laskowski, 2002).In examining this ara, the initial unvoicedy is in capturing a single, divided understanding of what get wind operate are (Scoular ONeill, 2007). Most friendly expectations automatically generate an assumption that the individual providing assure go is a sex go awayer, although the range of activities have-to doe with tail assembly include more clement requirements much(prenominal) as genial companionship (Burghart, 2017). M either go steady agencies conk out within well-grounded national simulations by openly offering much(prenominal) companionship or more accepted services (e.g. massages). The personal disposition of those activities then(prenominal) creates the environment within which subsequent informal and less open negotiations slightly what familiar services (if any) go off be forgetd by the escort (UK National go throughs Association, 2018).It therefore follows that escort services involve the provision of personal, learned and tailored engagement to a client for remuneration, which whitethorn or whitethorn not include the provision of sexual services (Agustin, 2009).ASSUMPTIONS AND EXCLUSIONSThis paper focusses on the provision of effeminate escort services, offered take aimly or with an histrionics male escort provision is not reviewed (Argento, Taylor, Jollimore, Taylor, Jennex, Krusi Shannon, 2016). No examination of the constitution of these services is conducted, although a distinction is drawn between those activities deemed to be well-grounded and misbranded (Jeffreys, 2010). In taking a broader, more international location it is important to recognise that different national approaches will exist which meaning that in some cases the provision of sexual services is takeed legal (Outshoorn, 2004). However, legal recognition does not inevitably translate into amicable and cultural toleration for either the client or the escort worker(s) interested (Agustin, 2009).The necessitate for escort services, be they legal or illegal and with or without a sexual element is well established (Burghart, 2017). This paper therefore does not consider the perspective of clients but instead focusses on the issues shaping the actions and decisions of those women acting as escorts (Matthews, 2007).THE EMPOWERMENT CASEFor women that choose to work as escorts, arguments have been presented which elicit that doing so provides them with a position of power and authority over their clients (Weitzer, 2007). They work in a sector that puts a particular cherish on their skills, abilities and a ttributes and the woman is able to direct and discover to what extent she places herself on the merchandise e.g. whether to engage in sexual practise or not and if so, what those acts will be (Cho, Dreher Neumeyer, 2013). Whilst many services are engaged through a broker (the Escort Agency) which will take a fee for their pursuit, charges for any additional activities are a lot arranged on a direct basis between the escort and the client (Laskowski, 2002).However, much(prenominal) mandate arguments brook that the woman concerned is direct within the realms of an established rail line framework which she can adapt to her own requirements (Sanders, ONeill Pitcher, 2017). They also imply that the women has exercised salvage will and prime(a) in becoming an escort and that no compulsion has been applied, such as that assuren in many cases of people trafficking (OConnor, 2017). Even where no overt coercion has been applied, women may feel that working as an escort is the o nly viable option given issues such as social/stinting deprivation, personal addiction issues and unstable family backgrounds (Scoular ONeill, 2007).Consequently, any empowerment arguments presented must clearly consider the foundations underlying any perceptions of informed choice (Jeffreys, 2010). Even where such factors are not an issue (such as those women from A or B socio-economic groups with high crystallise-worth clients), the social and cultural grime around escort services can limit the extent to which women are unfeignedly empowered (Szirmai, 2015).THE SOCIAL PERSPECTIVEMany women working as escorts see themselves as offering an essential social service to their communities, paying clients through periods of disruption and turbulence (Sanders, ONeill Pitcher, 2017). Examples cited include widowers seeking company (or til now sexual services) without wishing to enter into another emotional relationship and those manage with the breakdown of a long-term relationship seeking guidance on how to re-engage effectively with women (Sanders, ONeill Pitcher, 2017). Whilst engaging vulnerable clients seeking emotional sooner than somatogenic support could be considered exploitative, competition within the sector could delay that clients favour those women best able to tally the destinys presented (Koken, 2010).Legislative and social constraints do limit the effectiveness of such support given the stigma often associated with engaging escorts, even if no sexual content is twisty (Koken, 2010). It could also be argued that the dominant focus on meeting physical/sexual requirements in the sector creates longer-term social problems, as the clients concerned are often unable to form stable, emotionally sound long-term relationships as a result (Weitzer, 2007). Those clients that regularly use escort services to meet both their physical and emotional needs may end up seeking to apply the same transactional thinking to external relationships, inadverten tly undermining the lieu of women in that community (Sanders, ONeill Pitcher, 2017).Where female workers are genuinely empowered, then social earns can accrue. For example, the working hours involved and the income levels that can be free burning may allow them to remain both employed and effective, accessible parents when they may otherwise be relying on read support (Brooks-Gordon, 2006). However, the hidden and illegal nature of much of the escort sector economy limits social benefit potential (e.g. undeclared incomes and welfare concerns for the children of sex workers) (Sanders, ONeill Pitcher, 2017).THE ECONOMIC ruleMany escort agencies operate as legitimate business interests, generating value revenues and providing either paid utilization or self-employment frameworks for the women concerned (UK National Escorts Association, 2018). The value proposition is on the provision of a booking service for judgment of conviction and companionship with women (UK National Esco rts Association, 2018). It is the subsequent transactions between clients and those women which may or may not be legal and which may not necessarily form part of any transparent business activity which extract concerns (Matthews, 2007). Whilst the nature of business registration in the UK makes it difficult to identify tax revenue revenues specifically attributed to escort agencies (which often register as entertainment services), it is estimated that prostitution (i.e. unregulated and untaxed activity) in that country sustains a spend of around 770M each year (BBC, 2001 UK National Escorts Association, 2018).Women working in the sector may therefore have the cleverness to generate and sustain incomes that their educational and social backgrounds would deny them in terms of more traditional employment routes (Weitzer, 2007). As such, depending on the legal and regulatory frameworks in place, they may be net financial contributors to society quite a than a drain on national res ources (Laskowski, 2007). However, such arguments are predicated on the concept of choice and empowerment as those women working in the sector to sustain addiction problems will ease place greater demands on health and social welfare services (Rani, Jain Saxena, 2017). Also, the exploitation that exists in the sector through organised barbarous activities (arguably fuelled by legislative and social constraints around sex workers) instrument that noteworthy escort revenues remain invisible to the national exchequers concerned (Sweeney Fitzgerald, 2017). Also, these hidden revenues can fund activities which create significant economic and social costs for the countries concerned (e.g. the drugs trade, money laundering and criminal violence) (OConnor, 2017).POLITICAL ISSUESPolitical attitudes surrounding escort services are shaped by national/regional cultures, societal expectations and the legislative frameworks that result (Outshoorn, 2004). As a consequence, in many societies the governmental leadership prefer to maintain a discrete distance from the sector, rather than engage in open debate about the role of women as escorts (Brooks-Gordon, 2006). Whilst more enlightened attitudes are emerging, such as the operating of licensed establishments with Government health monitoring programmes and social support, anything outside of non-sexual escort activity is still considered illegal in many areas (Agustin, 2009). This limits the governmental support for women in the sector to focussing on applying criminal sanctions to clients rather than workers and/or the ripening of social programmes to encourage them to explore alternative employment options (Cho, Dreher Neumeyer, 2013).As a consequence, many women working as escorts (employed and self-employed) are denied a legitimate political voice within their societies (Outshoorn, 2004). This again calls into question the concept of empowerment, as it is difficult for the women concerned to influence decision -makers about their working conditions, rates of pay and employment rights (Bartlett Kennedy, 2018). This lack of power and influence has led to these women becoming even more isolated from (and wangleled by) mainstream society as their roles and life choices are debated and regulated by others (Outshoorn, 2004).THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGYThe advent of modern engine room solutions, particularly social networking platforms has provided women with a means to directly access the market for escort services (Heymann-Reder, 2012). The ease with which websites can be created and the willingness of consumers to provide (anonymous) feedback in relation to the services accepted can negate the need to use authorization resources to source, separate and support clients (Tuten Solomon, 2014). This also extends to payment services which further supports women working in the sector in establishing a viable, self-managed business model (Henry, 2011). Such approaches reverberate the growth in s elf-employment opportunities for women in the service sector, where on-line demand for associated skills such as massage and male grooming services can provide a conduit for the marketing of escort activities (Cader Al Tenaiji, 2013).However, technology developments also break in workers to greater risk (Sanders, ONeill Pitcher, 2017). The absence of any third-party, escort assurance involvement means that women may find themselves alone when coping with an fast-growing(a) client or one unwilling to pay for the services received (Jeffreys, 2010). It also introduces a new skills requirement as those pursuing such technology solutions will need to effectively manage and deploy the technology in order to build a sustainable business (Heymann-Reder, 2012). wakeless CONCERNSWhilst those operating escort services as a legitimate business model are afforded the same legal protections as the wider society concerned, often the provision of sexual services falls outside of such frameworks (Cho, Dreher Neumeyer, 2013). Consequently, the women involved are committing criminal acts even though they are meeting a demand that society is aware of and which addresses a clear social need (Jeffreys, 2010). This means that when such women require the full protection of law for example, if assaulted by a client the very nature of their profession often means that they are denied that support (Bartlett Kennedy, 2018). The level of violence and associated criminal activity in the sector is therefore well known, but chronically under-reported by those that follow out it (OConnor, 2017). This lack of visibility also undermines efforts to extend legal protection to escorts and the ability of enforcement officials to prosecute offenders (Scoular ONeill, 2007).For those women who have fallen into escort work due(p) to social, health and addiction issues limiting the employment choices available to them, the more harmonic application of legal sanctions in some countries is begi nning to provide them with the support required (Agustin, 2009). Viewing such women as being vulnerable and victimised ensures that they are seen in a different light by state institutions, helping them to move out of escort work if their continued involvement undermines their self-worth, health and social status (Reitmeijer, 2017).SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONBasic economic theory dictates that women will continue to provide escort services for the predictable future. There is a constant (potentially expanding) demand, technology advances make it easier for consumers to express that demand clearly and for suppliers to efficiently tailor their services to the requirements of distinct customer communities (Henry, 2011 Burghart, 2017). Consequently, a dynamic and competitive market exists (and has always existed) irrespective of the behavioural and cultural norms outlined by the societies concerned.If this proposition is accepted, then it is argued that current attitudes, reflected in the legal frameworks of many nations are discriminatory and punitive to women (Bartlett Kennedy, 2018). They limit the protection that can be offered and expose women to greater risks (including sexual health concerns). Critically, making female sex work an illegal and unregistered activity allows criminal entities to control their access to the market (OConnor, 2017). Such control disempowers women when they should be shaping their operating environment to meet their own requirements and aspirations (Koken, 2010). Criminal exploitation and the legal frameworks that accidentally support it also create opportunities to force women to work unwillingly as escorts (Sweeney Fitzgerald, 2017).Technology advances are giving those women that choose to work as escorts the opportunity to exert greater control. However, this needs to be matched by a more realistic and progressive attitude within societies around issues such as regulation, health screening and support services if women escorts are to be very protected and empowered.Page BreakREFERENCESAgustin, L. (2009). Sex and the limits of enlightenment the irrationality of legal regimes to control prostitution, Sexuality Research and Social insurance, 5(4), pp. 73-86.Argento, E., Taylor, M., Jollimore, J., Taylor, C., Jennex, J., Krusi, A., Shannon, K. (2016). 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