Violence And Sex Work In Britain

This book is concerned with violence in the sex industry. It aims to provide an understanding of the nature of violence against sex workers and the relationship between violence, government legislation and policy, and law enforcement practices - an essential task in view particularly of the 2006 Ipswich murders and the public and media response to this which illustrated how poorly the context of violence in the sex industry is understood. The book describes the incidence of violence against sex workers, culminating in some cases in murder. It shows how the risk of violence is strongly dependent on the physical and legal context in which sex workers operate; how repressive policing tactics exacerbate vulnerability and how discourses of abhorrence towards sex work promote perceptions of sex workers as worthless human beings. It also examines how inadequacies in the criminal justice system lead to failures in investigations and prosecutions, and failures to prevent violence from known offenders; and how the stereotyping of sex workers, their clients and perpetrators of violence, in the media and in other spheres of academic debate, distorts reality leading to inappropriate or harmful public responses.

This book aims to provide an understanding of the nature of violence against sex workers and the relationship between violence, government legislation and policy, and law enforcement practices. It also examines how inadequacies in the criminal justice system lead to failures in investigations and prosecutions, and failures to prevent violence from known offenders; and how the stereotyping of sex workers, their clients and perpetrators of violence, in the media and in other spheres of academic debate, distorts reality leading to inappropriate or harmful public responses.

Sex Work Now provides an authoritative overview of female sex work and policy in the UK, and addresses a number of key contemporary issues and debates. These include sex worker unionization, migrant sex work and trafficking, communities and sex work, male clients of sex workers, the policing of prostitution, zoning of street sex work, young people and sexual exploitation, drug use and sex work, exiting, violence and sex work. Throughout the book is shaped by the lives and experiences of sex workers themselves drawing on applied, policy or participatory action research. This book approaches the subject from an interdisciplinary perspective, cutting across conventional boundaries of sociology, criminology, politics and social policy. Contributors to the book include academics, researchers, practitioners and activists who are among the leading commentators on prostitution in the UK. provides overview of sex work in UK considers impact of recent legislation and policy, especially Sex Offences Act 2003 focus on lives and experiences of sex workers themselves

How the law harms sex workers—and what they want instead Do you have to endorse prostitution in order to support sex worker rights? Should clients be criminalized, and can the police deliver justice? In Revolting Prostitutes, sex workers Juno Mac and Molly Smith bring a fresh perspective to questions that have long been contentious. Speaking from a growing global sex worker rights movement, and situating their argument firmly within wider questions of migration, work, feminism, and resistance to white supremacy, they make it clear that anyone committed to working towards justice and freedom should be in support of the sex worker rights movement.

This book brings together literature, empirical research findings from two projects, and policy analysis to examine how some forces in England have adopted the approach of treating crimes against sex workers as hate crimes. This book identifies some of the benefits of the hate crime approach to crimes against sex workers, both operationally and for some of the victims of crime. The authors argue that the hate crime approach should not be seen as an alternative to decriminalisation of sex work but can provide a pathway to achieving more sensitive but robust policing of crimes against sex workers and support in accessing justice through the criminal justice system. They also examine the broader context of hate crime policy and scholarship as they debate the relevance, problems and merits of the sex work hate crime model. The book provides another dimension to current theoretical and policy debates about widening definitions and law around hate crime to include other groups beyond existing protected characteristics.

'Regulating sex for sale' provides a detailed analysis and critical reflection on the processes, assumptions and contradictions shaping the UK's emerging prostitution policy. It examines the total package of reforms and proposals that have been introduced in this area since May 2000.

Throughout history prostitution has always been a source of fierce debate; societies have either grudgingly tolerated it or tried (always unsuccessfully) to ban it. With the emergence of much more overt acceptance of all forms of sexual activity it has become more apparent that sex workers who ply their trade on the streets of our cities are a particularly vulnerable group at risk of violent attacks and assaults. The realization on the implications for such violence on society overall, led to the emergence of this volume. With research gathered from academics and practitioners hailing from various countries and fields, this edited collection will be invaluable for those who want to better understand the experience of street sex workers, the strategies available for managing this trade and how to help reduce the violence against the men and women who conduct it.

This book takes readers behind the screen to uncover how digital technologies have affected the UK sex industry. The authors use extensive new datasets to explore the working practices, safety and regulation of the sex industry, for female, male and trans sex workers primarily working in the UK. Insights are given as to how sex workers use the internet in their everyday working lives, appropriating social media, private online spaces and marketing strategies to manage their profiles, businesses and careers. Internet Sex Work also explores safety strategies in response to new forms of crimes experienced by sex workers, as well as policing responses. The book will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of social science disciplines, including gender studies, socio-legal studies, criminology and sociology.