In the past two decades, feminist politics on prostitution has become more polarised and ideological. On the one hand, those on the radical spectrum of feminist politics have fought long and hard to criminalise sex purchase with the intention of ultimately abolishing prostitution. Other feminists have lobbied the state to recognise and institutionalise sex workers’ human rights. The collection is both a critical intervention in and a re-orientation of the schism in contemporary feminist prostitution politics. Contributors will use this schism as a platform from which to challenge current debates, and ‘think’ an alternative sex worker-centred politics for social justice. By placing sex workers’ lived experiences of prostitution at the centre of the conversation, the book rejects the hegemony of neo-abolitionism as the solution to the ‘problem’ of sex work. The book brings international, trans-disciplinary scholars together to address a rights-based agenda for sex work law and policy and consequently for sex workers’ lives. This collection offers an invaluable resource on the subject of how sex workers experience injustices and how we can mitigate this globally through a transformative vision of social justice.

The people most impacted by criminal justice policies and practices are seldom included in the decision-making processes that affect their lives. Building on the ‘nothing about us without us’ social movement, this edited volume advocates an inclusive approach to criminology that gives voice to historically marginalized, silenced, and ignored groups. Incorporating the experiences of service users, academics, and state and grassroots practitioners, this volume considers how researchers might bridge the gap between theory and lived experience. It furthers criminological scholarship by capturing the voices of marginalized groups and exploring how criminology can authentically incorporate these voices.

This open access book provides a comprehensive overview of the health inequities and human rights issues faced by sex workers globally across diverse contexts, and outlines evidence-based strategies and best practices. Sex workers face severe health and social inequities, largely as the result of structural factors including punitive and criminalized legal environments, stigma, and social and economic exclusion and marginalization. Although previous work has largely emphasized an elevated burden and gaps in HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) services in sex work, less attention has been paid to the broader health and human rights concerns faced by sex workers. This contributed volume addresses this gap. The chapters feature a variety of perspectives including academic, community, implementing partners, and government to synthesize research evidence as well as lessons learned from local-level experiences across different regions, and are organized under three parts: Burden of health and human rights inequities faced by sex workers globally, including infectious diseases (e.g., HIV, STIs), violence, sexual and reproductive health, and drug use Structural determinants of health and human rights, including legislation, law enforcement, community engagement, intersectoral collaboration, stigma, barriers to health access, im/migration issues, and occupational safety and health Evidence-based services and best practices at various levels ranging from individual and community to policy-level interventions to identify best practices and avenues for future research and interventions Sex Work, Health, and Human Rights is an essential resource for researchers, policy-makers, governments, implementing partners, international organizations and community-based organizations involved in research, policies, or programs related to sex work, public health, social justice, gender-based violence, women's health and harm reduction.

This edited collection showcases innovative, up and coming researchers’ work in the field of sex work studies across labour/work and relationships. This research is pushing the boundaries of the subject, asking new questions, carving new methodological terrain, and contributing new ideas and empirical findings to the existing literature. Drawing on sociology, criminology, media studies, social and health policy, law and socio-legal studies, the chapters reflect a range of new topics in the sex work studies literature such as religious readings, porn workers and their interactions with fans; romantic relationships, and humour at work. Studies are drawn from Europe, South America, Turkey, Ireland, New Zealand and the USA. This book speaks to academics across the social sciences and humanities who are interested in sex work studies.

Using the evidence from New Zealand, this unique collection examines how decriminalisation is experienced by different groups of sex workers and reveals the enduring challenges for sex workers in this context. This is an invaluable contribution to the urgent debates regarding sex work laws and the global struggle to realise sex worker’s rights.

This edited collection explores and illustrates the nature of research for social justice. Drawing on a diverse range of social research projects, it sets out what a rights-based approach to research looks like, why this framework matters and how we can translate them into operational research.

This book offers an accessible and comprehensive introduction to criminology in Ireland. Logically structured and clearly written, this book explores theory and empirical research through real-life examples from an Irish context. Engaging and challenging, this book encourages critical thinking about, and understanding of, crime and crime control in Ireland, North and South. The book covers the canon of criminological theory, from classical and psychological approaches right through to the contemporary. It offers an overview of the Irish criminal justice system, including the police, prisons and alternatives to punishment. It covers key criminological themes such as victims and victimology, gender, the drug trade and its regulation, terrorism and political violence, and desistance and the life course. Key features include: Critical assessment of key criminological theories, which are later woven into discussions of key thematic areas Case studies of historical and contemporary Irish events, including the Magdalene Laundries, gangland feuds and the decriminalisation of drugs Extensive reading lists of key academic texts and relevant Irish literature, movies, music and art This book is the only comprehensive criminology textbook specifically designed for the Irish undergraduate curriculum. It is essential reading for all criminology students in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and will also be of interest to postgraduates and academics looking for an overview of Irish Criminology.

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.

Israeli Masculinity, Sex Work, and Consumerism: Heteronormativity and Sexual Repertoires explores the inner world of Israeli sex work consumers and their use of digital technologies on which intense feelings of social togetherness and belonging create a localized form of homosociality and brotherhood. The first of its kind to offer an in-depth analysis of masculine sexual repertoires in the field of sex consumption, this book uses extensive data and observations of online ethnography among a community of Israeli sex consumers operating online. It elucidates the economics of demand in the field of sexual consumption, and highlights how the rise of the thriving online communities of sex consumers can function as a platform on which power relations between men themselves are publicly displayed and are constantly challenged. Israeli Masculinity, Sex Work, and Consumerism: Heteronormativity and Sexual Repertoires will be suitable for researchers in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology.