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The passing of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) in 2003 has resulted in Aotearoa/New Zealand being in a unique position internationally in terms of the regulation of sex work. In this paper, I provide an overview of the history of sex work in Aotearoa/New Zealand leading up to and subsequent to the passing of the PRA. Underlying this overview are theoretically informed discussions considering how discourses of heteronormative sexuality result in sex work being gendered in particular ways, and how different models of regulating prostitution reflect different ideological and political concerns, and have different outcomes. The specifics of the gendering of sex work means that these understandings and outcomes have particular effects on women. While the interests of women are thus prioritised in recent theorising and, in some instances, in the regulation of prostitution, it is apparent that what is considered to be in 'women's interests' varies. I conclude by suggesting that while the PRA may not challenge the gendered nature of the industry, it protects the immediate interests of the women who work within it. This paper is intended to serve the dual purpose of providing the reader of this special issue of the Women's Studies Journal with some relevant background, and giving students interested in the area -- especially those in Aotearoa/New Zealand - a starting point for their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undertaking feminist research with marginalised groups of women requires the careful negotiation of challenges in the research process. This paper explores the research process in relation to fieldwork undertaken on the management of violence related risks with street-based sex workers in New Zealand. This paper provides an insight into the strategies used to make connections with a relatively hard to reach group of women, and the complexities of managing the fieldwork process. Demonstrating the importance of self-reflection, challenges encountered in the research process are explored highlighting the emotional impacts of fieldwork on the researcher and the balancing of power dynamics in qualitative interviewing. The discussion of these challenges highlights critical issues to consider when undertaking qualitative research on sensitive issues with stigmatised or marginalised groups of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex work policy is a highly contentious topic. Various political approaches attempt to repress it, restrict it, or integrate it. This paper canvasses repressive approaches, restrictive approaches and the New Zealand model, which decriminalises sex work. The latter is then examined through a human rights lens, with five specific human rights discussed: the right not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, the right to safety, the right to respect for private and family life, the right to freedom of association, and the right to health. This is accompanied by an examination of how the New Zealand judiciary have used the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 and other laws to protect and promote the rights, welfare and health and safety of sex workers. The article concludes by expressing a hope that the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 and New Zealand case law can serve as precedent for other jurisdictions when considering sex work law and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Sex work' and sex workers have been constituted in conflicting and contradictory ways, within both academia and wider society. Many theorists argue that sex work is inherently exploitative, although much of this research is predicated on the idea that sex work involves being physically co-present with those who buy it or otherwise facilitate the process. The development of computer-mediated communication and digital technology has led to various new forms of sex work, including 'camming'. In this context, 'webcam models' perform sex acts, often while alone in their own homes or in other private indoor domains, for online audiences who pay them. As a relatively new practice, camming is currently under-researched and under-theorised. This paper will explore some of the ways in which sex work has been discursively constructed and theorised about, as well as the legal context in which it operates, before discussing the practice of camming in relation to these and to recent research. Overall, we argue that camming challenges some of the conventional understandings and critiques of sex work, and that sex work-oriented research should consider more critical perspectives that take into account the hybridity and complexity of contemporary sex work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003, New Zealand passed the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA), becoming the first country in the world to decriminalise sex work. Aotearoa/New Zealand's model of decriminalisation is internationally regarded as an ideal model for prioritising sex workers' rights and safety, and is understood to have had several positive impacts in these areas. The decriminalised model is often described as 'full decriminalisation', to distinguish it from legal frameworks which decriminalise sex workers while still criminalising clients and/or third parties. However, an infrequently discussed aspect of the Aotearoa/New Zealand model of 'full' decriminalisation is that it prohibits migrant sex work as an anti-trafficking measure. In this paper I discuss the contradictory nature of Aotearoa/New Zealand's sex work law in relation to the precarious legal status of migrant sex workers. I explore the disconnect between the intention and consequences of this policy, outlining the challenges this poses for sex workers, and those committed to the full realisation of sex worker rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At any given time, multiple and potentially conflicting discourses are circulating in public policy debates. This article uses critical discourse analysis to examine why and how the discourses about the prevalence, causes, and remedies for exploitation in sex work that won the day in the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 debates in Aotearoa/New Zealand have been reinterpreted and reordered in recent debates on trafficking provisions (Section 98D) in the Crimes Amendment Act 2015. Gender equity and human rights were successfully married to a social welfare and harm-minimisation approach in the Prostitution Reform Act debates, whereas they were tied more closely to a law-and-order framework in the latest revisions to Aotearoa/New Zealand's anti-trafficking policies. This paper argues that the influence of the United States in interpreting and enforcing international anti-trafficking treaties - particularly the 'Palermo Protocol' - has facilitated shifts in Aotearoa/New Zealand's domestic policy and provided leverage to discursive framings that were less successful when prostitution reform was debated at the turn of the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there has been substantial research conducted in New Zealand over the last 20 years into prostitution, there has been no enquiry into the lives of strippers, strip clubs or the striptease industry in general. Yet, women who take their clothes off for a living are a discrete group in the sex industry with distinct motivations who occupy a different habitus to prostitutes or pornographic actresses. This paper, based on undergraduate research, is a review of international literature pertaining to strippers from the year 2000 onwards. The review revealed that, in contrast to the research conducted on the industry before 2000, current feminist scholarship has moved away from a polarised narrative of stripping work as either oppressive or emancipating. Instead, recent research has been concerned with the complexities of the occupation of stripping for young women, both in the workplace and in their wider lives. In particular, this study identified four dominant thematic areas where current research was focused: (a) othering (or the differentiation of strippers from other women); (b) sexualisation (self-worth as based on their sexuality); (c) gender performance (stripping on a spectrum of femininity), and (d) emotional work (stripping work and its emotional demands). In summary, it would seem that the strip-club is a site of both oppression and resistance, a space where women can use their sexual power for financial gain if they are willing to make compromises at work and in their personal lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the passing of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) in 2003, New Zealand became the first country to implement a full decriminalisation of street and in-house prostitution, nationwide. As few New Zealanders have direct regular contact with prostitutes, the media has a strong role in shaping public discourse in relation to the sex industry. Using Foucauldian inspired poststructuralist analysis, from a critical feminist perspective, this paper investigates the representation of prostitution in the New Zealand print media before and after the passing of the PRA. Newspaper articles from 2000 to 2013 were analysed to identify key discursive constructions of the PRA, prostitution, sex workers, and other key players in the New Zealand sex industry. The main representations identified in the data were adult or child street prostitution, those who sell sex were always depicted as women (or girls) and those who buy sex, as men. Discussions of men who buy sex were noticeably absent, except in coverage of men who had been violent towards sex workers and men who bought sex from children. Inhouse prostitution was depicted as a more legitimate profession than street prostitution and the (street) sex worker was portrayed in disparaging ways. We conclude that although New Zealand has decriminalised prostitution, visible sex worker activity on the street continues to be deplored, due to its violation of various codes of traditional femininity and female sexuality. The media also work to individualise issues related to the sex industry, which require a more social, structural, and economic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on the law and legislation on sex workers in Aotearoa or New Zealand. It expresses the views of Marxist and critical feminist towards sex work and prostitution. An overview of the sale of sexual services, criminalisation, legalisation and decriminalization are presented.

This research report provides insights into the lives of trafficked women based on their first-person accounts. It provides a nuanced understanding of agency and victimhood, and explores women's experiences of being trafficked. The report shows how trafficking takes multiple forms and is understood (both legally and by the women themselves) in different ways. It aims to understand the harms of trafficking and the methods used by traffickers to control women. Based on these objectives, semi-structured interviews were conducted in a government-run shelter home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, over a period of four weeks (mid-April to mid-May 2016). Throughout this period, 29 trafficked female migrants comprising of seven different nationalities were interviewed. Analysis of the interviews will demonstrate how victimisation of trafficked women may occur in various forms, ranging from extreme forms of coercion to more subtle forms of exploitation. The report begins by discussing the legal and scholarly definition of trafficking as well as the victim protection processes. Following this, the report will discuss the methodology used to conduct this research and how participants were selected. The findings of the study will be discussed using excerpts from the interviews in order to highlight the harms experienced by trafficked women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Victims of sex trafficking are known to be at risk for a wide range of adverse outcomes globally, but sex trafficking is commonly believed not to happen in Aotearoa/New Zealand. New Zealand has a robust legislative framework to safeguard people doing sex work; the work itself is decriminalised, and trafficking legislation disallows exploitative behaviour. However, this trafficking legislation is under-utilised, and domestic sex trafficking has attracted no prevention efforts from the government. While initiatives to assist identification and intervention are common practice internationally, they do not exist in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Using online qualitative surveys, I sought to examine frontline medical and social service practitioners' perspectives of and experiences with domestic sex trafficking. The results indicated varied experiences of contact with victims, and numerous problematic interpretations of victims' presentations and of the concept of trafficking. Specifically, definitions of trafficking appeared ambiguous and outdated, and respondents commonly conflated 'trafficking' with other phenomena such as sex work, sexual violence, or family violence. I conclude that trafficking and victimhood discourses arguably texture people's conceptualisations of what constitutes sex trafficking, illustrating the need for a clear shared definition of sex trafficking as it manifests in a domestic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective played a lead role in the development of sex work policy and law in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This commentary examines the Collective's experience and observations in working with the law at a practical and theoretical level. It addresses successes as well as areas that need improvement to uphold the aims of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the challenges that ni-Vanuatu sex workers face in exercising agency in relation to their sexual and reproductive health rights. It draws on research undertaken with sex workers, middle men, and other male non-sex workers in Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu, in 2016. Sex work, and sex workers' experiences, need to be understood in relation to the unique socio-political, cultural and legal contexts in which they exist. This article draws on the theory of body work to analyse the challenges ni-Vanuatu sex workers face in exercising agency during transactions, and also to conceptualise the strategies or 'techniques of the self' that they use to protect themselves and maintain boundaries. Body work identifies (and problematises) different ways in which the body is constructed (discursively, socially, commercially) as constituting the self. In analysing the different ways in which ni-Vanuatu sex workers' bodies are framed as constituting their selves, we gain insights into the complex roots of the abuse they experience, and their limits in exercising agency and asserting their sexual and reproductive health rights. In addition, the research identifies reselfing techniques used by sex workers to establish boundaries that support their well-being, and maintain more complex identities beyond that of the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including how parents are portrayed by family court judges, prostitution and cartoonist Alison Bechdel.