Abstract
Drawing on the largest study of the United Kingdom online market in sexual labour to date, this article examines the legal and regulatory consequences as aspects of sex work increasingly take place within an online environment. Our research shows that while governmental policy has not kept abreast of these changes, the application of current laws (which have, since the 1950s, focused on public nuisance and, more recently, trafficking and modern slavery) are pernicious to sex workers and unsuited to recognizing and responding to the abuses and exploitation in online markets in sexual labour. These injustices are likely to be exacerbated if policies and policing do not better align with the realities of these markets in the twenty‐first century. This demands a more nuanced regulatory approach which recognizes that people may engage in sex work of their own volition, but which also addresses conditions of labour and criminal exploitation.
Highlights
Advances in technology have had a considerable impact on the sex industry.[1]
Journal of Law and Society published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cardiff University (CU)
Our research shows that policing practice is toenact the law', but while the national guidance appears to have some recognition of changes to markets in sexual labour and prioritizes safeguarding, police forces on the ground are often not aware of this guidance and many tend to set their view of sex work and consequent actions in the framework of either modern slavery, or public nuisance
Summary
Advances in technology have had a considerable impact on the sex industry.[1]. Our work and that of others evidence an increased movement of sex workers into internet-enabled private spaces as sexual services are increasingly sold via the web.[2]. Competing perspectives on sexual labour have been discussed in depth elsewhere.[35] While we do not intend to repeat these discussions here, it is pertinent to note that polarized conceptions of prostitution, as consonant with exploitation of women, versus sexual labour viewed as a form of work, have tended to dominate policy debates in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and other western states The former perspective sees the application of the criminal law as a means of addressing prostitution as gendered exploitation, whereas the latter suggests that liberalization of the laws relating to prostitution is necessary to support the human rights of sex workers. We show that while digital technologies have positive implications for sex workers, such as the potential to market services independently, internet-enabled sex work presents opportunities for the exploitation of individuals selling sexual services This may be better understood via the sexual labour framework advocated by writers such as Strauss et al.[45] Yet, we show both the liberal and radical approaches toanti-trafficking' continue to influence police decisions. We assess how this affects sex workers' experience of law, its enforcement, their safety concerns, and their confidence in reporting crimes
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