Market Research by Sex Workers, for Sex Workers

Maya Deva -

Tryst.link has always been built for sex workers, on the knowledge and expertise of sex workers. 

Our team, based in decriminalised Australia and New Zealand, has shaped everything about the platform based on what we understand. But our community is global and growing, and the world is changing. We know our experiences can’t always represent yours. 

So we're doing something that, as far as we know, has never been done before: real market research with sex workers—not academic research, not research done about us, but research that treats sex workers seriously as a market, and as small business owners who deserve reliable services. 

For us, designing appropriate market research starts with working openly and transparently, and sharing what we're doing with you. In any other industry, you'd hire a market research firm. In ours, that's just not possible. So we're doing it ourselves, and we've committed to doing it right. 

Designing research with care

We haven't done this before. Nobody has. We want to set the highest standard possible for sex worker market research, and raise the bar even higher for designing research in the future. So we're starting with a solid team, a clear scope, and a deeply considered process. 

First, we'll be holding in-depth interviews (approx 60–90 mins) with U.S.-based sex workers, followed by a broader survey in a few months' time. Those initial interviews should give us the foundation to build the most useful, accurate survey we can. Of course, all participants at both stages will receive TLC for their time and contribution to this research.

We've chosen to do research with sex workers in the United States who already use Tryst—a group we know well, in a location we can make the most difference. We’re aiming for results that are reliable and representative of our biggest market, so our research can lead to practical improvements for the most people. Within the company, this project is being guided by a team of sex workers with a variety of experiences in the industry and the company, led by me. Our team includes current and former workers who've worked across kink, online services, massage and independent escorting around the world, and are also researchers, editors, technologists, activists, and peer support workers.  

For the last few months, we've been working with experts in market research and data as well as sex worker-led academic research, putting together all their skills and knowledge in a form that works for this industry. We're designing this in real time on community terms, with what you need from us in mind. 

Our guiding principles

We want to do research that improves things for you. That means never rushing anything or cutting corners on protecting your privacy, getting accurate information, or understanding the limitations of the research we're doing. At every stage, sex workers are vetting the questions and process to make sure we ask for useful information without being unnecessarily invasive.

Using data to serve you

If you agree to participate in an interview, we look forward to asking you about how you think about your work. What's important to you as you navigate this industry? What do you think about, want and need from an advertising platform? 

As a survey participant, you'll answer focused questions about the same subjects, designed through the interviews to give insight on topics we don’t want to be guessing at: Who uses Tryst.link in the U.S.? How can we most improve your experiences, not just on this platform but across the industry? 

Your responses will shape the future of Tryst.link. We want to see clearly where we need to invest our limited resources. We want to make sure we're not focussing on changes that aren't about what really matters to the majority of the people who use Tryst.link. 

As laws keep changing, we also want to respond to them in the least disruptive ways. This research will tell us more about what you most need to stay the same in this changing world, so we can keep fighting to keep your experience as stable as possible.

Privacy-first, always

We can't hand this work to anybody else, simply because we have uniquely high standards for how we handle sex worker data. This includes who comes into contact with sex workers or their information, where it's stored, and how long it's stored for. Information about the handling of your data will be clearly communicated to everyone who participates. No information, at any point in this research, will be stored in the United States.

Above all else, we want to make sure this is the safest process possible. We'll provide enough information about our process, goals, and data protection to make informed consent possible. Participants will be able to decide not to continue or to withdraw their information, even if they've already started or finished an interview or survey. 

What happens next

This month, a small number of providers will receive a message from us through Tryst.link inviting them to an interview, with a link to give us their availability if they're interested. That message will also contain a link to this blog post.

We've chosen participants randomly, making sure that we have an accurate representation of demographics—location, age and types of in-person services, for example—across the platform. There's no obligation for anyone to participate. Those who do will receive TLC as thanks for their generosity with their time and information.

Each interview will be scheduled with a sex worker on our team who's been trained as a market research interviewer. Every participant will also have the option to have a supervisor sit in on interviews as a silent observer for accountability reasons, if they prefer.

Interviews will be done via video chat, on a chat platform based in the European Union which runs on any modern device with a camera and microphone. No apps will be needed. The audio will be recorded and stored securely on Australian servers until we've reviewed and transcribed it. We'll do that within 30 days of the interview, then delete it immediately. 

This stage should be complete by the end of June. I'll be back with an update once we're preparing for surveys.

As always, if you have any questions, you're welcome to hit me up at community@tryst.link. I may not respond to every email, but I read them all.

Are you a sex worker with a story, opinion, news, or tips to share? We'd love to hear from you!

We started the tryst.link sex worker blog to help amplify those who aren't handed the mic and bring attention to the issues ya'll care about the most. Got a tale to tell? 👇☂️✨

Get involved!