Reframing Prostitution: From Discourse to Description, from Moralisation to Normalisation?

Prostitution has always fascinated the public and bewildered policy makers. Reframing Prostitution explores several aspects of this multidimensional phenomenon, examining: different ways in which prostitution was and is being practiced in different places and different times; the best practices in the regulation of prostitution; the wider social and psychological issues (such as the construction of prostitution as incivility, prostitutes as a socially problematic group, or as victimized individuals). The book also addresses normative questions with respect to policy making, unmasking the purposes behind certain societal reactions towards prostitution, as well as proposing innovative solutions that could reconcile societal fears of exploitation and abuse while meeting the rights and needs of individuals voluntarily involved in prostitution. With contributions across the social science disciplines, this international collection presents a valuable discussion on the importance of empirical studies in various segments of prostitution, highlights social contexts around it, and challenges regulatory responses that frame our thinking about prostitution, promoting fresh debate about future policy directions in this area. [Subject: Sociology, Social History, Criminology, Criminal Justice]