sex work

Sex workers deserve the basic respect and protection from violence that each nation owes its citizens. But in many settings, police abuse of sex workers receives scant public attention despite its entrenched global reality.

It would seem that no one enjoys being called a “hooker,” whether you are a sex worker or not.

Some people perceive all women’s participation in the sex industry as a product of coercion. For me, this couldn’t have felt less true. Though circumstances had been a factor, the first time I stripped was no act of desperation. I made a choice.

Lila Rose and Live Action Films have released a second video in their promised expose of Planned Parenthood.  And the only thing shocking about this video is that Rose and her cohorts think there is something shocking about it.

Follow Jodi Jacobson on Twitter, @jljacobson

Trafficking in persons is often referred to as "modern-day slavery." Historical grounding confirms that the reference to slavery, while not exactly on point, is relevant.

It seems that stories of young girls victimized by prostitution, are selected to overcome an enormous barrier - that we are not disposed to believe or care for people who engage in sex work, so editing to find the "perfect victim" is necessary.

The ten most read stories on RH Reality Check this year include Christine O'Donnell's crusade against masturbation, a look at how universities deal with sex in dorms, and early reporting of the Utah legislation that sought to criminalize miscarriage.

Over the last decade sex work projects, the police and other agencies in Liverpool (United Kingdom) have been addressing violence against sex workers, encouraging reporting and taking crimes committed against sex workers seriously.

Our staunch moral judgment of individuals who by choice or circumstance participate in the sex industry results in the shattering silence around incidents of rapes, assaults, and murders of sex workers.

The state consistently fails to punish police who commit violence against sex workers.