Introduction: Prostitution Policies in Europe

Crowhurst, Isabel; Outshoorn, Joyce; Skilbrei, May-Len

doi:10.1007/s13178-012-0100-7

Cited by 30 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…In Norway, in an initiative called Operation Houseless, the state encourages landlords and hotels to deny housing and lodging to women suspected of engaging in prostitution (Jahnsen and Skilbrei 2017). In Italy, central government has conferred to local administrations widely expanded powers to adopt and enforce regulations in the field of public security, which the latter use to crack down on street prostitution (Crowhurst et al 2017). The mechanisms that lead to the deviation of local policy implementation from national law are administrative discretion, regulatory drift and agency capture.…”

Section: Comparing Prostitution Policy In Europementioning

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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Section: Comparing Prostitution Policy In Europementioning

confidence: 99%

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

Wagenaar

2017

Social Sciences

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“…In addition, moral panics about "prostitution" in relation to trafficking are also increasingly fed by fears of migration. As a result, anti-trafficking interventions are often either accompanied by or take the form of anti-prostitution and anti-migration interventions (Bernstein, 2008(Bernstein, , 2010Truong, 2003;Peano, 2012;Crowhurst, Outshoorn, & Skilbrei 2012). Anti-trafficking laws and policies have gained prominence and legitimacy, often by broadcasting cases of extreme violence and exploitation involving women and children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our study builds on this growing body of knowledge around recent changes in prostitution policies in Europe, including a number of studies from Italy that critique counter-trafficking measures in Italy, such as the criminalization of migration and prostitution (Peano, 2012(Peano, , 2013Crowhurst, Outshoorn, & Skilbrei 2012), the rehabilitation component of the social protection program, both for its inefficacy and for reproducing problematic notions of victimhood and redemption (Testaí, 2013), and the "denuncia", or the process of pressing charges as part of the recognition of a sex worker as a "victim of trafficking" (Giordano, 2008). Our paper seeks to contribute a critical analysis of the social policy response to sex trafficking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration, Sex Work and Exploitative Labor Conditions: Experiences of Nigerian Women in the Sex Industry in Turin, Italy, and Counter-Trafficking Measures

Baye¹,

Heumann

2014

Gender, Technology and Development

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This article undertakes a critical analysis of counter-trafficking measures in Italy, particularly the Social Protection Program introduced under the 1998 Migration Law for victims experiencing violence and "extreme exploitation", in relation to the experiences of Nigerian sex workers in the city of Turin. The experiences of Nigerian sex workers in Turin are diverse and complex, as most of the women are undocumented, making them highly vulnerable to exploitative debt and labor contracts, as well as abuse and violence from employers, clients and government authorities. This research found that while the protection program has been fortunate for some beneficiaries, it fails to address the vulnerabilities faced by migrant sex workers. One of the shortcomings of the program Eneze Modupe-Oluwa Baye, MA in Development Studies from the International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague.is that it protects victims only if they suffer severe forms of violence, provide information that helps in the arrest of traffickers, and tell a "convincing story" that underscores their role as "innocent victims." It ignores the complexity of the experiences of undocumented migrants who engage in commercial sex work and the multiple challenges they face. It overemphasizes a particular and narrowly defined form of victimization while rendering other forms of victimization invisible. Counter-trafficking measures may offer a modicum of protection for a specific and small group of undocumented migrants in the sex industry. However, when combined with increasing restrictions on migration and sex work, the counter-trafficking measures actually increase the vulnerability of the majority of migrant sex workers, and strengthen the networks of traffickers.

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“…Yet despite these criticisms, policymakers and members of the public have found the male demand narrative cognitively plausible and morally compelling, and it is reflected in laws and policies internationally. The first and most notable policy example that reflected this narrative emerged in 1998, in Sweden, when legislators criminalized purchasers of sexual services (mostly men) but not sellers (mostly women) (Crowhurst et al 2012;Bucken-Knapp et al 2014). Since then, a growing number of jurisdictions have taken steps to eradicate prostitution and sex trafficking, and many of these laws and policies target the demand for sexual services.…”

Section: Prostitution Policy Narratives and Picsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sending a Dear John Letter: Public Information Campaigns and the Movement to “End Demand” for Prostitution in Atlanta, GA

Majic

2017

Social Sciences

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This paper examines "Dear John", a public information campaign that ran from [2006][2007][2008] in Atlanta, GA, to ask what narrative it conveys about commercial sex and those who engage in it, in order to understand the gendered (and other) discursive constructions it produces, reflects, and complicates about these activities and subjects. Drawing from both policy and sex work/trafficking scholarship, this paper argues that Dear John used symbolic images and direct and consequential text to convey a "male demand" narrative, which holds that men's demand for sexual services harms girls and young women and will not be tolerated. Yet, in so doing, Dear John also reinforced particularly gendered characterizations of individuals who trade sex, while de-emphasizing other factors that increase young peoples' vulnerabilities to and within sex work. The paper concludes by discussing Dear John's outcomes and significance for scholars concerned with sex work, policy, and social change.

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Introduction: Prostitution Policies in Europe

Cited by 30 publications

References 26 publications

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

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

Migration, Sex Work and Exploitative Labor Conditions: Experiences of Nigerian Women in the Sex Industry in Turin, Italy, and Counter-Trafficking Measures

Sending a Dear John Letter: Public Information Campaigns and the Movement to “End Demand” for Prostitution in Atlanta, GA

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