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What's Law Got To Do With It?: How and Why Law Matters in the Regulation of Sex Work

NCJ Number
230309
Journal
Journal of Law and Society Volume: 37 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2010 Pages: 12-39
Author(s)
Jane Scoular
Date Published
March 2010
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This article argues against an uncritical dismissal of law's role in regulating and structuring the conditions of contemporary sex work.
Abstract
Drawing on recent empirical work that considers the relationship between different legal approaches to the 'problem' of prostitution, this article argues that the frequently drawn distinction between apparently diametrically opposed positions, such as prohibitionism and legalization, is certainly less significant than is often assumed and may, in fact, be deceptive. This lack of distinction raises serious questions as to law's role in regulating sex work. In response to claims that law is merely symbolic in its influence, this article argues that these similarities arise precisely because law does matter (although in a different way from that assumed by a sovereign-centered understanding of the legal complex), and offer a complex and critical account of the role of modern law in regulating sex work. This approach not only more accurately elucidates the ways in which law supports dominant structures, in this case neo-liberalism, but offers some optimism for its (although limited) potential to transform. (Published Abstract)

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