Making Sense of Prostitution

Phoenix, Jo

doi:10.1057/9780333985472

Cited by 103 publications

(107 citation statements)

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“…This demands ways of making sense of child prostitution that go beyond a generalized overview of what constitutes child prostitution, to access the understandings of those with experiences of involvement and the structural conditions in which they engage in prostitution. Limited studies adopting this approach (Montgomery 2001(Montgomery , 2007Phoenix 2001;O'Connell Davidson 2005) have focused largely on the contexts and structures in which children involved in prostitution make decisions and/or their active agency. But there has been little development of ways in which this knowledge can be extended to explain why particular structures lead children and young people to make particular decisions, or to the impact particular structures and particular decisions can have on children.…”

Section: Structure and Agencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Protection and Social Inequality: Understanding Child Prostitution in Malawi

Nkhoma¹,

Charnley²

2018

Preprint

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This article draws on empirical research seeking to develop more nuanced understandings of child prostitution, previously theorised on the basis of children's rights, feminist, and structure/agency debates, largely ignoring children's own understandings of their involvement in prostitution. Conducted in Malawi, one of the economically poorest countries in the world, the study goes to the heart of questions of inequality and child protection. With careful attention to ethical considerations, a participatory approach was used to enable 19 girls and young women, whose involvement in prostitution began in childhood, to convey their own experiences and understandings of involvement. Data were collected using a range of methods, chosen by participants to match their abilities and interests. Data analysis and interpretation were aided by reference to the capability approach focussing on questions of human rights and social justice for women and girls. Generating rare insights into participants' worlds, the research demonstrates how the persistence of deeply embedded cultural values in contexts of extreme poverty serves to sustain gender inequalities, constraining choices for girls and denying them opportunities to lead valued lives. The article ends by considering the theoretical and methodological implications of the study, policy and practice recommendations and opportunities for further research.

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Section: Structure and Agencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Protection and Social Inequality: Understanding Child Prostitution in Malawi

Nkhoma¹,

Charnley²

2018

Preprint

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“…As outlined in previous research and highlighted by the findings of this small pilot study, these orders tend to impose unrealistic expectations of the ability to bring about exiting. They also individualize many of the issues that make sense of prostitution (Phoenix, 1999) such as enduring poverty and impoverished social and sexual options. As one project worker noted: 'This is a plaster, this is a poor quality plaster … this is not going anywhere near the root of the problem' (PW11).…”

Section: Enforcement or Support Agencies?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Saving Fallen Women Now? Critical Perspectives on Engagement and Support Orders and their Policy of Forced Welfarism

Carline¹,

Scoular²

2014

Social Policy & Society

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The UK seems set to follow the increasingly abolitionist trend that is taking hold in Europe, in response to the issue of prostitution. While some argue that an abolitionist approach signals a serious attempt to tackle the injustices and gendered aspects of commercial sex, we are less optimistic. Drawing upon the findings of the first study to evaluate Engagement and Support Orders, we argue that any focus on women's needs is distorted by the continued zero tolerance approach to street sex work and the criminal justice setting it takes place in. New revolving doors have been created for those involved in the most visible sectors of the industry and support agencies have been made to take on an increased policing role. This narrow focus individualises the causes of poverty and prostitution, elides the wider structural factors that shape sex work and does little to address the real needs of this vulnerable group. In conclusion, we argue that future policy should engage more productively with the rich cultural study of sex work. This will enable the development of ground-up responses and allow for a more effective role for the criminal law.

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“…The problem of prostitution was initially constructed as a problem of public health and public nuisance, and as an issue of morality. Women within prostitution were constituted as unruly, immoral and diseased, their bodies were consequently subjected to control, regulation and surveillance (Phoenix 1999). …”

Section: The Study In Shortmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The question of difference emerges as a central question for prostitution research. Phoenix argues that differentiating between 'prostitutes' and 'other women' allows for an examination of the specific differences between women but at the same time foreclose the space to pose questions about their similarities (Phoenix 1999). Notions of 'difference' and 'representation' constitute important issues for feminist theory, politics and practice.…”

Section: The Study In Shortmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical perspective on difference: ‘the prostitute’ and women with prostitution experience

Hulusjö

2013

Nordic Social Work Research

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This article discusses the continuities and discontinuities between 'the prostitute' as representation(s) and prostitution as lived experience(s). Women (men, and transgendered) involved in prostitution are subjected to othering processes, processes that stigmatize, disempower and potentially silence them as Others. Representations of 'prostitutes' in academic discourse, popular discourse and in the media constructs 'the prostitute' as disparately as: 'victim of patriarchy', 'economic entrepreneur', 'undeserving victim', 'unfit mother', 'commodity', 'dirty and sexually indiscriminatory' etc. Reductionist and stigmatizing representations of 'prostitutes' have both symbolical and material consequences for women with prostitution experience. I argue that one of the main challenges for social work research on prostitution is to counter rather than to participate in othering processes. Through othering processes, women with prostitution experience are constructed as different from other women. With an and/both approach to difference, differences are considered to be fluid, shifting and discursive as well as enduring and embodied. Women with prostitution experience are not only constructed as 'different' but also consequently have 'different' experiences. Doing research that counters rather than participates in othering processes implies both deconstructing difference and making visible the effects of constructed difference.

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Making Sense of Prostitution

Cited by 103 publications

References 0 publications

Child Protection and Social Inequality: Understanding Child Prostitution in Malawi

Child Protection and Social Inequality: Understanding Child Prostitution in Malawi

Saving Fallen Women Now? Critical Perspectives on Engagement and Support Orders and their Policy of Forced Welfarism

A critical perspective on difference: ‘the prostitute’ and women with prostitution experience

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