Governing sex work: an agonistic policy community and its relational dynamics

Johnson, Genevieve Marie

doi:10.1080/19460171.2014.968602

Cited by 12 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…As Amnesty International observes often happens under criminalization (Amnesty International 2016), sex workers in our sample noted that law enforcement directed attention towards brothels and independent workers as opposed to human traffickers and those exploiting others within the industry. Our participants, echoing the call of international agencies and researchers (O'Connell Davidson 2015;Amnesty International 2016;Bruckert and Hannem 2013;Johnson 2015; Center for Health and Gender Equity CHANGE), argued Canada's trafficking laws should be better enforced, but that commercial sex between consenting adults should not be criminalized.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As was the recent case for Canada and despite the availability of reliable evidence from active sex workers, sex worker organizations and social scientists researching the lived experiences of sex workers, over time and place, policymakers largely fail to take into account the diverse circumstances and perspectives of sex workers in forming policy, the population directly affected by such policies and who have important insider knowledge into the intended and unintended ways in which the laws affect them (Bruckert and Hannem 2013;Johnson 2015;Hudson and Meulen 2013;Pitcher and Wijers 2014;Ngugi et al 2011). This is no easy task due to the challenges of research and collecting evidence on sex workers operating in criminalized and highly stigmatized environments (Weitzer 2010).…”

Section: Canada's Recent Policy Approach To Regulating Prostitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reliance on what Bernstein (Bernstein 2010) refers to as evangelical feminist discourses that present sex workers as women and girls who are trafficked and thus in need of rescue with sex buyers punished, leads to a partial understanding of how risks are either minimized or exacerbated by policy (Bruckert and Hannem 2013;Johnson 2015). Canada's recent policy turn is no exception in this regard.…”

Section: National Policy Approaches To Regulating Prostitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most other countries, prostitution policy is best understood as a legal fiction-driven by moral assumptions and not empirical evidence (Hayes-Smith and Shekarkhar 2010). Especially disturbing is the lack of consultations with active sex workers about whether a particular policy approach improves their health and safety and enhances their social inclusion in institutions and systems (Bruckert and Hannem 2013;Johnson 2015;Van Der Meulen 2010;Hudson and Meulen 2013;Pitcher and Wijers 2014).…”

Section: National Policy Approaches To Regulating Prostitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Well, It Should Be Changed for One, Because It’s Our Bodies”: Sex Workers’ Views on Canada’s Punitive Approach towards Sex Work

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Background: The regulation of sex work is contentious in all countries, including for governments, the public, and sex workers themselves. Research shows sex workers' perspectives are ignored during policy formation in most cases. This is despite the fact they have unique insider knowledge and are directly affected by the policies that are enacted. Methods: We analyzed the accounts of a heterogeneous sample of adult sex workers (N = 218) residing in different urban cities in Canada to find out their views on current laws and their recommendations for reform. The interviews were conducted in 2012-2013 prior to the implementation of the 2014 Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. The paper thus provides an opportunity to compare the changes desired by Canadian sex workers with changes put into law by the Act. Results: Although the interview questions did not directly ask about the current legal system, 121 expressed an opinion. Three main themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: (1) the challenges that criminalization posed to sex workers; (2) the workers' suggestions for legal reform; and (3) potential issues with legal reform. Conclusions: We discuss the contributions our qualitative findings make to the scholarship on sex work regulation and call for further research that includes sex workers' voices in decision-making regarding changes to policies affecting their lives.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Canada's Recent Policy Approach To Regulating Prostitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: National Policy Approaches To Regulating Prostitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: National Policy Approaches To Regulating Prostitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

“Well, It Should Be Changed for One, Because It’s Our Bodies”: Sex Workers’ Views on Canada’s Punitive Approach towards Sex Work

et al. 2017

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“…9 The above example of the Rode Draad is one, and did indeed follow a period where the usual managerial and coalition politics in Rotterdam had failed to find a solution to the city's prostitution issues. Other successful cases can be found in Vancouver and New Zealand (Abel et al 2010;Johnson 2015). In fact, our research shows that the success of New Zealand's decriminalization policy should be attributed to the involvement of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective in the design and implementation of policy making and in providing moral leadership on the issue of prostitution (Wagenaar et al 2017, p. 253).…”

Section: Towards An Effective and Decent Regulation Of Prostitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Prostitution Policy (Usually) Fails and What to Do about It?

Wagenaar

2017

Social Sciences

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This article describes and discusses the results of two comparative studies of prostitution policy in Europe that are complementary in their design and methodology. One is a comparison of 21 countries using a most different systems design; the other an in-depth comparison of Austria and The Netherlands, using a most similar systems design. The two studies found a remarkable continuity in the inherent approach to the regulation of prostitution and its effects. Despite differences in political regime, administrative organization, and national cultures, since the middle of the 19th century, the purpose of prostitution policy has been to impose strict controls on sex workers and to a lesser extent their work sites. The effects of this approach have been disappointing: despite rhetorical claims to the contrary the control of sex workers has no discernable effect on the prevalence of prostitution in society. The effects of policies aimed at control are mostly negative in that they corrode the human and labor rights of sex workers. The article discusses several challenges to the regulation of prostitution (such as its deeply moral nature and the lack of precise and reliable data) as well a number of other important outcomes (such as the importance of local policy implementation for the effects of regulation). The article concludes with the empirically substantiated suggestion that a form of collaborative governance in which sex worker advocacy organizations participate in the design and implementation of prostitution policy offers real prospects for an effective and humane prostitution policy.

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Sex Work Governance Models: Variations in a Criminalized Context

Johnson

Porth²

2020

Sex Res Soc Policy

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Background Under current laws, sex workers are effectively criminalized, which can lead to harmful impacts beyond arrest and prosecution for sex work–specific offenses, including eviction, search and seizure, surveillance, harassment, and deportation. Although these laws are federal, they are realized in and by policy communities at the municipal level. Materials and Methods Based on a qualitative and inductive study of local policy actors affected by or involved in the implementation of prostitution laws, including 65 semistructured interviews in 2014, 2015, and 2016, we identify five different governance models within a shared legal framework of criminalization. We derive these models from an exploration of interactions among actors and organizations based in selected Canadian cities, all of which are bound by federal laws that criminalize the buying of sex thus effectively criminalizing prostitution. Results Our study surfaces a diversity of traditional and non-traditional policy players who interpret and implement prostitution laws or advocate for and support sex workers. Focusing on equilibrium moments in relationships among these actors, we identify ideational frames that appear to shape dynamics among them and, in turn, give rise to different governance models. Conclusions Our findings of different models within the same, overarching legal context are notable because it demonstrates the variability of a single law when it is implemented in local contexts. This is a contribution not just to understanding how prostitution is governed in particular contexts but also to policy and governance theory more generally. Our findings can serve in future, deductive studies that seek to determine the causes and implications of different governance models in the policy area of prostitution and beyond.

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Governing sex work: an agonistic policy community and its relational dynamics

Cited by 12 publications

References 33 publications

“Well, It Should Be Changed for One, Because It’s Our Bodies”: Sex Workers’ Views on Canada’s Punitive Approach towards Sex Work

“Well, It Should Be Changed for One, Because It’s Our Bodies”: Sex Workers’ Views on Canada’s Punitive Approach towards Sex Work

Why Prostitution Policy (Usually) Fails and What to Do about It?

Sex Work Governance Models: Variations in a Criminalized Context

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