The new migratory space in Southern Europethe case of Colombian sex workers in Spain

  1. Laura Oso
Book:
Crossing borders and shifting boundaries
  1. Mirjana Morokvasic-Muller (coord.)
  2. Umut Erel (coord.)
  3. Kyoko Shinozaki (coord.)

Publisher: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden ; Springer Alemania

ISBN: 978-3-8100-3493-9

Year of publication: 2003

Volume Title: Gender on the Move

Volume: 1

Pages: 207-227

Type: Book chapter

Abstract

In the late eighties Southern Europe became a new migratory space. One of the most notable features of this region as a new host space for immigrants is the importance of the service sector as a source of employment for foreign workers. Unlike the Northern European countries, which, in the sixties, mainly employed their foreign workers in industry, immigrant employment in Southern Europe has mirrored the current shift towards the tertiary sector. Over the past few years, some services, such as domestic, personal and sexual services, have primarily been offered by female immigrant workers. A migratory movement of women migrating independently (without their husbands) has developed to Southern Europe, where they find work in domestic service, the care of the elderly, and as prostitutes. They form part of a new service workforce employed in precarious conditions.