What's Money Got To Do With It?: Risky Behavior in Commercial Sex Work in Managua, Nicaragua

When a client approaches a prostitute, he is rarely interested in buying school supplies for her children, and she is just as unlikely to be interested in the sex. Yet these material exchanges are the foundation of the sex economy. Indeed, if there is one unifying factor in the experiences of sex workers, it is fast money. The sex sector offers more money in fewer hours than virtually any other type of employment. Fast money comes at a high price, however. Sex workers face daily risks to their health, safety and emotional well-being. How well they manage these risks has enormous implications for their families, communities, and society more broadly. What's Money Got To Do With It? takes readers to the streets, brothels and strip clubs of Managua to explore the economic dimensions of the sex industry. It describes, in sex workers' words, why and when they risk violence and disease, and what money has to do with these decisions. Their experiences have the potential to change the way address key policy challenges related to the sex industry, from employment and human rights, to violence and the spread of disease.

Alys Willman writes on gender, violence and illicit economies, and consults for various international development organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy, and has worked with grassroots organizations throughout Latin America.