Topical: Sex work

Sex workers and prostitutes are subject to extreme discrimination and violence. Most of those living from commercial sex have no other choice, and all of them face a social stigma. To honour the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, 17 December, we collected reads on the topic from the Eurozine archive.

The patriarchal system for regulating prostitution in France’s colonial empire was made by men for men to reserve indigenous women for their own use and control the ‘unruly’ sexuality of men from honour cultures. An interview with Christelle Taraud.
‘Sex work will disappear the day we abolish capitalism. Until then, let’s talk about labour rights.’ Amaranta Heredia Jaén addresses controversial anti-trafficking measures.
Eastern Europe is the major player in the sex markets, both by hosting sex tourism and supplying the West with precarious labour force, mainly women, who have no other choice.

Published 27 December 2019
Original in English
First published by Eurozine

© Eurozine

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Cover for: Sex in colonial empires and its legacy in Europe today

Sex in colonial empires and its legacy in Europe today

An interview with Christelle Taraud

Feminist historian Christelle Taraud talks about the patriarchal system for regulating prostitution in France’s colonial empire, a system made by men for men to reserve indigenous women for their own use and control the ‘unruly’ sexuality of men from honour cultures. These issues are covered in ‘Sexe, race, et colonies’ (2018), co-edited by Taraud, which has proved controversial in France for its unsettling imagery.

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