The purpose of this thesis was to examine the complex relationship that exists between lone motherhood and sex work. Utilizing the idea of particularlism, I argue that it is important to understand the environmental context of mothers and the variety and uniqueness of women’s experiences in order for the state to respond with directed policies for lone parents. In order to discover whether or not sex workers who are single mothers have unique needs and experiences, I conducted 15 semi structured interviews with independent escort workers from Toronto and Edmonton. The interviewees reported leading a double life characterized by shame, fear, stigmatization and discrimination. It was discovered that the double life which many women live is not only stressful, but is also a serious impediment to their ability to effectively parent. I argue that it is the current legal status of sex work which poses barriers to these women in achieving financial stability, equal rights, social comfort, access to quality services, and child support; all of which are points that are integral to effective parenting. As such, I assert that decriminalization and the recognition of sex work as work, grants these women access to the support that other working mothers may have, but also directs attention to the societal stigma and discrimination that moralizes and punishes sex workers. Ultimately, I contend that when sex workers are granted equal rights and access to supportive institutions they are capable of effective parenting. Beyond decriminalization, I make a series of recommendations based on the needs expressed throughout the interviews. The implementation of these recommendations could be hastened by decriminalization and a strong sex workers union. They include: flexible child care, altered service delivery, a non judgmental legal system and sensitivity training. / Thesis (Master, Political Studies) -- Queen's University, 2008-01-28 14:37:18.798

This is an investigation of the sex workers’ rights movement in San Francisco. My project is aimed at demystifying the movement and taking its aims seriously in order to see how it has succeeded and failed. This investigation analyses the mainstream rhetoric of the sex workers’ rights movement in San Francisco, and also uncovers sex work narratives that push against societal ideas of legitimate work, empowerment, agency and resistance. This investigation is divided into two chapters. My first chapter titled “COYOTE to the St. James Infirmary: A Historical Analysis of the sex workers’ Rights Movement in San Francisco” is inspired by Kathi Weeks’ analysis of the movement for domestic wages in the 1970’s and argues that the early movement succeeded in challenging normative ideas of work and sexuality, but ultimately failed because of the exclusion of sex workers of color and/or gender nonconforming sex workers from the movement. Chapter II, titled “The Silenced Scripts of Sex Workers: Histories Written from Below” uses Paul Apostolidis’ Grascian framework to explain why an investigation of sex workers’ zines, podcasts, blogs and magazines are essential in understanding theoretical themes that underlined the rhetoric of the sex workers’ rights movement in San Francisco. I argue that these narratives must be included in mainstream discourses surrounding sex work in order for sex workers to gain rights and remain safe on the streets of San Francisco.

Risk of HIV and illness are the dominant context in which sex work is discussed in India and there is a lacuna of social scientific analysis of sex workers’ lives. HIV interventions negotiated between global actors such as UNAIDS, World Bank, USAID etc, the Indian government, state level AIDS prevention bodies, and the local NGOs, have constructed ‘sex work’ as an epidemiological category rather than treating it as a social concept. Based on fieldwork in HIV prevention NGOs, and participant observation and interviews with sex workers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in August 2004-August 2005 to understand the realities of the sex workers lives, this thesis proposes research on sex workers, with specific reference to gender and sexuality. Theoretically the research seeks to answer the question: how to understand agency of vulnerable populations and how do sex workers use agency in oppressive environments? This thesis also engages with the feminist debate of selling sex as profession or as oppression of women’s rights. I argue that sex workers actively negotiate sex work and their lives with the means at their disposal. This is done not only in the context of negotiating the risks of sex work but also in the broader context of other needs, for example money, love and sexual desire. While sexuality is a taboo in India, the analysis contributes to the understanding of discourses of women’s sexuality and the sexual behaviour of sex workers in Chennai. While the women’s experiences are closely knit into the global nexus of the HIV industry, sex work comes across as a complicated knot of poverty, desire, women’s oppression, love, cooption, and motherhood.

Many Aboriginal women in Canada go missing each year and many of them are engaged in the sex trade industry. Thus far, little has been done to prevent this trend. This study is aimed at filling this gap by exploring and highlighting several challenges confronted by Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) Aboriginal women who are engaged in sex work. Existing literature indicate an overrepresentation of Aboriginal women involved in sex work, their experiences of abuse while working on the street, and their lack of adequate protection from law enforcement agents and members of the Canadian Criminal Justice System (CCJS). The overall theoretical framework of this thesis is intersectionality theory with focus on the compound oppression faced by Aboriginal prostitutes due to the intersection of gender, race, and socio-economic class. This study examines the reasons for Aboriginal women’s overrepresentation in street prostitution, their experiences while working on the streets, and how they are treated by the CCJS. The three main questions addressed in the study are: a) Why are Aboriginal women overrepresented in the sex trade industry in Saskatchewan?; b) Do Aboriginal women involved in prostitution confront violence from clients and other members of the society? If so, why?; and c) Do Aboriginal women sex workers receive protection and justice from law enforcement agents and members of the CCJS? If so how, and if not, why? First, these questions are explored through semi-structured, open-ended interviews with two Aboriginal women who have been involved in street prostitution in Saskatchewan. Second, content analysis of three court transcripts of cases where men were charged with violence towards Aboriginal women working in the sex trade in Saskatchewan is conducted. The results of this study indicate that Aboriginal women are highly overrepresented in the Saskatchewan sex trade for reasons that include: a) childhood sexual abuse and b) lack of options due to the multiple oppression of the intersection of gender, race, and class. And that Aboriginal sex workers encounter severe violence and abuse on the street including rape and death with limited protection and justice from the CCJS due to multiple forms of oppression as racialized women living in poverty. The study’s results provide an understanding of how the intersection of race, class and gender impact the experiences of Aboriginal women in the sex trade industry. The study’s findings also allow for the recommendation of strategies for dealing with these issues and preventing these trends from continuing in the future.

The continued criminalisation of adult commercial sex work in South Africa seems to have contributed to the unjust violation of sex workers’ constitutional rights such as the rights to equality, human dignity, privacy and the right to bodily integrity. It is evident that laws enforcing sexual morality often increase the stigmatisation and marginalisation of minority groups. In Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children and Others v Minister of Justice and Others, both High Court and Constitutional Court held that the criminalisation of consensual sexual intercourse and consensual sexual violation between two minors of ages twelve to fifteen is inconsistent with the Constitution. In Teddy Bear both courts relied on the argument that the criminalisation constituted a violation of the children’s rights to dignity, privacy and self-autonomy. The courts’ reasoning is logical. However, it takes one back to the issue of adult commercial sex which still remains criminalised in South Africa. If both courts in Teddy Bear could order for the decriminalisation of consensual sex between minors of certain age groups, then the continued criminalisation of adult commercial sex work should also be called into question. This dissertation argues that the regulation of sexual morality often unjustly infringes the constitutional rights of those targeted. It has also been identified that criminal and human- rights law are frequently applied in an unfair and biased manner by South African courts. Examples are cited in the dissertation of court cases where courts applied a flexible approach towards the development of common law, whilst in other cases the courts seemed to hide behind the separation of powers doctrine instead of tackling the issues of human- rights violations. The first chapter of the dissertation contains the problem statement, research questions, motivation, literature review and a brief outline of the chapters. The second chapter explores the question of the morality which is endorsed by the South African Constitution. The third chapter identifies the biased and unfair application of criminal and human- rights law by South African courts. The fourth chapter contains an argument on the courts’ duty to interpret legislation and to develop common law in a manner that promotes the spirit, objects and purport of the Bill of Rights. Chapter five contains a brief international perspective on adult commercial sex work, by looking at the New Zealand position and other relevant international law instruments. Chapter six contains the conclusion of the dissertation. It is proposed that when dealing with the issue of adult commercial sex work, the legislature should be careful not to enact laws which disregard the sex workers’ human- rights. Here one can cite New Zealand as a country that has taken a human- rights approach when tackling the issue of adult commercial sex work. A human -rights approach aims to empower people in the sex work industry to make informed choices regarding their health and other choices relating to their overall safety. This approach represents a shift from a moralistic approach to sex work to an approach that recognises the rights of sex workers. The case of S v Jordan provided a platform that the judiciary should have used to eliminate human -rights violations brought by the criminalisation of adult commercial sex work. Failure of the Constitutional Court in Jordan to approach the matter from a human-rights perspective has come as a huge disappointment to the attempts to reform one of the oppressive and moralistic laws which continue to exist even during the post Constitutional era. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Public Law / unrestricted

Communication enables us to share our ideas, feelings, beliefs and opinions with others. Therefore it constitutes the very root of our civilization. However, in order for communication to be meaningful, it must initially be understood. To be understood, the message must be communicated in a language we know, with reasoning based on what we already understand (as knowledge). Definitions often function as such premises, and starting points, for our reasoning. Definitions can be explicit, but mostly appear as implicit argumentative perspectives, which is why this essay intends to investigate the argumentative nature of definitions. More specifically I have chosen to examine the definitions Amnesty International use in defense of their decision to advocate for the decriminalization of sex work more closely. The theoretical framework consists of rhetorical theories about argumentation. The results show how one, by analyzing definitions as argumentative perspectives, is able to alert problematic and questionable premises that went unnoticed in the overall examination of Amnesty Internationals argumentation.

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Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / There is a dearth of scholarly literature surrounding transgender female sex workers (TFSW) within South Africa. Their voices are often marginalised and not adequately heard in the literature and in a society that generally views gender as a fundamental element of the self, determining their subject positions against binaried heteronormative gender ideals. This process of the ‘othering’ of TFSW, is exacerbated by the moralistic judging of their occupation of sex work. This has left many TFSWs vulnerable to emotional abuse such as being socially stigmatised, discriminated against and socially isolated. The literature further echoes vulnerability to physical violence, such as hate crimes, rape, heightened HIV infection, homelessness, police brutality and murder. The current study aimed to explore the subjective experiences of TFSW within their families, occupations and the healthcare system within the Cape Town metropole, South Africa. The study was framed within an intersectional feminist epistemological position, highlighting intersecting identities that marginalise groups of people. Informant driven sampling was used in the case of this study where a total of eleven participants were individually interviewed using a semi-structed approach – interviews ranged from 35-90 minutes. The data collected was subsequently analysed using thematic analysis and the three themes that emerged were: transgender female (TGF), Sex work and HIV. Family rejection and abuse based on participants non-conforming gender identity was expressed by participants. Repressive home circumstances led to many opting to live on the street. Participants described being introduced to sex work through a network of other homeless TFSW, also described as ‘Sisters’ (who fulfil the role of family) as a means of survival. Sex work for TGFs is a particularly dangerous job, as sex workers run the risk of being exposed as TGFs, often resulting in severe physical harm for some. To cope with their severe realities of violence and homelessness, many reported turning to substances, such as alcohol and methamphetamine. A total of ten participants described being HIV positive and adherence was very poor among the group. This could be attributed to stigmatisation from health workers, substance use and homelessness. This group of women, though vulnerable and structurally oppressed, displayed exceptional resilience. It is suggested that further research should be conducted on this group in the South African context for a clearer understanding of their needs and improved policy, as well as interventions for TFSW.

The aim of this thesis is to study how the issue of sex work occurring within humanitarian contexts is addressed by the humanitarian sector, and what this in turn can say about how the problem itself is framed. The analysis focuses on three types of approaches which were identified. These are: to address humanitarian staff and their behaviour in the field in relation to using transactional sex; understanding sex work as a ‘negative coping strategy’ and addressing underlying vulnerabilities; and using a rights-based and community empowerment approach to sex work. By analysing codes of conducts, policies, guidelines, and literature suggesting ways for humanitarian workers and peacekeepers to deal with, position themselves against, and understand sex work in the field, I found that, besides the fact that this issue has not been given enough attention in the humanitarian sector, it has mostly been understood as a form of exploitation, and as a coping strategy either used or forced onto mostly women in contexts of crises. The recurrent themes in many of these approaches, have been the focus on gendered vulnerabilities and power structures between people working within or together with the humanitarian sector and the local population in contexts of crisis. Within these frameworks, the issue of to what extent women engaged in sex work are perceived to have agency is somewhat ambivalent, and some critics have argued that their agency has been denied and that not enough focus has been given to the actual needs and risks of those who engage in sex work. This critique has in turn inspired new guidelines and programmes to be developed. By linking the analysis to further debates on sex work and critique of the humanitarian sector, I conclude that the simplistic and victimising portrayal of people engaging in sex work and of people living in contexts of humanitarian crises, as well as the sometimes-lacking reflection of ideologies and frameworks motivating humanitarian operations, can blind us to the more nuanced and diverse needs that people in these situations might have. It can also negatively impact the approaches that we use to address stigmatised issues such as sex work. Therefore, I stress that it remains important to study the processes through which knowledge about these issues is produced, and whose voices are included in the process.

Lonely Gameis a collection of short stories exploring different manifestations and consequences of loneliness. Secondary thematic elements include perceptions based on unique life experiences, and how different perspectives play with one’s concept of reality.