Document Abstract
Published:
2011
Sex Work and Women's Movements
What relationships exist between women’s movements and sex workers’ movements? How have historical developments and discourses shaped these relationships, and what are the theoretical and strategic tensions that exist at the present time? There’s growing recognition that women’s and sex workers’ movements must recognise their commonalities in terms of concerns and constituencies. But, this paper argues, there are still strong political differences between the two movements. The author sets out to address these issues, considering the development of sex workers’ movements over the last two decades alongside the historical context of feminist discourses on violence against women, and particularly, human trafficking.
The paper is part of CREA’s programme “Count Me In! Addressing violence against marginalised women in south Asia”. At the heart of the paper is an interrogation of the dichotomous categorisations of ‘forced’ and ‘chosen’ sex, and sex workers as either victims needing rescue, or possessing agency and choice. The author looks at the history of these categorisations in order to help contextualise current policy initiatives around sex work and human trafficking, making fascinating connections between the discourses surrounding early 19th century western feminism, anti-colonialism in the global south, and women’s movements of the 1960s and 70s in different global regions.
The Indian women’s movement is used as a case study, and the differing engagement of the movement with sex work issues is considered in three time periods: the late nineteenth century, the late 1970s and the late 1990s. The movement is now in a fourth, ongoing period, in which a range of new issues, including those related to sexuality, are increasingly recognised as relevant, and these links are highlighting the need for new alliance building between movements.
The paper also considers how discourses around migration and HIV/AIDS converge with those around sex work and gender. It finishes with a section on the growth of a sex workers’ movement, highlighting some interesting differences with the women’s movement around the way the movements view and approach the state, as either a regulator and protector, or a power to question.
The paper is part of CREA’s programme “Count Me In! Addressing violence against marginalised women in south Asia”. At the heart of the paper is an interrogation of the dichotomous categorisations of ‘forced’ and ‘chosen’ sex, and sex workers as either victims needing rescue, or possessing agency and choice. The author looks at the history of these categorisations in order to help contextualise current policy initiatives around sex work and human trafficking, making fascinating connections between the discourses surrounding early 19th century western feminism, anti-colonialism in the global south, and women’s movements of the 1960s and 70s in different global regions.
The Indian women’s movement is used as a case study, and the differing engagement of the movement with sex work issues is considered in three time periods: the late nineteenth century, the late 1970s and the late 1990s. The movement is now in a fourth, ongoing period, in which a range of new issues, including those related to sexuality, are increasingly recognised as relevant, and these links are highlighting the need for new alliance building between movements.
The paper also considers how discourses around migration and HIV/AIDS converge with those around sex work and gender. It finishes with a section on the growth of a sex workers’ movement, highlighting some interesting differences with the women’s movement around the way the movements view and approach the state, as either a regulator and protector, or a power to question.
