@article{01KQVK9KDKM4ZCBASM6G527N6P,
  abstract     = {{Background : 
Racialized migrant men are frequently framed as deviant and hypersexual, obscuring the complexity of their intimate and sexual relationships during and upon migration. This risk narrative is partially reproduced in academic research, where the focus overwhelmingly remains on sexually transmitted infections among migrant men. Little is known about how sexual encounters unfold during migration journeys, where precarious legal and material conditions and unequal power relations may shape consent and coercion. 

Objectives : 
This paper seeks to explore how power imbalances shape sexual propositions and sexualized exchanges between migrant men and diverse sexual partners during their onward migration journeys. 

Methods : 
The paper builds on participant observation conducted in Brussels (Belgium) and Calais (France), two European spaces of transit, as well as on the interview narratives of 39 single, heterosexual migrant men living in these spaces. 

Results : 
The analysis centers on encounters in which sex was proposed, implied, or expected in relation to access to shelter, resources, or support. Migrant men’s sexual encounters involved different partners, occurred across diverse settings – from humanitarian settings and private homes to public streets – and involved dynamics ranging from transactional offers and emotional care to manipulative “smart ways” of solicitation, illustrating how intimacy, survival, desire, and vulnerability become deeply entangled. 

Conclusions : 
Shaped by legal precarity, material dependency, racialized sexual objectification, and unequal power relations, our findings reveal that migrant men’s sexual encounters during transit unfold in intimate grey zones where the distinction between consent and coercion blurs.}},
  author       = {{Linthout, Leni and Derluyn, Ilse and Desombre, Caroline and Benbouriche, Massil and Keygnaert, Ines}},
  issn         = {{1931-7611}},
  journal      = {{INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH}},
  keywords     = {{sexual encounters,migration,male migrants,REFUGEE BACKGROUNDS,TRANSACTIONAL SEX,ASYLUM SEEKERS,MIGRATION,RISK,MEN,VIOLENCE,GENDER,HEALTH,EXPLOITATION}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{20}},
  title        = {{Sex for shelter? Power, precarity, and sexual propositions among male migrants in European transit zones}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2026.2666665}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}

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