workgroup 2: framing sex worker rights, legalizing prost

Question 1

framing sex worker rights

Answer 1

• explains how sex workers vew antitrafficking/prost efforts, 2 biggest issues: being categorized as victims, the inaccuracy of the narrative
• combat this by arguing that criminlizstion and stigma are the prob, not the sex work itself
• want to be represented for what they ARE not what others think they are

Question 2

legalizing prost

Answer 2

-explores the varies views of sex work
-3 diff paradigms;
1) empowerment paradigm: highlights sex work as work, believes they should participate in economic transactions that have mutual gain, women having free will as in any other job
Probs: can romanticise sex work, shes transcending patriarchal norms. Seen in movies, the arts, rarely in news/media.
2) oppression paradigm: embraced by protesters, radical feminism, shows men’s oppression of workers. View sex workers as mostly women, leave out men and heteros as victims
3) Polymorphous paradigm: views sex work as complex, sees it as case by case bias.

Question 3

preventing exploitation and trafficking in the sex work sector

Answer 3

-how diff views on commercial sex lead to diff policy regimes/laws
-1) repressive policy regime [swedish model]. SW as negative social phenom, eliminate thru law/social reform
2) restrictive: policy used to regulate, still neg but pragmatic view
3) interactive: try to combat stigma, integrate into the social framework
General reccommendations for country’s policymakers
-ensure community empowerment (SW and rest of comm)
-reduce stigma
-employ consenus oriented decision making process
-explore lots of diff possible policies
-conduct inventory of previously tried regulations
empower workers thru legal rights and access

Question 4

what we must not know in order to keep business of sex ex. running smoothly

Answer 4

• empirical data on harms of prost, porn, and trafficking
• “cultural amnesia”, because of econonmic motive
• prost meets def of torture