Wednesday 15th June 2016, 11am to 6:30pm at the River Room at the Strand Campus, King’s College London
Dr Prabha Kotiswaran and Eva Klambauer from King’s College London and the Sex Work Research Hub are inviting you to join us for a symposium on the regulation of sex work, sex work politics and activism. This event will be a great opportunity for the members of the sex work research hub to get together to network and plan joint initiatives.
Comparative approaches to law reform, the consequences of different regulatory approaches on sex workers’ well-being, and the legal consciousness of sex workers and the sex workers’ movements will be explored. The symposium will bring together scholars from across the UK and internationally with policy-makers and sex workers’ rights and feminist advocates to share research findings and engage in an evidence-based discussion of law reform.
Registration
The deadline for registration is the 15th of May 2016. The event is free, but please register via Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/symposium-on-the-regulation-of-sex-work-politics-and-activism-tickets-22039635142) and email eva.klambauer@kcl.ac.uk about dietary requirements before the 15th of May 2016.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Prabha Kotiswaran, Reader in Law & Social Justice at King’s College London
- Samantha Majic, Assistant Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Gregor Gall, Professor at the University of Bradford
- Maggie O’Neill, Professor at the University of York
- Marisa Fassi, Doctoral Researcher at the University of Milan
- Jane Scoular, Professor at Strathclyde University
- Phil Hubbard, Professor at the University of Kent
- Teela Sanders, Professor at the University of Leeds
- Camille Melissa, commercial photographer and sex worker
- Georgina Perry, Manager of the NHS project Open Doors
- Penny Crofts, Professor at the University of Technology Sydney
- Katie Cruz, Lecturer in Law and Social Justice, University of Leeds
- Jay Levy, Independent Researcher
- Luca Stevenson, member of the Sex Worker Open University and ICRSE Coordinator
- Laura Watson, English Collective of Prostitutes
- Andrew Boff, Member of the London Assembly
Teela Sanders: Beyond Regulation & Policing?: Sex Work in the Digital Age
Sex work provides momentum for the continuing sexual revolution as commercial sex activities move to online spaces and digital technologies. As part of a broader shift in the way that love, sex and relationships are played out through cyber life, this paper offers a fresh analysis of sex work in the digital age.
Showcasing a current project Beyond the Gaze which examines the working practices of internet based sex workers, this paper looks at the how regulation and policing are trailing behind, struggling to understand, adapt and account for the move to online sex work. The paper examines how sex work is organised, shaped, and presented in online spaces, exposing where there are concerns around crimes and safety for sex workers, yet at the time strong evidence of self regulation outside state control.