Globally, the most important public health issue that sex workers face is their experience of high levels of violence. The marginalisation of sex workers leaves them vulnerable to victimisation and with restricted access to the criminal justice. Repeat victimisation is common, as is significant under-reporting of crimes to the police. Even when cases do get reported, sex workers often experience discrimination. This has led to increased evidence-based calls to make violence against sex workers a public health and human rights priority on national and international policy agendas. 

A detailed examination of the research and policy literature shows the issue of violence against marginalised sex working populations has been dominated by the 'politics of sex work', with violence often used rhetorically in battles over what overall legal model would best promote safety. In order to facilitate a more collaborative public health response, there is an urgent need for studies that document not only sex workers' experiences of violence, but also for comparative and peer-led research to better document and respond to the contextual factors shaping sexual violence against sex working populations and the interventions that best promote a sense of justice for victims. 

In this research, Prof Jane Scoular led a team exploring how the legal boundaries of sexual assault and rape are constructed in practice (not just in abstract debates) and compared how criminal justice processes operate in different jurisdictions and in different contexts. This project is the first international, comparative study to examine the contextual factors that shape sexual violence against sex workers, involving a programme of research in New Zealand, the UK, Northern Ireland and Nevada, USA.

• Funder: ESRC
• Law school researcher: Prof Jane Scoular