Sex Worker Facts
Want to get an "A" on your sex work research paper? Study up!
Lies, Damned Lies, and Sex Work Statistics
Why do actual research when you can just make stuff up about the sexy? Excellent WaPo article by Maggie McNeill, The Honest Courtesan, on the damned lies spread about the sex industry.
10 Reasons to Decriminalize Sex Work
Open Foundation research paper documenting global examples of the positive effects of decriminalizing sex work.
The Economist Explains: Why Decriminalising Sex Work is a Good Idea
Yah think? Succinct summation of major research outlining benefits of decriminalization for sex workers.
A Personal Choice
Cover article of The Economist, August 9, 2014. A free-market/ libertarian argument for decriminalization.
The laws that Sex Workers Really want
TED Talk by activist Juno Mac explains four legal models that are being used around the world and shows us the model that she believes will work best to keep sex workers safe and offer greater self-determination. "If you care about gender equality or poverty or migration or public health, then sex worker rights matter to you," she says. "Make space for us in your movements."
Policing Sex Work
Statistics on incidents of police brutality against sex workers.
Meaningful Work: Transgender Experiences in the Sex Trade
Results from the 2008-9 National Transgender Discrimination Survey of 6,400+ U.S. transgender adults, along with policy recommendations. Required reading.
Gender, Violence & Health: Contexts of Vulnerabilies, Resiliences, and Care Among People in the Sex Industry
Research paper presented in 2014 on working conditions in Canada for sex workers, coworkers, and partners in the biz. Main conclusions include:
Most sex workers do not feel exploited
Most sex buyers are not oppressors
Tensions exist between workers and sellers and management, but are not more prevalent than other service industries
Sex work provides an opportunity for some sex workers
Much of the stress some sex workers encounter is not due to the job itself but stigma, isolation, and loneliness
Punitive laws make sex workers less safe