Rubbish excavated from brothels sheds light on sex workers’ lives in the 19th century. Despite the dangers, prostitution offered an independent living free of male control.
Young victims remain at risk because current laws are focused on concerns over immigration and the economy.
Legislative issues around prostitution have the ability to lead the conversation and determine research priorities. Here, Terri-Jean Bedford makes a victory sign with Nikki Thomas, left, and Valerie Scott, right, after the Ontario’s Court of Appeal struck down a ban on brothels in 2012.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
In Athenian society, it appears some elite courtesans were better educated than traditional wives. Other sex workers were sold into the role as children.
The study shows the negative effects of sex work’s criminalisation, including a reluctance of workers to go to police and clients using it as an excuse to abuse workers.
Sex workers deserve justice and protection, too.
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The car, the phone and the internet have changed the way the sex work industry operates, but debates about regulation have not advanced with new technologies.
In 2016, a UK Home Affairs Committee report highlighted that street-based sex work has diminished significantly over the last two to three decades.
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Consensual sex work, like non-commercial sex, mostly happens behind closed doors. Yet stigma toward and ignorance about sex workers makes people panic when we try to talk about reform.
Different local or state government laws apply in different parts of the country in Australia, Germany, the US and Mexico.
Reuters/Kimberly White
Understanding laws that govern sex work can be complicated and confusing, especially because laws are not uniform globally, or even within each country.
Dan Birman, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Cyntoia Brown was just 16 years old when she shot and killed a man in 2004. Under Tennessee law, she won’t be eligible for parole until she is 67 years old. Is such a harsh sentence constitutional?
Our views of who’s at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder might cloud who we think deserves to be treated.
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When we think of post-traumatic stress disorder, we tend to think of soldiers returning from war. But other sections of society are far more likely to suffer from repeated bouts of trauma.
Nigerian former sex worker “Beauty” at a social support centre for trafficked girls near Catania in Italy.
Reuters/Tom Esslemont
Nigerian women migrating to Europe are increasingly aware that work hidden in the form of menial jobs is actually sex work, even though they cannot imagine the brutality that comes with it.
Victoria Opera’s ‘Tis Pity brings a litany of harlots to the stage, but doesn’t give its female lead many characters to play with. Indeed it risks capitulating to the very 'male hypocrisy’ it seeks to address.
Disabled rights often ignore sexuality.
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Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western Australia