Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Historically, psychological theory and mental health researchers have viewed sex work as inherently harmful to sex workers and capable of producing negative mental and physical health effects (Sprankle et al., 2018). Moreover, research focused on clinicians’ expectations for sex workers in therapy has not specifically examined clinicians’ attitudes toward sex workers or sex work as separate concepts (Benoit et al., 2015; Koken, 2011; Ma et al., 2017). In addition, mental health professionals may not view sex work as legitimate work because of the virtual lack of evidence-based theoretical frameworks for guiding therapy for sex workers, and, therefore, may use prostitution stigma as a substitute for theory (Krumrei-Mancuso, 2017; Williamson & Cluse-Tolar, 2002). The present study investigated the extent to which mental health professionals’ expectations of sex work and sex workers were related to prostitution stigma and their perceptions of sex workers’ overall mental health and evaluations of sex work as decent work. In particular, the study investigated the extent to which mental health professionals stigmatized the work of sex workers. Mental health professionals (N = 201) read a clinical vignette and completed an online survey containing a demographic information sheet, the Attitudes Toward Prostitutes and Prostitution Scale (Levin & Peled, 2011); (c) the Decent Work Scale (Duffy et al., 2017), (d) the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Zigmond & Snaith, 1986), and (e) the PTSD-8 (Hansen et al., 2010). Results from multivariate multiple regression analyses supported that when mental health professionals held higher levels of stigma towards sex work and sex workers, they may diagnose the client with higher levels of PTSD symptoms. Further, the results supported that endorsement of a feminist orientation moderated the relationship between sex work stigma and diagnosis clients’ PTSD avoidance symptoms. The discussion included methodological limitations and implications for research and practice. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

This thesis argues that the following texts by Murakami Ryū: “Topaz” (1988), Piercing (1997), Audition (1997), and Popular Hits of the Showa Era (1997), are works of transgressive fiction in which the female protagonists respond to the hurtful restrictions and expectations of their gender roles by expressing a dissatisfaction with their “bodies” within these systems, or exacting personal vengeance against the actors of their oppression. It is through such analysis of these characters that the problems faced by women in modern Japan are scrutinized and brought to attention. Even though Murakami himself has written essays that can appear contrary to the complete liberation of Japanese women, his texts are nevertheless significant is drawing attention and sympathy to their problems.

Prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål är en omfattande och strukturell samhällsproblematik med rötter i patriarkatet och en maktobalans mellan könen. Det existerar uttalade nationella mål i syfte att motverka denna problematik i Sverige, däribland förstärkt regional- och kommunal samverkan. Denna studie tar utgångspunkt i ny institutionell teori för att analysera sådan samverkan. Syftet med studien är att undersöka arbetet och olika aktörers samverkan med att motverka sexhandel i Umeå kommun. Detta har gjorts utifrån en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi baserad på intervjuer. Resultatet visar att sexhandeln i Umeå kännetecknas av ett stort mörkertal och en ständig efterfrågan. Andelen lokala personer som säljer sexuella tjänsteri Umeå har ökat avsevärt under pandemin, parallellt med att andelen utländska personer harminskat. Vidare visar resultatet att kommunens stödjande insatser för denna grupp lokala personerär i behov av utveckling. Resursbrist upplevs som den största svårigheten med arbetet mot prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål i Umeå kommun. Samverkan bedöms vara den mest framgångsrika arbetsmetoden i arbetet mot sexhandel. Resultatet visar att denna lokala samverkan är välfungerande men starkt personbunden och kopplat till enskilda yrkespersoner.

Diploma thesis "Paid sex in Czech republic - how to solve it by legislation?" deals with prostitution and the way it is considered by law. In this thesis I first focus on defining the subject by describing different types of prostitution and associated legislative attitudes both in Czech republic and abroad, which makes me understand the complexity of this issue and vast area that is influenced by it. Regarding this I also analyze the stakeholders platform realizing that various groups connected to this subject consider the key problem about prostitution being in different areas and they also demand diverse solutions. My other conclusion is that regarding legislation associated to prostitution we can find a crucial lack of proper cooperation with non governmental organizations that have the closest relationship with sex-workers. This could cause the legislation being disconnected from the reality and not being able to implement its key objectives. In the second part of analysis I focus on analyzing the variety of legislation attitudes towards prostitution - abolition, decriminalization and legalization and evaluate these alternatives by set of criteria regarding technical feasibility, economic possibility, political viability and administrative operability. As a result I suggest the forth...

Magister Legum - LLM / Human history is traversed by migration. This manifold global phenomenon has shaped the world to its current state, moving people from one place to another in reaction to the changing world. The autonomous decision to permanently move locations represents only a segment of what is considered to be migration. Routes can be dangerous, reasons can be without any alternative, displacements forced, and journeys deadly. Arguably the most fatal of all long-distance global migration flows, the transatlantic slave trade has left an enduring legacy of economic patterns and persistent pain. Whilst the trade in human beings originated centuries before, with Europe’s long history of slavery, this event represents an atrocious milestone in history. In a nutshell, European colonialists traded slaves for goods from African kings, who had captured them as war prisoners.

This bachelor’s thesis aims to identify encouraging and discouraging factors affecting individuals who wish to leave the sex industry. What treatment efforts are available for these individuals who are in the process of leaving and what after-process treatments are accessible to help integrate the individuals back to society? Since there is not enough scientific research on the specific clientele, we chose to raise this issue for a higher awareness among our fellow students. Seeing the results, we realised the importance of people working in our future profession being enlightened about this subject in order to aid in guiding individuals that are being exploited and exposed within the sex industry. The study is qualitatively conducted with semi-structured interviews that have provided the study with a deeper understanding of the topic. The thesis is based on two different theories, the exit process theory (Ebaugh, 1988) and Foucault’s view of relationships driven by force and empowerment (2002). The study shows that there are few treatment efforts available for those who want to leave or already have left the sex industry and that the discouraging factors are plenty more than the encouraging factors. / Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats var att identifiera främjande faktorer samt hindrande faktorer som påverkar individer att lämna sexindustrin. Vilka behandlingsinsatser finns att tillgå för de individer som befinner sig i processen av att lämna sexindustrin och vilka insatser finns tillgängliga efter utträdet? Hur kan professionella socialarbetare hjälpa dessa individer att återintegreras i samhället? Eftersom det finns relativt lite forskning kring den specifika klientgruppen valde vi att lyfta ämnet för att öka kunskapsnivån hos våra medstudenter. Genom att se resultaten insåg vi vikten av att människor som är aktiva inom vår blivande yrkesprofession bör vara upplysta inom området för att kunna vägleda och hjälpa individer som exploateras och utnyttjas inom sexindustrin. Studien är kvalitativt genomförd med semistrukturerade intervjuer vilket har bidragit till en djupgående förståelse inom ämnet. Uppsatsen är baserad på två olika teorier, Ebaughs exit-teori (1988) och Foucaults maktperspektiv (2002). Studien visar att det finns få insatser att tillgå för dem som vill lämna eller redan har lämnat sexindustrin, samt att de hindrande faktorerna för ett utträde är många fler än de främjande faktorerna.

The thesis consists of a philosophical normative analysis of legislation on prostitution. The thesis aims to add on to the existing discussion regarding prostitution through an angle that has not been discussed earlier. During the thesis, three major models of legislation are analyzed through the theoretical framework of Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach. The three major models of legislation are criminalization, the Nordic model, and legalization. The result entails that criminalization is the least supported model of legislation regarding prostitution, and the Nordic model is the most supported by the theoretical framework. Although, it is stated that the answer could perhaps be found outside the three major models of legislation.

Detta examensarbete har, på uppdrag av Malmöpolisen, undersökt förekomsten av prostitution på övernattningsanläggningar i Malmö utifrån anställdas upplevelser. Arbetets urval består av medlemmar från Hotellgruppen i Malmö. Ungefär hälften av undersökningens deltagare upplever att det förekommer försäljning av sexuella tjänster på anläggningen där de arbetar. Resultaten visar att det finns flera gemensamma faktorer i de anställdas berättelser de gånger de upplevt att det förekommit prostitution. Framför allt väcks en magkänsla hos de anställda när det anländer ensamma kvinnor från Östeuropa som får frekventa manliga besök till rummet på anläggningen. Med hjälp av tidigare forskning diskuteras de förutfattade meningar som finns om prostitution utifrån bland annat stereotyper om vem som säljer sexuella tjänster. Det förs en diskussion kring vilka populationer som antas sälja sexuella tjänster och hur dessa belyses i aktuell forskning och lagstiftning samt hur detta återspeglas i deltagarnas observationer. / This present thesis has, on behalf of the police in Malmö, looked in to the occurrence of prostitution in the hospitality industry in Malmö. The sample of this study have been members of the Hotel Group in Malmö. About half of the respondents stated that they think there are situations involving prostitution at their work place. The results show multiple similarities in the stories from the employees about the times they think there might have been an instance of prostitution. There seems to be a unanimous “gut feeling” that the employees get when women from Eastern Europe are traveling alone and getting frequent visits from men to their room. With the help of previous research, the preconceptions of prostitution is discussed including the stereotype of who it is that engages in selling sex. There is a discussion about what demographic it is that sells sex and how this corresponds with the current research and legislation and also how this is reflected in the informants’ observations.

Although human trafficking was not a new concept, it gained increased attention across the United States and Canada in the first two decades of the 21st century. To better understand the Canadian anti-trafficking movement, this thesis analyzed the discourse on the topic in six local and national daily newspapers between 2008 and 2018. The goal of this thesis was to investigate the emergence of human trafficking as a social problem. Using social constructionism as a point of departure, a critical discourse analysis was conducted in NVivo of the quotes made by human trafficking experts in Canadian media. The results of this analysis suggest that an Unofficial Christian Coalition emerged in Canada, which – assisted by the media – led a moral crusade against human trafficking and pushed for the adoption of restrictive sex work legislation in Canada.

Sex tourism is one of the world's most controversial industries. While it generates tremendous revenue to the sex tourism destinations, the industry has been condemned as the two main reasons trafficking of women and children exist. Despite this, little research has examined the motivation of sex tourists. The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the sex tourism phenomenon and, more specifically, motivation of tourists. This study is exploratory and qualitative in nature. Two key propositions are addressed (1) The person's level of perceived modernity relates to the perceived level of personal needs; and (2) The person's level of perceived personal needs relates to the person's desire of travel for sexual participation. A mixture of qualitative methods was utilized. The data was collected using semi-structured personal interviews with thirty-three male sex tourists who traveled to Pattaya, Thailand in 2005. The transcribed data was constantly compared and the interviews revealed four substantial themes with eight subsequent categories. It was discovered that sex tourists were pushed by two main motivational drives: physical and psychological needs which came together as personal needs. Physical needs consisted of "physical problems" and "unmet sexual needs." The psychological problems included "hedonistic drive" and "modernity." The physical gains (tangible attributes) and psychological gains (sense of belonging, freedom and excitement, and power reestablishment) attracted sex tourists to the sex tourism destinations. Therefore, modernity, one of three constructs in this study, was also supported as an important factor which indirectly affected the motivation of the sex tourists. The last chapter presents the study contribution, implementation, and suggestions for future research. For knowledge contribution to the academic field, this present study reinforces the reliability of Iso-Ahola's (1982) escaping-seeking motivation model. It provides both academic and tourism practitioners a better idea of what sex tourist motivational factors are. The knowledge of sex tourist motivation can assist tourism practitioners at the sex tourism destinations to improve positioning their destinations in the world tourism market. For the tourism academics, this study offers an exploratory ground for future research to build on both qualitatively and quantitatively in order to form a more rigorous sex tourist motivation model. / Ph. D.