Knowra Criminalization of sex work Criminalization of sex work Criminalization of sex work uses criminal law to prohibit or penalize selling or buying sexual services, or organizing their exchange. Laws vary in which parties and activities they punish.
Prohibitionism : A legal approach that criminalizes the sale and purchase of sexual services, often alongside related activities. This model criminalizes the transaction itself rather than targeting only buyers or third parties.
Violence against sex workers : Physical, sexual, and other violence directed at people who sell sexual services. Fear of arrest or exposure can make reporting violence and seeking protection more difficult.
Legalization of sex work : A system that permits sex work within a defined framework of licensing or regulation. Unlike criminalization, legalization permits specified activity while imposing regulatory conditions.
Contagious Diseases Acts : Nineteenth-century British laws that subjected women suspected of prostitution near military sites to medical examination and detention. These laws show how regulation of prostitution became tied to policing and public health.
Nordic model : A legal approach that criminalizes purchasing sexual services while generally decriminalizing their sale. It shifts criminal liability toward buyers while retaining penalties for some related activities.
Public health and sex work : The study and practice of improving health among people involved in sex work and affected communities. Criminalization can influence access to health services, prevention tools, and outreach.
Abolitionism : A political approach seeking to end prostitution, often through reducing demand and supporting exit from the industry. Abolitionist policies commonly support buyer penalties as a route to ending prostitution.
White slavery : A historical label for campaigns against the coercive recruitment and trafficking of women, especially for prostitution. Anti-trafficking campaigns helped shape international efforts to suppress prostitution.
Third-party criminalization : Laws that penalize people who facilitate, manage, or profit from another person's sex work. These offenses can reach landlords, drivers, managers, and people working collectively.
Sex-worker rights movement : A movement advocating the rights, safety, and labor protections of people involved in sex work. Organizing against criminal penalties has been a central campaign of the movement.
Show all 20