Prostitution, Politics and Policy. By Roger Matthews (Oxon: Routledge-Cavendish, 2008, 157pp. 24.99) * Paying for Pleasure: Men who Buy Sex. By Teela Sanders (Cullompton: Willan Publishing, 2008, 242pp. 19.99)

Abstract

Biased and ill-informed discourses about prostitution in the media, amongst politicians and policy makers and, at times, amongst some academics, have all contributed to a proliferation of various kinds of theorizing, with the result that stereotypes and misconceptions about those engaged in the sex industry are perpetuated and reinforced. Relevant to how sex work has been problematized in contemporary Britain are the notions of family values and the protection of the nuclear family expressed in one way or another in the punitive legal framework at the heart of New Labour's policy and practice. The Government's current approach to prostitution explicitly assumes that there is something morally wrong with the exchange of sex for money and that the purchase and sale of commercial sex is harmful to personal morality and public order. The reasons why prostitution has moved up the social and political agenda in recent years are discussed by Matthews in Prostitution, Politics and Policy. The book provides an overview of what Matthews defines as some of the dominant theories and viewpoints on prostitution that gave rise to four major policy options—regulationism, legalization, decriminalization and prohibition. His discussion begins with an explanation of the reasons why prostitution until recently has been an invisible issue. Whereas in the 1960s and 1970s, prostitution was regarded as a problem of public order, during the 1980s, it was transformed into a medical problem linked to the concerns about the spread of the HIV virus, as sex workers were considered one of the main vectors of infection. In the early 1990s, when it became increasingly evident that female prostitutes had a relatively low level of HIV infection, the moral panic surrounding HIV/AIDS gradually subsided. The medical model that gave birth to an array of health services for sex workers was therefore replaced by the self-help model, which saw the growth of prostitutes’ support and campaigning groups. This historical background sets the scene for the author's description in the first chapter, which concentrates on the uneven responses to the regulation of prostitution in various countries in relation to the outdoor and indoor markets. Though his canvass of examples is extensive, ranging from a tolerant approach to the sex industry in The Netherlands to the hardening of attitudes and responses to sex work reflected in more punitive policies in the United Kingdom, this chapter lacks critical analysis. Chapter Two, however, has taken the analysis further in relation to the United Kingdom. This chapter offers a concise yet fascinating and well informed discussion of the most recurrent misconceptions and myths that surround prostitution. For example, the key arguments discussed and deconstructed here are in relation to commonsense descriptions of prostitution as the oldest profession and the notion that the existence of prostitution is a response to male sexual needs. Matthews summarizes for his readership how these two assertions become mutually reinforcing; both tend to build a picture of prostitution as something almost unavoidable in terms of the most fitting way of meeting the ‘demand’. Chapter Two further provides a reasonably exhaustive list and discussion of other dichotomies that characterize society's portrayal of prostitution, such as that, as women make the choice to enter the sex industry, they should be aware of what this choice entails, particularly when they are victims of violence.