Regulating Sex Work in the EU

17 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2011

See all articles by Jane Scoular

Jane Scoular

University of Strathclyde - School of Law

Date Written: June 20, 2011

Abstract

Contemporary prostitution policy within the European Union has coalesced around the view that female prostitution is rarely voluntary, and often a consequence of sex trafficking. Responding, different nation-states have, however, adopted antithetical legal positions based on prohibition (Sweden), abolition (UK) or legalization (Netherlands). Despite the apparently sharp differences between these positions, in this article we argue that there is now a shared preoccupation with repressing spaces of street prostitution. Noting the forms of exploitation that nonetheless adhere to many spaces of off-street work, we conclude that the state and law may intervene in sex work markets with the intention of tackling gendered injustice, but are perpetuating geographies of exception and abandonment.

Keywords: sex work, prostitution policy, EU, exclusion, trafficking

Suggested Citation

Scoular, Jane, Regulating Sex Work in the EU (June 20, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1868142 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1868142

Jane Scoular (Contact Author)

University of Strathclyde - School of Law ( email )

Lord Hope Building
John Anderson Campus 141 St. James' Rd
Glasgow G4 0LT, Scotland G4 0LT
United Kingdom

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