Sex work is the consensual exchange of sexual services for money or goods, including housing, food, or other basic necessities.[^1] Importantly, in the context of sex work, consent is contingent on payment. Sex work can occur in many different forms…
The end demand model–also called the Nordic or Equality model–seeks to eliminate the sex industry through eradicating the demand for paid sex work. However, this model fails to curb demand and instead creates new structural barriers to safety and protection…
Sex workers are stigmatized as socially disruptive, dirty, and shameless, and society judges them more harshly than their non-sex worker peers. This has led to their neglect by policymakers, law enforcement, healthcare providers, and members of the public.[^1] The stigmatization…
Is sex work really work? Yes, sex workers are laborers who deserve the same labor rights as other members of the workforce. The absence of these protections exposes sex workers to higher rates of violence and exploitation than other wage…
No, sex workers encounter violence from law enforcement and face difficulty in safely reporting at a higher rate than many other populations.
Criminalization of sex work is often falsely believed to improve societal health, minimize sex trafficking, and keep sex workers safe. However, criminalization worsens these outcomes by driving both sex workers and trafficking victims underground, where they experience more violence, fewer social services, and less access to adequate healthcare. Decriminalization would be far more effective at ensuring sex workers' physical safety, economic stability, and physical and mental health.
The media frequently reports the Super Bowl to be a huge event for sex trafficking. However, sex trafficking during the Super Bowl is not higher than the rate of sex trafficking in general and efforts to curtail the alleged higher numbers of trafficking actually hinder overall anti-trafficking efforts.
Are all sex workers victims of trafficking and exploitation? No, many sex workers choose their profession voluntarily and have agency in their work. Conflating sex workers with sex trafficking victims dismisses this agency and, as a result, diminishes consideration of…