Prostituição feminina em Teresina: estigma, políticas públicas e relações de poder (2000-2024)

Abstract

The study analyzes the power relations, social stigma, and public policies directed at female prostitution in Teresina between 2000 and 2024, aiming to understand how these dynamics shape access to rights and the lived experience of cis and trans women engaged in sex work. It employs a qualitative methodology based on documentary analysis, examining laws, institutional reports, municipal regulations, health and public security data, as well as academic research and documents produced by sex worker associations. The results show that, although actions exist in the fields of health, social assistance, and public security, they remain fragmented and marked by moralizing, sanitary, or disciplinary approaches, without fully recognizing sex workers as subjects of rights. The study identifies that the absence of specific policies, reinforced by stigma, restricts access to public services and perpetuates mechanisms of social control. It concludes that the State acts more as a guardian than as a guarantor of citizenship, and that institutional advances—such as the public recognition of ASPROPI—reveal potential but remain insufficient without permanent channels of participation and integrated policies. Therefore, the research argues for the construction of public policies that acknowledge sex work as legitimate labor, ensuring dignity, social protection, and political voice for these women.