No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Frontline service providers are often tasked with providing services to criminalized populations, including individuals involved in the sex trade. These providers have been working to transform services to this population, proposing what they believe to be socially just responses in helping individuals in the sex trade transition from “criminals” to a “victims.” While frontline service providers have been advocating for trauma-informed and compassionate responses to working with individuals involved in the sex trade, they regularly temper this work with collaboration with law enforcement, propagating carceral (punishment-oriented) logics in order to “protect” vulnerable clients. This qualitative study, completed in a Midwestern U.S. state, used interviews with 30 frontline service providers who work with individuals in the sex trade to understand service providers' perceptions around their work with this population, and how this shapes collaborations with law enforcement. Findings reveal that as most frontline service providers assume that individual trauma and drug use are present in the sex trade, these individual characteristics have legitimated paternalistic service responses provided in collaboration with law enforcement. However, a minority of frontline service providers denounce these collaborations as harmful to their clients, revealing that responses to law enforcement are not homogenous across service providers. I conclude by discussing what these law enforcement–social service collaborations mean for the social work profession and provide a discussion of alternative methods to work with individuals in the sex trade.

This article considers current and proposed restrictions placed on the adult industry in Chicago in order to explore the attempts made through legislation to control legal forms of sex work, specifically exotic dancing and burlesque. I focus specifically on the recent debate within the city of Chicago as to whether or not alcohol should be allowed in places where women are topless. While exotic dance is often discussed as a type of exploitation and a cause of urban blight, burlesque is uniformly discussed as positive and empowering, which affects discussion around the introduction of alcohol into each respective club. I conclude by discussing the possibility that the differentiation between exotic dance and burlesque may be a false dichotomy, and that regulations need to be talked about in conjunction with individuals who work in these industries, instead of the assumption that politicians have the laborers’ best interests in mind.