Policy Press

Regulating sex for sale

Prostitution policy reform in the UK

Edited by Jo Phoenix

Published

Sep 23, 2009

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1847421050

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Sep 23, 2009

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1847421067

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press
Regulating sex for sale

Recent years have seen a 'quiet revolution' in the way that the sex industry is regulated and governed. The consensus around what the problems of prostitution are has broken down and in its place a plethora of contradictory themes has emerged.

"Regulating sex for sale" examines the total package of reforms and proposals that have been introduced in this area since May 2000. Bringing together some of the most well-known writers, researchers and practitioners in the field, it provides a detailed analysis and critical reflection on the processes, assumptions and contradictions shaping the UK's emerging prostitution policy. What are the unintended consequences of recent policies and how do they impact on the populations that they regulate? Do they contain any possibility for radical intervention and/or new ways of governing prostitution? The book describes the impact these policies have on indoor sex workers, street-based sex workers, young people, men or those with drug misuse issues. It also looks at the assumptions made by policy makers about the various constituencies affected, including the communities in which sex work takes place.

This is the first book to address the contradictions in current policy on prostitution in England and Wales and will be of interest to academics, postgraduate students and policy makers in criminal justice, as well as in other areas, including children and young people, community safety and urban studies.

"It is timely that Jo Phoenix's edited collection, Regulating Sex For Sale: Prostitution Policy Reform in the UK, should have made its way into print just after the Policing and Crime Act 2009 became law. She presents a lively and contemporary collection of works from some of the key writers, practitioners and researchers making a significant contribution to discussions about British sex-work markets." Times Higher Education

"This excellent collection constitutes a timely and important intervention that captures the complex and contested nature of prostitution. It ought to be compulsory reading for all politicians, policy makers and academics claiming to have a say on this issue." Professor Sandra Walklate, Eleanor Rathbone Chair of Sociology, University of Liverpool

Jo Phoenix is Reader in Criminology at Durham University. She has extensive experience of writing and researching about prostitution and prostitution policy. She is author of "Making Sense of Prostitution" and "Illegal and Illicit: Sex, Regulation and Social Control" (with Sarah Oerton, University of Glamorgan) as well as numerous articles and book chapters on the sex industry and what is done about it.

Frameworks of understanding ~ Jo Phoenix; What's anti-social about sex work? Governance through the changing representation of prostitution's incivility ~ Jane Scoular, Jane Pitcher, Rosie Campbell, Phil Hubbard and Maggie O'Neill; Community safety, rights, redistribution and recognition: towards a coordinated prostitution strategy? ~ Maggie O'Neill; UK sex work policy: eyes wide shut to voluntary and indoor sex work ~ Teela Sanders; Out on the streets and out of control? Drug-using sex workers and the prostitution strategy ~ Margaret Melrose; Male sex work in the UK: forms, practice and policy implications ~ Mary Whowell and Justin Gaffney; Beyond child protection: young people, social exclusion and sexual exploitation ~ Jenny Pearce; From 'toleration' to zero tolerance: a view from the ground in Scotland ~ Ruth Morgan Thomas; Conclusion ~ Jo Phoenix.