Are sex workers victims, criminals, or just trying to make a living? Over the last five years, public policy and academic discourse have moved from criminalization of sex workers to victim-based understanding, shaped by human trafficking. While most research focuses on macro-level policies and theories, less is known about the on-the-ground perspectives of people whose lives are impacted by sex work, including attorneys, social workers, police officers, probation officers, and sex workers themselves.

Challenging Perspectives on Street-Based Sex Work brings the voices of lower-echelon sex workers and those individuals charged with policy development and enforcement into conversation with one another. Chapters highlight some of the current approaches to sex work, such as diversion courts, trafficking task forces, law enforcement assisted diversion and decriminalization. It also examines how sex workers navigate seldom-discussed social phenomenon like gentrification, pregnancy, imperialism, and being subjects of research. Through dialogue, our authors reveal the complex reality of engaging in and regulating sex work in the United States and through American aid abroad.

Contributors include: Aneesa A. Baboolal, Marie Bailey-Kloch, Mira Baylson, Nachale “Hua” Boonyapisomparn, Belinda Carter, Jennifer Cobbina, Ruby Corado, Eileen Corcoran, Kate D’Adamo, Edith Kinney, Margot Le Neveu, Martin A. Monto, Linda Muraresku, Erin O’Brien, Sharon Oselin. Catherine Paquette, Dan Steele, Chase Strangio, Signy Toquinto, and the editors.

Katie Hail-Jares is a post-doctoral researcher at Griffith Criminology Institute in South East Queensland, and national board member of the Sex Workers’ Outreach Project. Her research has appeared in PLOS-ONE, Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependency, Iowa Law Review, and other journals.  Corey C. Shdaimah is Associate Professor and Academic Coordinator of the dual degree MSW/JD program at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She is the author or co-author of several books, including Change Research: A Case Study of Collaborative Methods for Social Workers and Advocates.  Chrysanthi S. Leon is Associate Professor of Sociology & Criminal Justice, Women & Gender Studies, and Legal Studies at the University of Delaware. She is the author of Sex Fiends, Perverts, and Pedophiles: Understanding Sex Crime Policy in America.