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• Why do you do this study?

  There is a considerable gap in work psychological research of sex work. This study aims to contribute to closing this research gap by gathering and analysing working conditions. Sex workers belong to an occupational group that is often confronted with stigmatisation, prejudice and social marginalisation. Understanding the impact of working conditions on the mental health and well-being of sex workers is essential to recognise risk factors for burnout and mental illness and to develop targeted support measures to promote the mental health of sex workers.
  
  
• How do you feel about sex work?

  We understand sex work as work and the workers as self-determined workers. We also recognise the substantial heterogeneity of work field and workers, which makes generalisations for different populations and work environments impossible. This research should be understood as preliminary work for future, more specific research. Within the framework of this understanding we want to examine working conditions.
• What do you mean by ‘sexual services with physical contact’?

  Since sex work can take place in many different working environments and settings, we have a broad understanding of ‘sexual services with physical contact’ and do not want to commit ourselves to a specific working environment or the like. However, it is important to us that these services are carried out in personal contact with clients.

  Sex work in the online sector in particular is not relevant for our research, as there is rarely direct physical contact with customers. For example, porn actors, performers on cam sites and strippers do not fall under this term in our understanding and therefore cannot participate in the study.
• Why do you ask questions about violence?

  We are interested in finding out which factors are relevant for sex workers while at work. Various aspects of violence at work were repeatedly mentioned both in the published literature and in the first part of the study, so we are interested in whether these aspects are also perceived by other workers. Since experiences of violence in the workplace (regardless of occupation) are associated with a poorer experience of work and well-being, it is important for us to ask about these experiences. However, this does not mean that we assume that sex work is a uniquely violent field of work.
• Why are you asking whether I can freely decide my working hours? What do you really want to know?

  For the most part, we use standard work psychology instruments that ask about certain constructs, e.g. experience of autonomy, social support, emotional demands, work-life balance. These questionnaires are standardised and are also used for other occupational groups, often to compare different characteristics between occupational groups (→ here, for example, is the questionnaire from which the questions on working hours were taken from: Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire III).

  The degree of influence at work and the freedom a worker has to make decisions have a strong impact on the work experience and job satisfaction. This applies to (almost) all professions, not just sex work.

  As stated in the questionnaire, we do not ask trick questions. We have no ulterior motive in asking this question or want to ‘really’ know anything. We understand sex workers as self-determined workers, and in the context of this understanding we want to know the perspectives of workers.
• Why do you ask about working illegally?

  Laws regarding sex work can be complicated and sex workers can (for whatever reason) choose not to work legally.

  People who do not work "legally" are criminalised. However, it has been shown that working under criminalisation carries a higher risk of experiencing violence or being exposed to poorer working conditions. In the case of such experiences, sex workers can also rarely turn to the police or demand justice through the courts. Better working conditions can also rarely be demanded through official channels.
  For this reason, working illegally is usually seen as a risk factor for poorer working conditions. That is why we are asking this question. Your answer to the question is anonymous and no one can link you to your answer.

  The report "Sex work, stigma and violence" by PROUDnl and AIDSFONDS, for example, describes this connection (chapter 5.6):
  (in English) https://aidsfonds.org/resource/sex-work-stigma-and-violence-in-the-netherlands/
  (in Dutch) https://www.sekswerk.info/files/2021-09/0058-Rapport-onderzoek-geweld_web.pdf
• What do mean by open science? What is open science?

  "Open Science" is a movement that aims to make science more accessible and transparent for everyone. It is about openly sharing research results, data and methods so that everyone can see and use them.

  Researchers publish their data so that other scientists can check it or use it for their own studies (‘open data’). This helps to verify research results and gain new insights. Researchers explain exactly how they conducted their experiments so that others can understand them and repeat them if necessary. This ensures greater transparency and trust in science. This study, for example, has been publicly preregistered and can be viewed by anyone at: https://osf.io/dehwc.

  This is important in all (psychological) research. In the research field of sex work, however, it is particularly important for us to be open and transparent with our research and data, as there have been cases in the past where results have been published without the necessary scientific due diligence.

  To summarise, Open Science aims to ensure that scientific work does not take place behind closed doors, but is open and verifiable for all. This promotes collaboration, trust and innovation in science.
• Is it possible to identify me when the dataset is made public?

  The majority of the questions we ask generally cannot be used to identify individuals. This is mainly about gathering information on the working conditions experienced and the general perception of work.

  However, we also collect demographic data, i.e. data that could potentially be used to identify someone. However, we collect this data very broadly. We only ask about age and nationality in  categories, from which it is not possible to draw conclusions about individual persons. Gender is asked directly. However, if participants do not feel comfortable providing this information, these questions can simply not be answered

  Comments that can be made at the end of the questionnaire are deleted from the final data set (i.e. the data set that is made available publicly) and only seen by the study team. Identifiable data from any other open answers will also be removed or recoded.

  We do not record any technical data (e.g. IP address, device type or similar). It is also not possible for us as study team to match data to participants. The data is anonymous.
• What 'identifiable data' do you collect?

  This questionnaire is designed so that it can be completed anonymously.

  We only collect demographic data (no names or contact details) as potentially identifiable data. However, we collect this data very broadly.
  These data are:

  • Age (in graded categories)
  • Nationality (in graded categories)
  • gender
  • Duration of sex work in years
  • Type(s) of sex work
  • Country in which sex work is (mainly) carried out
  • Whether sex work is done full-time or part-time

  However, if participants still do not feel comfortable providing this information, these questions can simply not be answered.
  Information from open fields (e.g. if a person wishes to enter an unlisted sex work location) that is identifiable will of course be removed or recoded.
  Outside of these few demographic questions, we ask questions that cannot be used to identify individuals anyway. This is mainly about recording the working conditions experienced and the general experience of work.
• Why don't you offer the questionnaire in more languages?/Why don't you offer the questionnaire in Romanian, Bulgarian, Chinese, ...?

  We are in fact only a small research team with limited resources and unfortunately these are not sufficient to work with so many languages at the same time. In addition, we work with standardised instruments that have not been officially translated into all relevant languages.
  Therefore, we have decided to concentrate on the main languages in the countries where we are conducting the survey. However, we have made an effort to ensure that the German language version in particular is easy to understand so that people whose first language is not German can also take part. 
• What is the JD-R model?

  The job demands-resources model (JD-R; Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) is a model that originally comes from burnout research but is now used throughout occupational psychology. The model is based on factors (job demands) that are associated with cognitive or emotional effort, as well as protective factors (job resources). It assumes that job resources promote motivation and work engagement, while job demands cause strain, which can lead to the development of health problems (e.g. Burnout). The model is extremely flexible and can be used for different work contexts. This means that the individual job demands and resources are also job-specific or at least occupation-specific.

  → more about the model: Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands‐Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115