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This paper explores the representation of queer men's unequal sexual citizenship in Sri Lanka in a Sri Lankan Anglophone play, focusing on its problematisation of an ambiguous 'sodomy' prohibition. I examine The One Who Loves You So (2019), a text in which the illegality of queer men's offline and online intimacies is paradoxically depicted as both affirmed and open to interpretation. The textual analysis is contextualised by the Sri Lankan state's consistent history of equivocating on who or what the country's 'sodomy laws' criminalise, particularly when facing international human rights pressure. The state's equivocation is surprisingly overlooked or dismissed as strategy in most current scholarship and activism: the trend is to think in terms of a hard state stance and a categorical criminalisation. The play lays the ground to grapple with the work done by equivocation, for instance in insidiously regulating same-sex intimacy and marking the conditional status of queer sexual citizenship in Sri Lanka. I plead for attention to the play's intersectional approach, in particular how queer privilege/disprivilege mediates gradations of empowerment and disempowerment in an uncertain legal situation. The essay argues for moving beyond the idea of strategic evasiveness to recognising a state politics of equivocation on decriminalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between law and welfare in the governing of homelessness has been studied from a range of perspectives but their interconnections have had little scrutiny at that key moment in the later 20th century when vagrancy was repealed and homelessness became a 'sector' in most western countries. Focussing on Australia, this paper provides a critical historical analysis of how and why these interconnections limited reform. Despite the early 1970s being the highpoint of social democratic idealism, the new homelessness sector redeployed the methods of residual charity, largely because it was seen as a replacement for jail. The legal reforms were partial and, since their focus was limited to homeless white men, they had unintended consequences, tragically so for Indigenous peoples. While these shifts represented a turning point in the long governance of homelessness, they were ones in which old ways prevailed and, as neoliberalism gained ground, they became embedded in the policy landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sex work has a long history and takes different forms, but the associated precarity and danger, particularly where poorer women and minorities are concerned, is undeniable. There is growing evidence that decriminalisation reduces harm, and, indeed, it is the policy approach favoured by sex worker groups. Despite this, many feminists instead seek to "end demand" for paid sex, recommending legal penalties for sex buyers, with the aim of abolishing sex work altogether. Method: This paper takes a comparative approach, examining why "end demand" is applied to sex work but not to care work. Abolition is typically justified both in terms of reducing harm to sex workers and to women more generally, with sex work's very existence being thought to perpetuate the notion that all women are "sex objects." Women are, however, not only exposed to harm within care work but are also commonly stereotyped as care givers, and in a way that has similarly been argued to contribute to gender inequality. Results: By comparing sex work with care work, this paper reveals the logical inconsistency in the "end demand" approach; unlike with sex work, there is little push to criminalise those who purchase care or other such domestic labour services. By revealing the moral nature of abolitionist arguments, and the disrespectful way in which sex workers are characterised within radical feminist literature, it argues that, rather than reducing harm, the "end demand" approach perpetuates harm, conspiring in the notion that "immodest" women are the cause of social ills. Conclusions: Reducing the harm that sex workers—and women more generally—face requires feminists to challenge "the cult of female modesty", rather than to be complicit in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and method As drug policies pertaining to cannabis use become more liberalised, the prevalence of cannabis use in pregnancy could increase. However, there is limited guidance available for clinicians. This paper presents a narrative review of literature published in the past 16 years (2006-2021) to (a) address the impact of legalisation and decriminalisation on the risks, ethics and support of women who use cannabis during pregnancy and (b) develop guidance for clinicians. Results Both national and international trends suggest increased use of cannabis over the past decade, while the risks of cannabis use for recreational or medicinal purposes in pregnancy remain unmitigated. Clinical implications This review confirmed that the recommendation of cannabinoid-based products for pregnant and breast-feeding women is currently premature. More research is needed to address safety concerns. We discussed navigating ethical concerns and suggest targeted management strategies for clinicians treating pregnant women who choose to use cannabis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term the "oldest profession in the world" often refers to prostitution which had withstood the test of time and thrives in different social orders and societies around the world since antiquity. However, the laws and regulations overseeing this trade will in general vary from nation to nation. In a few nations, the sex trade has been legitimised while in others, it has been criminalised and even decriminalised. Also, there are nations around the world that adopted unregulated policies with respect to the sex trade. This paper distinguishes the kind of legitimate strategies existing around the world in terms of managing the sex trade and analyses the approaches that are adopted by selected nations; which are India, Singapore, Hong Kong and Turkey. Based on the legal framework in the selected countries, the paper recommends conceptual approaches to be undertaken as an alternative to outright criminalisation of the sex trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child marriages, often attributed to culture and gender inequality, are prevalent across Africa. Several countries have moved to criminalise the practice. At the core of the criminalisation debate are the fundamental tensions between statutory (state) law on the one hand, and religious and customary law on the other. The growing momentum towards punishment, targeted almost invariably at male offenders, is meant to address the conflict between cultural practices that lead to child marriage and the protection of children's rights. However, some countries have not criminalised child marriage. Thus, the outlawry of child marriages is not universal on the continent. The agitation towards criminalisation—I describe this as 'popular punitvism' ‐ as a panacea, is animated by Western penological justifications, principally, deterrence. However, Western criminological and penological theories may not fully account for a phenomenon in other social and geographical spaces. The paper argues for decolonising and decriminalising child marriages in Africa but not legalising it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates trials conducted against suicides by patrimonial courts in the Eggenberg/ Schwarzenberg and Czernin demesnes in South Bohemia in the pre-Enlightenment era (1675-1780). Primarily, it attempts to explain the gradual tendencies toward greater leniency over the period in question, and describes the strategies involved in this form of 'decriminalization', especially as regards broadening the exculpatory category of 'melancholy/madness'. The paper also strives to analyze the attitudes of various social groups whose members were involved in the investigative proceedings and subsequent trials (town officials, patrimonial aristocracy, the appellate court in Prague, local clergy, the (arch)bishop's consistory, but also the offender's neighbors as witnesses), and demonstrate that the gradual decriminalization was a 'vertical' process which occurred from the top down: the patrimonial authorities tended to show the most leniency, whereas the offender's neighbors were usually the most disapproving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sex work is commonly understood to be a risky occupation. Sex work law debates coalesce around the issue of harm, with differing perspectives regarding what constitutes harm, how harm is produced and what needs to change to mitigate it. While sex work is often portrayed as inherently harmful, sex workers and researchers have challenged this assumption, calling attention to the relationship between harm and policies in place. Criminalisation, in its many and varied forms, is thought to exacerbate harms that can occur in sex work, while decriminalisation is understood as creating conditions conducive to minimising harm. However, the decriminalisation of sex work remains rare, and more research which examines how decriminalisation works in relation to harms is critical. This paper uses the concept of social harm to unpack the implications of sex work policies and examine the experiences of sex workers in New Zealand, where sex work is decriminalised. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 46 sex workers in New Zealand in 2018 and 2020 across two studies focused on examining experiences and perceptions of stigma and discrimination in this context. The interviews were thematically analysed using NVivo data analysis software. Results: The experiences of participants demonstrate how involvement in sex work had improved their lives in multiple ways. Participants described the importance of sex work in improving their quality of life by ensuring that they could better meet their everyday needs, the autonomy this afforded them and how decriminalisation helped to enable this. The validating impact of decriminalisation in acknowledging sex workers as people with rights is also evident in participant's experiences. Conclusions: Social harm is a framework that can help illuminate socio-economic harms which influence pathways into sex work for some people and the compounding harms of criminalising regimes. The benefits of engaging in sex work are often overlooked in policy debates. Although sex work is not easy work, engaging in sex work can have positive impacts on the lives of people who pursue it. Full decriminalisation of sex work is the only responsible option for societies seeking to reduce harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now a days, we are frequently listening suicidal cases because of the fear of Covid-19 even an educated rather Corona warriors also reported for attempted to commit suicide. The trauma of being diagnosed with Covid-19 is also leading people to free from hospital quarantine centres and attempt to commit suicide. No doubt the life is the beautiful gift from almighty and can be taken only by him. Hence the act of committing suicide or in simple words, taking away life and that too one's own, is always been prohibited by law and religion both. Since ancient time the topic of suicide has been an issue of regular debate and never-ending discussion. Religion, monarchy and even colonialism all outlawed the act of suicide. The attempt to commit suicide has always seen as a manifestation of a mental illness, deserving cure and care, instead of punishment. The people with suicidal tendencies deserve counselling not punishment. In this paper the researcher attempts to explain the concept of suicide its causes, Laws related to suicide and at the end suggests some valuable suggestions. [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]

Aotearoa New Zealand's 2003 decriminalisation of sex work has reduced the exploitation of sex workers, as well as the health and safety risks in the industry. Nevertheless, United States-driven criminalising policies still influence sex workers abroad. The Fight Online Sex Trafficking and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Acts (FOSTA-SESTA) effectively criminalised websites where sex workers advertise. Shortly before that, the FBI shut down the internationally used Backpage.com, leading many sex workers in both countries to return to the streets or brothels. These events contributed to the rising dominance of one advertising website, NewZealandGirls.com. Drawing on twenty semi-structured interviews and four observation cases with sex workers in Auckland, in this paper, I explore the international consequences of FOSTA-SESTA and the closure of Backpage on my participants. I show that this punitive approach to segments of the online sex industry has not only placed sex workers in greater financial insecurity, but has reduced their ability to control their working conditions. These outcomes, I conclude, have undermined the positive impacts of decriminalisation, while exacerbating socioeconomic, racial, gender, and legal inequalities in Auckland's sex industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses 2006 survey data to examine sex workers' safety in the post-decriminalised sex industry in New Zealand. We use probit analysis to examine institutional and individual factors that affect the likelihood of sex workers experiencing physical and sexual violence, theft and threats by clients. We find that alcohol and/or drug dependency more than doubles the risk of violence across the three sectors within the industry. After controlling for individual factors, including alcohol and drug use, we find no significant sectorial differences for the probability of violence, while the street sector has more theft and threats than the other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper raises current theoretical and practical issues related to the implementation of a comprehensive mechanism of liability for economic criminal offences in Ukraine. The purpose of this study is to identify the main problem areas in the criminal law security of economic relations and to develop conceptual advice on their elimination. The paper uses a wide range of methodological tools (including comparative, historical, systemic, Aristotelian (dogmatic), modelling), which enabled a comprehensive and critical analysis of the current state and prospects for improving the criminal regulation of economic relations in the country. The results of the study are designed to promote the development of a unified conceptual model of protection of the national economy through criminal law. It is established that the prolonged economic crisis and distortions of market relations continue to adversely affect the state and dynamics of economic crime. The author’s opinion is also argued that since criminal law measures cannot objectively have a positive effect on economic processes, they can be relied on only to eliminate certain adverse consequences of economic activity. The study substantiated that the term “criminal offences against the market economy” in the context denoting the crimes for which responsibility is prescribed by Section VII of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, successfully passes conditional verification for compliance with the name of this structural part of the Criminal Code. Over the past five years, Ukraine’s criminal law policy on combating crimes in the sphere of economic activity has not undergone radical changes. Finally, there are hopes for the active development of legal research to become a reliable foundation for quality law-making to optimise the statutory framework in terms of criminal law response to economic and financial torts

It has been well established that those working in the sex industry are at various risks of violence and crime depending on where they sell sex and the environments in which they work. What sociological research has failed to address is how crime and safety have been affected by the dynamic changing nature of sex work given the dominance of the internet and digital technologies, including the development of new markets such as webcamming. This paper reports the most comprehensive findings on the internet‐based sex market in the UK demonstrating types of crimes experienced by internet‐based sex workers and the strategies of risk management that sex workers adopt, building on our article in the British Journal of Sociology in 2007. We present the concept of 'blended safety repertoires' to explain how sex workers, particularly independent escorts, are using a range of traditional techniques alongside digitally enabled strategies to keep themselves safe. We contribute a deeper understanding of why sex workers who work indoors rarely report crimes to the police, reflecting the dilemmas experienced. Our findings highlight how legal and policy changes which seek to ban online adult services advertising and sex work related content within online spaces would have direct impact on the safety strategies online sex workers employ and would further undermine their safety. These findings occur in a context where aspects of sex work are quasi‐criminalized through the brothel keeping legislation. We conclude that the legal and policy failure to recognize sex work as a form of employment, contributes to the stigmatization of sex work and prevents individuals working together. Current UK policy disallows a framework for employment laws and health and safety standards to regulate sex work, leaving sex workers in the shadow economy, their safety at risk in a quasi‐legal system. In light of the strong evidence that the internet makes sex work safer, we argue that decriminalisation as a rights based model of regulation is most appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, the conflation of sex work with human trafficking means that migrant/mobile sex workers are often framed as victims of trafficking while arguments for the decriminalisation of sex work are discounted due to claims about the risks of increased trafficking. This is despite the lack of clear evidence that trafficking, including in the sex industry, is a widespread problem. Sex worker organisations have called for an evidence-based approach whereby migration, sex work, and trafficking are distinguished and the debate moves beyond the polarised divisions over sex work. This paper takes up this argument by drawing on research with sex workers and a sex worker organisation in South Africa, as well as reflections shared at two Sex Workers' Anti-trafficking Research Symposiums. In so doing, the authors propose the further development of a Sex Work, Exploitation, and Migration/Mobility Model that takes into consideration the complexities of the quotidian experiences of migration and selling sex. This, we suggest, could enable a more effective and productive partnership between sex worker organisations and other stakeholder groups, including anti-trafficking and labour rights organisations, trade unions, and others to protect the rights and well-being of all those involved in sex work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Lege Artis Medicine (LAM) is the property of LifeTime Media Kft. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

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]

We explored the views of members of parliament (MPs) in Ghana on the call to decriminalise attempted suicide. We applied reflexive thematic analysis to Parliamentary Hansards (2017–2020) on calls to decriminalise attempted suicide in Ghana. 11 MPs shared their stance for or against the call. We developed three major themes that entailed, often, opposing views: (1) deterrent effect of the law (against: the law punishes and deters to protect life; for: the law is insensitive and has ironic effects), (2) enforcement of the law (against: leave things as they are, the law is not enforced, anyway; for: crime is not self-inflicted) and (3) prioritisation of suicide prevention (against: focus on more pressing issues, but resource support systems; for: the law and legitimate support systems cannot co-exist). The findings indicate two needs: to extend suicide literacy to Ghanaian MPs, and to initiate a public/private member's bill on attempted suicide decriminalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through analysis of a challenging scenario of blackmail of a gay man in Zimbabwe, this paper highlights the significance of the discursive and rhetorical realm in which law operates. Drawing on historical and contemporary sexual politics in Zimbabwe, it situates the practice of blackmail within its local context and considers how the active sexual agency of the victims, combined with their respective racial and sexual identities, pre-empted their representation as 'innocent', and restricted their access to legal or discursive exculpation. It shows how the ascendant narratives that emerge from the blackmail scenario obscure the victims' 'truth', render them perpetually 'guilty', and reinscribe conventional sexual hierarchies. This paper illustrates how the advance of sexual rights is inhibited by a tension between our idealisation of innocence in making rights claims and our aspiration to agency in developing sexual equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais is the property of Centro de Estudos Sociais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

On 27 June 2003 the New Zealand Parliament passed a unique piece of legislation, the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA), effectively decriminalising prostitution. The momentum for the Act came from the desire to minimise harm and risk for sex workers through the promotion of human rights, and the welfare and occupational health and safety of workers in the sex industry. The passage of the PRA in 2003 required a redefinition of the governance of prostitution that would fit within a work and rights framework. When prostitution was illegal, the police were the key social control agent. However, when prostitution was decriminalised, the governance of sex work was distributed among central and local government departments, NGOs, grassroots, and community groups. This reconfiguration of governance highlights the inherent controversies and tensions involved in a mix of top-down/bottom-up governance of sex markets. This paper will present findings from an empirical study undertaken in Christchurch in 2010/2011. The study set out to map the understandings, practices, and processes of NGO human services as they negotiated decriminalisation and their new roles as regulators of the sex work industry, promoting a sanctioned harm minimisation approach to governance that aimed to ensure the rights, health, and safety of sex workers and balance public concerns of social control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted in-depth face to face interviews with twenty male sex workers (MSWs) servicing sex tourists in Botswana. Expert opinions were also sought with support organizations and the police in Botswana to understand more about male sex work in Botswana. The research questions were directed at exploring (a) how male sex workers experienced and perceived victimisation in their interactions with sex tourists, (b) what role support groups played, and (c) what reforms both male sex workers and support groups propose for the male sex work industry. The article presents their victimisation experiences, health risks and opinions of the support groups. The study found out that MSWs frequently experienced physical violence and sexual assaults such as stealthing, especially male sex workers who identified as gay or bisexual. MSWs never reported their victimisation experiences to the police due to fear of stigmatisation, shaming and possible arrests given the partial criminalisation of sex work. Support groups on the other, as non-governmental organizations offered the much-needed support services such as distribution of lubes, condoms, HIV screening, counselling, and ARV and PrEP access and management for sex workers. This study contributes to the limited literature examining the experiences of MSWs, demonstrating their vulnerability and the need for interventions to mitigate their victimisation and protect their health. Many sex workers emphasised constitutional protections of their rights, the need to decriminalise, as well as the promotion of safety and security. The study argues that traditionally, culture and religion have produced a gender-biased socio-cultural parameters that place males as providers, hence, their vulnerability to victimisation and sexual violence is often unnoticed, which also makes reporting difficult to law enforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates trials conducted against suicides by patrimonial courts in the Eggenberg/ Schwarzenberg and Czernin demesnes in South Bohemia in the pre-Enlightenment era (1675–1780). Primarily, it attempts to explain the gradual tendencies toward greater leniency over the period in question, and describes the strategies involved in this form of ‘decriminalization’, especially as regards broadening the exculpatory category of ‘melancholy/madness’. The paper also strives to analyze the attitudes of various social groups whose members were involved in the investigative proceedings and subsequent trials (town officials, patrimonial aristocracy, the appellate court in Prague, local clergy, the (arch)bishop’s consistory, but also the offender’s neighbors as witnesses), and demonstrate that the gradual decriminalization was a ‘vertical’ process which occurred from the top down: the patrimonial authorities tended to show the most leniency, whereas the offender’s neighbors were usually the most disapproving.

The last ten years have witnessed significant development of competition law in Europe as well as further a field: from the modernisation reforms in the EU, to the adoption of groundbreaking decisions in the US federal courts. The present study has set its aim to clarify the concept and possible interpretation quandaries revolving around antitrust practices, offering a penal perspective on the matter. The first part of the article deals with the concept of antitrust practices by presenting the reasons why this negative behaviour should be criminalised. Also, the writers discuss whether criminal law is the best solution for overseeing the competition scene and putting an end to these misdemeanors, or should the application of administrative or contraventional fines suffice in contriving this desideratum. The paper can also be seen as mirroring the tension between the 'old' and the 'new', in the search for innovative responses to the current challenges. Moving on, the authors indicate the pros and cons of our current law system, alongside providing a short glimpse of some analogous european legal provisions, doctrinal views and case-law. After scrutinizing all the basic issues surrounding the concept of antitrust provisions, the analysis of the criminal provision of article 60 (1) enters the spotlight. As shown by the authors, the premises of retaining this criminal provision commend the existence of an antitrust practice administered by at least two entities, and which implies an agreement aimed at restricting, impeding or distorting the competition scene. The writers then tally the actual activities encompassed by this criminal provision, alongside presenting it's elementary components. A series of problems are the pointed-out, many of which originate from the fact that our legal provision was copied mot-à-mot from it's french omologue. The main problematic issues tackled by the authors regard the author, the actus reus and the mens rea of the crime at hand. Further on, the paper treats the so-called criminal provision stated by article 62, showing that it is in fact nothing other than a warning provision, because it's area of application is limited by other existing legal provisions from the Penal Code. The authors' opinion on the matter is bolstered by Law no. 187/2012, regarding the application of the New Penal Code, within which it is expressly stated that the provision at hand shall be revoked. Both during and subsequent to these examinations, the authors are aptly devoted to proposing a series of compulsory changes that would remodel Law no. 21/1996 into a suitable "guardian" of the free competition scene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2003, in an article published in the Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice , Fischer, Ala-Leppilampi, Single, and Robins wondered whether Canada's long “saga of promise, hesitation, and retreat” in cannabis law reform was coming to an end, after 30 years of inertia. Their optimism was rooted in the federal government's apparent determination to decriminalize cannabis possession and in an existing socio-political context favourable to reform. Indeed, the government had recently tabled legislation that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis, making it a ticketable offence. However, this bill died before it could be passed into law. Two later versions of this legislation also failed to pass through the House of Commons. This paper picks up where Fischer et al. (2003) left off, by updating and reviewing developments in Canadian cannabis policy between 2003 and 2008. It reviews the provisions proposed by Bill C-38 and its successors, tracing the bills’ movements through Parliament and then delineates the positions of key interest groups regarding the decriminalization of minor cannabis possession. It concludes by reflecting on the contemporary period to show that Canada's “saga of promise, hesitation, and retreat” in cannabis law reform continues unabated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and method As drug policies pertaining to cannabis use become more liberalised, the prevalence of cannabis use in pregnancy could increase. However, there is limited guidance available for clinicians. This paper presents a narrative review of literature published in the past 16 years (2006–2021) to (a) address the impact of legalisation and decriminalisation on the risks, ethics and support of women who use cannabis during pregnancy and (b) develop guidance for clinicians. Results Both national and international trends suggest increased use of cannabis over the past decade, while the risks of cannabis use for recreational or medicinal purposes in pregnancy remain unmitigated. Clinical implications This review confirmed that the recommendation of cannabinoid-based products for pregnant and breast-feeding women is currently premature. More research is needed to address safety concerns. We discussed navigating ethical concerns and suggest targeted management strategies for clinicians treating pregnant women who choose to use cannabis.

Decriminalisation is arguably essential to protecting the human rights of sex workers. Nonetheless, there are suggestions that decriminalisation has less influence on sex workers' experiences of working than many assume. This paper explores management practices in brothels in the context of decriminalisation in New Zealand, focusing on sex workers' employment status, managerial control and agency. We interviewed 14 brothel operators and 17 brothel-based sex workers in this study. The findings suggest that there remain challenges for sex workers in that brothel operators treated them as employees rather than independent contractors. Brothel operators retained control over shift times and pricing of services, and working conditions were unclear. Most sex workers understood their rights, but when operators impinged on their rights, it was often more expedient to move place of work than make an official complaint. However, decriminalisation did have a meaningful impact on the way sex workers negotiated potentially exploitative dimensions of brothel-based work. Decriminalisation has provided the context where it is possible for sex workers to experience safer and more supportive work environments than they otherwise might, where they can (and sometimes do) contest managerial control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1999, Sweden introduced legislation that prohibits and criminalises the purchase of sex – while continuing to decriminalise the selling of sex. Referred to as the ‘Swedish model’, or the ‘Nordic model’ after neighbouring countries followed suit, this legal framework is built on an understanding of ‘prostitution’ as exploitation and a form of violence against women. Examined through this lens, the selling of sex can never be regarded as work. Through its feminist foreign policy platform (in place between 2014 and 2022), Sweden declared that it would engage in ‘persistent and robust commitment and agency’ to encourage other countries to adopt similar legal frameworks. Yet, evidence of the presumed success of the Swedish model is scant at best, with recent research raising concerns over how the Sex Purchase Act in conjunction with immigration law and third-party regulation has contributed to increased vulnerability of migrant sex workers – who make up the majority of people selling sex in the Nordic region (Vuolajärvi, 2019). In South Africa, both the selling and buying of sex is criminalised, in spite of the country being party to several international treaties that recognise the right to free choice of work. As decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa is currently high on the public agenda, and the ‘Swedish model’ is one of the alternatives discussed, critically examining the possible consequences of adopting this model is crucial. In this paper, we draw on research and activist interventions in Sweden and South Africa to examine the possible implications of the adoption of the ‘Swedish model’ in South Africa – a country with markedly different historical and demographic trajectories, migratory patterns, and a much less extensive and supported social welfare system. We caution that such a move may not achieve the aim of reducing sex workers’ vulnerability and exposure to violence. Furthermore, framing the selling of sex as violence rather than work may risk silencing causes for social justice by stripping sex workers of their agency and autonomy, while simultaneously casting them as victims.

This paper examines countervailing South African public opinion on the subject of prostitution in South Africa, and identifies the factors which might influence these attitudes. It also investigates the complex relationship between public opinion and the law. Whilst engaging in prostitution constitutes a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957, it is generally ignored by the police, which results in a quasi-legalised reality on the ground. In recent years there has been growing demand for the decriminalisation of prostitution, and as a result the issue is currently under consideration by the South African Law Reform Commission. The Commission released a Discussion Paper on Adult ProSstitution in May 2009, and is expected to make recommendations to parliament for legal reform in this area. An exploratory survey of 512 South Africans revealed interesting correlations between opinion on prostitution and both demographic characteristics (including gender, age, race and education level) and so-called "social" characteristics (including religiosity, belief in the importance of gender equality, the acceptance of rape myths, and a belief that prostitutes have no other options). The survey reveals two key findings in respect of the attitudes of South Africans to prostitution. Firstly, an overwhelming majority of South Africans - from all walks of life - remain strongly morally opposed to prostitution, and would not support legal reforms aimed at decriminalising or legalising prostitution. Secondly, our data confirm that these views are strongly influenced by certain demographic and 'social' variables. In particular, race, gender, religiosity, cohabitation status, and socio-economic status were found to be religiosity, cohabitation status, and socio-economic status were found to be statistically significantly related to opinions on prostitution, while other variables - particularly the belief in the importance of gender equality and the level of education - had no statistically significant relationship with tolerance of prostitution. Given that the proposed legal reforms, which will shortly be tabled before parliament, will necessitate the consideration of public opinion, it is imperative that studies such as the one presented in this paper be conducted to gauge the likely response which such proposed reforms might face.

The Dangerous Drugs Amendment Act (DDAA) 2015 positioned Jamaica at the forefront of international cannabis law reforms in the developing world. The DDAA legalised and regulated commercial cultivation and sale of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use, legalised home cultivation and decriminalised personal possession of cannabis. This dramatic policy change came after years of discriminatory drug law enforcement and multiple attempts at cannabis law reform motivated by social justice and cannabis activism. Drawing on ethnographic observations of the implementation of the DDAA and interviews with key cannabis policy stakeholders in Jamaica, we discuss the extent to which the social justice ideals behind the law have translated into practice on the ground. Our analysis focuses on two dimensions of social justice relevant in drug law reform: (1) penalisation and criminal record expungement policies, and (2) economic empowerment and the distribution of wealth (ie the diversity within the new cannabis industry and the transition of traditional illegal ganja farmers to the new legal cannabis economy). Reflecting on the first five years of implementing the DDAA in Jamaica, we explore social justice achievements under the DDAA and discuss persisting structural barriers to economic justice and how they could be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex work is decriminalised in Aotearoa New Zealand and so brothels are deemed a 'businesses like any other' in the eyes of the law. We interviewed 14 brothel operators in this study to understand whether they were able to run their 'business like any other'. Similar to any other business owners, local authorities require brothel operators to run their businesses in accordance with the local district plan. Institutions such as banks and insurance companies, however, have policies which discriminate against brothel owners, and this presents a barrier to running their business like any other. Brothels continue to be seen as discreditable businesses in a decriminalised context and brothel operators internalise this stigma. More effort is needed to reduce stigma and discriminatory practices. The inclusion of the prevention of discrimination on the basis of occupation in New Zealand's Human Rights Act should be the first step. This could better allow brothel operators to run their business like any other in the 'mainstream' economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After three decades of working in the drugs field (as a probation officer, researcher and academic) and seeing little change in a drug policy largely driven by prohibition, it is encouraging to finally see the emergence of a paradigm shift, towards drug decriminalisation and regulation. Globally, there are a growing number of countries, agencies and individuals exploring drug law reform, albeit, largely related to cannabis. These are critical and important times, but after the debacle of prohibition, we should be careful not to get over-excited and simply lurch uncritically towards any reform that's proposed. We need to be rigorous and well informed when considering and assessing appropriate drug policy change, otherwise we will fail to address the fundamental problem - the decades of damage caused by drug policy abuse. In this paper I shall clarify why drug law reform change is urgently needed, explore lessons from drug policy changes in other countries, highlight risks inherent within drug reform, and establish some guiding principles for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous laws have passed to move away from criminalising youth who trade sex. Specialised courts have also been established to support youth. Despite proponents' contention that specialised, trauma-informed courts are less punitive than typical interventions, research is limited. This article explores one specialised dependency court's efforts to assist youth 'at risk'. Drawing on interviews and ethnographic observations, I argue that laws and trauma-informed court interventions intensify the supervision of youth and families while inadvertently concealing the gendered-racialised effects of child welfare system involvement. Ethnographic findings contribute to sociolegal and anti-carceral feminist research on carceral control beyond the criminal legal system. This work also explores the ethics of carceral-trauma entanglements that accompany decriminalisation's afterlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous work has demonstrated that cannabis laws have had a disproportionate impact on Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2019, the New Zealand Government amended cannabis laws, providing police with the power to determine whether a therapeutic or health-centred approach would be more beneficial than a conviction. In the current study, we use population level data to assess whether this law change has ameliorated the bias in cannabis convictions for Māori. Methods: Data were drawn from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), a large government database hosted by Aotearoa New Zealand's national statistics office. In the IDI, we selected individuals who (1) were between 18 and 65, (2) were Māori or Pākehā (New Zealanders of European descent) and, (3) had any cannabis charges that proceeded to the courts. Results: Māori ethnicity was a significant predictor of the odds of receiving a cannabis conviction for Māori males (Odds: 1.56), with a marginally significant effect for Māori females (Odds: 1.57). Further, for Māori, there was no reduction in the number of cannabis charges before vs. after the amendment to cannabis laws. Conclusion: The current study demonstrates that the bias in cannabis convictions for Māori remain. Given this, the New Zealand Government must follow other countries around the world and move forward on cannabis law reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western Australia criminalises sex work whilst some other Australian jurisdictions have decriminalised the industry. This article examines the role of Western Australia's legislation in reinforcing stigma and discrimination of sex workers. It draws on stigma and discrimination-specific results from open-ended survey responses and interview data collected as part of a larger cross-sectional mixed-methods study. Experiences and/or anticipation of stigma and discrimination resulted in some sex workers concealing their involvement in sex work from family, friends and their home communities. This was a major barrier to accessing health care and protective services and impacted negatively on their mental health and wellbeing. There is a need for policy change and support to shift society's perception of sex work to that of a legitimate occupation to decrease sex workers' experiences of stigma and discrimination and improve their access to and utilisation of health care and protective services. These findings highlight the need for the decriminalisation of the Western Australian sex industry and the development of training programmes for police and healthcare workers to reduce the stigma and discrimination experienced by sex workers in these settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study sought to determine: (i) whether decriminalisation of cannabis use would increase the proportion who would try the drug; and (ii) the proportion who would use more cannabis; and (iii) explore their characteristics. Methods: Australian National Drug Strategy Household surveys were used to address (i)‐(iii). Significant independent predictors of (i) and (ii) were identified using logistic regression. Results: An estimated 4.2% of the population aged 14 and over (n = 882 708) who have never tried cannabis before would try it, if use of the drug were made legal, while 2.6% of the population aged 14 and over (537 000) would use more cannabis if its use were made legal. Respondents were more likely to say they would try cannabis if they were male, younger or suffered from a mild, moderate and/or severe level of psychological stress. Respondents were more likely to say they would use more cannabis if they were male, younger, psychologically stressed and not currently frequent users of the drug. Discussion and Conclusions: Decriminalisation of cannabis use is likely to result in an increase in consumption of the drug among young people with mental health problems. If cannabis use is decriminalised, Australian State and Territory Governments should make provision for a possible increase in demand for drug treatment and for public education on the risks associated with frequent/prolonged cannabis use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper gives a survey on drugs issue from historical and criminal law aspect, a review of positive legislation in the Republic of Croatia and a comparison with legal solutions of EU and neighbouring countries. It focuses on the most frequent drug possession act pursuant to Article 173, the Criminal Code. For that purpose the results of statistic monitoring of valid decisions of the Municipal Court in Zagreb in a six-year period concerning the drug possession act, pursuant to Article 173, section 1 of the Criminal Code have been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the compatibility of Catholic and homosexual identities. Because the language of Catholicism is so deeply entrenched in the popular imagination, I aim to show that not only does it provide a vocabulary for oppression but also for change. For the contemporary Irish novelist, the latter means conferring new meaning onto formerly oppressive language. In 'Three Friends' and 'A Long Winter', two short stories from Toibin's Mothers and Sons (2007), the protagonists undergo a 'baptism' that signals their emergence into a new world, one tolerant of homosexual desire. Fergus, in the ocean, and Miquel, in the bathtub, experience moments at once erotic and cleansing. I outline their participation in the traditional world - the time before their bathing rites - in contradistinction to a re-imagined, modern, 'queer' world. I argue that Toibin appropriates a Catholic, and therefore heteronormative, rite in a way that includes homosexuals. Thus, he reworks an oppressive framework in order to allow for the formerly excluded to participate and celebrate their non-heteronormativity, or queerness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: This article provides insight into a rare instance of a collaborative governance approach to sex work that led to the decriminalisation, design and implementation of the sex work policy governance framework in New Zealand with the Prostitution Reform Act 2003. Methods: Drawing on a sample of 17 interviews conducted between the years 2012 and 2019 in addition to associated archival material originating from government and non-government sectors including sex worker representative organisations. Results: It finds that non-sex workers' endorsement for the decriminalisation of sex work was motivated by the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC) and occurred primarily within a human rights and harm minimisation framework. But that during the lobbying and parliamentary process, amendments to the Bill emerged that contradicted the NZPC's main goal which was for sex work to be recognised as a legitimate labour activity and for all sex workers to benefit from decriminalisation and policy reform. Conclusions: As such, this article broadens the scope of analysis related to the sex worker rights movement by examining how and why sex workers and their allies came to communicate and act on the impetus for sex work law reform and how it affected policy outcomes. Policy Implications: Those involved in collaborative governance sex work law reform projects could consider adopting Östegren's typology of repressive, restrictive or integrative approaches to sex work law reform in negotiations that concern regulation and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2003 decriminalisation of sex work has reduced the exploitation of sex workers, as well as the health and safety risks in the industry. Nevertheless, United States-driven criminalising policies still influence sex workers abroad. The Fight Online Sex Trafficking and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Acts (FOSTA-SESTA) effectively criminalised websites where sex workers advertise. Shortly before that, the FBI shut down the internationally used Backpage.com, leading many sex workers in both countries to return to the streets or brothels. These events contributed to the rising dominance of one advertising website. Drawing on twenty semi-structured interviews and four observation cases with sex workers in Auckland, in this paper, I explore the international consequences of FOSTA-SESTA and the closure of Backpage on my participants. I show that this punitive approach to segments of the online sex industry has not only placed sex workers in greater financial insecurity, but has reduced their ability to control their working conditions. These outcomes, I conclude, have undermined the positive impacts of decriminalisation, while exacerbating socioeconomic, racial, gender, and legal inequalities in Auckland’s sex industry.