Sex Work and Human Dignity

Sex Work and Human Dignity PDF Author: Stewart Cunningham
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000218066
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
The notion of human dignity is frequently, yet enigmatically, invoked in legal and political debates on sex work, where many people use it without much elaboration on exactly what they mean by it. Sex Work and Human Dignity: Law, Politics and Discourse sheds light on this enigma, by exploring how dignity-based discourses are used by those who write and talk about prostitution and also what role these discourses may play in shaping wider cultural understandings of sex work and sex workers. The book draws on political discourse theory and is international in its scope, with analysis of legal cases, textual sources, and empirical data gathered through interviews with activists from several different countries in the Global North and South. The book traces how the concept of dignity is used in a range of legal and political discourses on sex work and ultimately asks to what extent dignity-based discourses help to advance, or hinder, sex workers’ social inclusion. This book will appeal to students and researchers interested in sex work and feminism, as well as those who study human dignity. Its interdisciplinary nature means it will appeal to those working in a range of disciplines, including law, sociology, philosophy, and political theory.

Sex Work and Human Dignity

Sex Work and Human Dignity PDF Author: Stewart Cunningham
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000218066
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Get Book

Book Description
The notion of human dignity is frequently, yet enigmatically, invoked in legal and political debates on sex work, where many people use it without much elaboration on exactly what they mean by it. Sex Work and Human Dignity: Law, Politics and Discourse sheds light on this enigma, by exploring how dignity-based discourses are used by those who write and talk about prostitution and also what role these discourses may play in shaping wider cultural understandings of sex work and sex workers. The book draws on political discourse theory and is international in its scope, with analysis of legal cases, textual sources, and empirical data gathered through interviews with activists from several different countries in the Global North and South. The book traces how the concept of dignity is used in a range of legal and political discourses on sex work and ultimately asks to what extent dignity-based discourses help to advance, or hinder, sex workers’ social inclusion. This book will appeal to students and researchers interested in sex work and feminism, as well as those who study human dignity. Its interdisciplinary nature means it will appeal to those working in a range of disciplines, including law, sociology, philosophy, and political theory.

The Cambridge Handbook of Human Dignity

The Cambridge Handbook of Human Dignity PDF Author: Marcus Düwell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107782406
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 999

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Book Description
This introduction to human dignity explores the history of the notion from antiquity to the nineteenth century, and the way in which dignity is conceptualised in non-Western contexts. Building on this, it addresses a range of systematic conceptualisations, considers the theoretical and legal conditions for human dignity as a useful notion and analyses a number of philosophical and conceptual approaches to dignity. Finally, the book introduces current debates, paying particular attention to the legal implementation, human rights, justice and conflicts, medicine and bioethics, and provides an explicit systematic framework for discussing human dignity. Adopting a wide range of perspectives and taking into account numerous cultures and contexts, this handbook is a valuable resource for students, scholars and professionals working in philosophy, law, history and theology.

The Concept of Human Dignity and Its Use in Legal and Political Discourses on Commercial Sex

The Concept of Human Dignity and Its Use in Legal and Political Discourses on Commercial Sex PDF Author: Stewart Cunningham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Using post structural discourse analysis (Laclau and Mouffe 1985), this thesis explores the use of the concept of dignity in jurisprudence on commercial sex, as well as in the discourses produced by abolitionist activists and sex worker rights activists who campaign for (different) legal reforms in this area. Rao's (2011) taxonomy of dignity is deployed as a framework for the analysis of both textual sources and empirical data gathered through interviews with activists. Two principal forms of 'dignity talk' are identified: 'fundamentally incompatible' discourses, which argue that prostitution is always and inherently a violation of dignity; and 'dignity as workers' discourses, which propose that dignity is promoted through the social and legal recognition of commercial sex as a form of work. Where these discourses converge is in their emphasis on the 'intrinsic dignity' of people who sell sex as a way to highlight the potential harms that they face, even while the source of these harms are framed in radically different ways. Beyond this, there is clear divergence, with those who propagate 'fundamentally incompatible' discourses relying on a version of dignity that is principally designed to uphold communitarian norms, while those who use 'dignity as workers' discourses deploy a concept of dignity focused on social recognition. An awareness of the stigma faced by sex workers informs the analysis, and the connections between stigma, dignity and dehumanisation are explored. It is argued that the notion of dignity is strongly associated, in current times, with prevailing ideas of what it means to be a human being. Framing commercial sex, therefore, as a practice that violates dignity, represents it as 'beneath humanity', which may serve to reinforce stigma by positioning sex workers as dehumanised subjects. 'Dignity as workers' discourses, meanwhile, help to challenge stigma by representing sex workers as complex and agentic subjects, but these risk reifying existing economic structures, a situation which may perpetuate inequalities within the sex industry. The thesis concludes with thoughts on ways forward for using 'dignity talk' in discourses on sex work while avoiding the potentially harmful consequences identified.

The Pimping of Prostitution

The Pimping of Prostitution PDF Author: Julie Bindel
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349959472
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
This book examines one of the most contested issues facing feminists, human rights activists and governments around the globe – the international sex trade. For decades, the liberal left has been conflicted as to whether pro-prostitution activists or abolitionists hold the correct view, and debates are ongoing as to who holds the key to the solutions facing the women and girls involved. Over the course of two years, Bindel conducted 250 interviews in almost 40 countries, cities and states, traveling around Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and East and South Africa. Visiting legal brothels all around the world, Bindel got to know pimps, pornographers, survivors of the sex trade, and the women being sold by men classed as ‘business entrepreneurs’. Whilst meeting feminist abolitionists, pro-prostitution campaigners, police and government officials, and the men who drive the demand, Bindel uncovered the lies, mythology and criminal activity that shroud this global trade, and suggests here a way forward for the women seeking to abolish the oldest oppression. Informed by the lived human experience of those interviewed, this book will be of great interest to feminists, students, criminal justice advocates, criminologists and human rights activists.

Understanding Human Dignity

Understanding Human Dignity PDF Author: Christopher McCrudden
Publisher: Proceedings of the British Aca
ISBN: 9780197265826
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The concept of 'human dignity' has become central to politics, law and theology but is little understood. This book presents a wide-ranging collection of edited essays from specialists in law, theology, politics and history and defines the main areas of current debates about the concept in these disciplines.

The New Feminist Literary Studies

The New Feminist Literary Studies PDF Author: Jennifer Cooke
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108471935
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Presents essays by feminists of theory and literature that examine contemporary feminism and the most pressing issues of today.

Dignity

Dignity PDF Author: Chris Arnade
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525534741
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "A profound book.... It will break your heart but also leave you with hope." —J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy "[A] deeply empathetic book." —The Economist With stark photo essays and unforgettable true stories, Chris Arnade cuts through "expert" pontification on inequality, addiction, and poverty to allow those who have been left behind to define themselves on their own terms. After abandoning his Wall Street career, Chris Arnade decided to document poverty and addiction in the Bronx. He began interviewing, photographing, and becoming close friends with homeless addicts, and spent hours in drug dens and McDonald's. Then he started driving across America to see how the rest of the country compared. He found the same types of stories everywhere, across lines of race, ethnicity, religion, and geography. The people he got to know, from Alabama and California to Maine and Nevada, gave Arnade a new respect for the dignity and resilience of what he calls America's Back Row--those who lack the credentials and advantages of the so-called meritocratic upper class. The strivers in the Front Row, with their advanced degrees and upward mobility, see the Back Row's values as worthless. They scorn anyone who stays in a dying town or city as foolish, and mock anyone who clings to religion or tradition as naïve. As Takeesha, a woman in the Bronx, told Arnade, she wants to be seen she sees herself: "a prostitute, a mother of six, and a child of God." This book is his attempt to help the rest of us truly see, hear, and respect millions of people who've been left behind.

Not a Choice, Not a Job

Not a Choice, Not a Job PDF Author: JANICE G. RAYMOND
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 161234626X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
A generation ago, most people did not know how ubiquitous and grave human trafficking was. Now many people agree that the $35.7 billion business is an appalling violation of human rights. But when confronted with prostitution, many people experience an odd disconnect because prostitution is shrouded in myths, among them the claims that ôprostitution is inevitable,ö and ôprostitution is a job or service like any other.ö In Not a Choice, Not a Job, Janice Raymond challenges both the myths and their perpetrators. Raymond demonstrates that prostitution is not sex but sexual exploitation, and that legalizing and decriminalizing the system of prostitutionùas opposed to the prostituted womenùpromotes sex trafficking, expands the sex industry, and invites organized crime. Specifically, Raymond exposes how legalized prostitution in the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and Nevada worsens crime and endangers women. In contrast, she reveals, when governments work to prevent the demand for prostitution by prosecuting pimps, brothels, and prostitution usersùas in Norway, Sweden, and Icelandùtrafficking does not increase, women are better protected, and fewer men buy sex. Raymond expands the boundaries of scholarship in womenÆs studies, making this book indispensable to human rights advocates around the world.

Religious Responses to Sex Work and Sex Trafficking

Religious Responses to Sex Work and Sex Trafficking PDF Author: Lauren McGrow
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000649458
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
This book examines the history, theological beliefs and current contextual practices of faith-based NGOs who work in the area of human trafficking that involves the sex industry. There are hundreds of religious organizations around the globe who minister with human trafficking survivors and sex workers, but what is really happening on the ground and how do theological beliefs support a faith-based response? Many of these groups represent their work as a cosmic battle against evil forces, yet important structural critiques are ignored in the urgency to rescue women and children. Using perspectives from both NGO staff and sex workers, an interdisciplinary panel of contributors examine specific organizations, highlight marginalized voices, and analyze undergirding methodologies. In doing so, the authors provide clear critiques and establish best practice guidelines for faith-based NGOs and future religious leaders, affirming an intersection of justice based upon critical reflection and careful action. This book addresses with nuance an important topic that is often over-simplified. It will, therefore, be of great interest to scholars studying the interaction of religion to sex work and human trafficking, as well as academics of religious studies and theology more generally.

I Heart Sex Workers

I Heart Sex Workers PDF Author: Lia Claire Scholl
Publisher: Chalice Press
ISBN: 0827216629
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Paying for sex - engaging in "the oldest profession" - is everywhere, even in your church. The factors leading individuals into sex work are as varied as hair colors, yet sex workers are viewed as powerless individuals who must be rescued. I Heart Sex Workers offers another perspective, one where the characters defy stereotypes and solutions are hard to find. Author Lia Scholl firmly believes the Christian response to sex work should be one of building agency for women, through education, through fighting injustice, by listening to the voices of sex workers. I Heart Sex Workers examines the forces leading individuals into prostitution, whether through coercion, choice, or circumstance. And it provides a Christian response, answering the question, "Are you my neighbor?" How do we respond to woman trading sex for a place to live tonight when she asks, "Where will I sleep?" This book discusses these issues and many more.