Explore the vast range of titles available.

In recent years, a number of classical scholars have turned their attention to prostitution in the ancient world. Close examination of the social and legal position of Roman meretrices and Greek hetairai have enriched our understanding of ancient sexual relationships and the status of women in these societies. These studies have focused, however, almost exclusively on the legal and literary evidence. McGinn approaches the issues from a new direction, by studying the physical venues that existed for the sale of sex, in the context of the Roman economy. Combining textual and material evidence, he provides a detailed study of Roman brothels and other venues of venal sex (from imperial palaces and privates houses to taverns, circuses, and back alleys) focusing on their forms, functions, and urban locations. The book covers the central period of Roman history, roughly from 200 B.C. to A.D. 250. It will especially interest social and legal historians of the ancient world, and students of gender, sexuality, and the family. Thomas A. J. McGinn is Associate Professor of Classical Studies at Vanderbilt University.

The study of ancient Greek urbanism has moved from examining the evidence for town planning and the organization of the city-state, or polis, to considerations of \"everyday life.\" That is, it has moved from studying the public (fortifications, marketplaces, council houses, gymnasiums, temples, theaters, fountain houses) to studying the private (the physical remains of Greek houses). But what of those buildings that housed activities neither public nor private-brothels, taverns, and other homes of illicit activity? Can they be distinguished from houses? Were businesses like these run from homes? Classical Athenian writers attest to a diverse urban landscape that included tenement houses (sunoikiai), inns (diaitai,pandokeia), factories (ergasteria), taverns (kapelia), gambling dens (skirapheia), training schools (didaskaleia), and brothels (porneia), yet, despite our knowledge of specific terms, associating them with actual physical remains has not been easy. One such writer, Isaeus, mentions tenement houses that hosted prostitutes and wine sellers, while his contemporary Aeschines refers to doctors, smiths, fullers, carpenters, and pimps renting space. Were tenement houses not simply multi-inhabitant spaces but also multipurpose ones? Houses of Ill Reputeis the first book to focus on the difficulties of distinguishing private and semiprivate spaces. While others have studied houses or brothels, this volume looks at both together. The chapters, by leading scholars in the field, address such questions as \"What is a house?\" and \"Did the business of prostitution leave behind a unique archaeological record?\" Presenting several approaches to identifying and studying distinctions between domestic residences and houses of ill repute, and drawing on the fields of literature, history, and art history and theory, the volume's contributors provide a way forward for the study of domestic and entertainment spaces in the Hellenic world. Contributors:Bradley A. Ault, Allison Glazebrook, Mark L. Lawall, Kathleen M. Lynch, David Scahill, Amy C. Smith, Monika Trümper, Barbara Tsakirgis.

Large numbers of residences surrounding the Little Lon district in mid- to late-19th-century Melbourne were known to be brothels. The identification of these types of home businesses through archaeological remains is important as many brothels were undocumented. At any site historical documentation may not have captured the actual occupancy or activities occurring, which is especially true for those where illicit activities were taking place, such as brothels. Therefore, understanding the archaeological signatures of brothel sites can contribute to interpretations of site history and use. This paper aims to determine whether the quantity, cost and type of artefacts at a site can assist in identifying brother sites. Residence 7, Jones Lane Archaeological Precinct, is used as a case study and the assemblage is compared to that of its counterparts to assess whether this location was a brothel and to determine its socioeconomic position.

Objective: To understand the context of the lives of children reared in India fs red-light brothel districts. Background: Substantial empirical insight has emerged on the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Yet the extant literature on brothel-based children (BBC), a uniquely vulnerable subset of at-risk children, is paradoxically deficient. Understanding the developmental needs of BBC is critical to mitigating risk. Method: In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 9 service providers and 30 women residing in 2 red-light brothel districts of Mumbai. Phenomenological inquiry informed the research methodology and data analysis. Results: Mothers' goals for children included survival, academic success, and future employment. Formal services were critical in meeting the basic needs of BBC, ensuring access to developmentally appropriate education, and maintaining safety overnight. Conclusion: BBC are at considerable risk for an array of developmental challenges. Multisector service providers must work together and with the mothers of BBC to mitigate intergenerational sexual exploitation in the formal sex economy. Implications: Results provide key areas for further research including longitudinal assessment of BBCs' educational and occupational outcomes, as well as incidence of complex trauma among BBC and treatment options. Service gaps include outreach to older male BBC as well as shame reduction intervention.

This review examines key dimensions of contemporary sex work, particularly prostitution. Most research focuses exclusively on street prostitution and female workers, with much less attention devoted to indoor prostitution, male and transgender workers, customers, and managers. Furthermore, most of the literature examines prostitution where it is illegal, neglecting contexts where it is legal and regulated by the government. The review demonstrates how research on these topics can enrich our understanding of contemporary sex work.

Abstract   Cervical cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in low- and middle-income countries, with Nigeria bearing a significant burden. Female sex workers (FSWs), due to heightened exposure to HPV and other risk factors, represent a high-priority group for prevention. Yet, in Nigeria, their access to screening and treatment remains constrained by structural, social, and systemic barriers. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, data were collected from a total of 35 participants. Focus group discussions were conducted with 21 female sex workers recruited from brothels in Lagos State, while in-depth interviews were held with 2 healthcare providers, 5 representatives from civil society organizations, and 7 policymakers from both state and federal levels. The findings were grouped under four major thematic categories: knowledge, attitudes and practices; socio-cultural and psychological factors; healthcare systems and services; and past experiences of care. Despite being at elevated risk, FSWs often delayed or avoided screening due to mistrust in public health institutions, shame, and competing economic priorities. However, many participants expressed strong willingness to engage with services if they were respectful, accessible, affordable, and non-judgmental. Recommendations from participants included decentralised, brothel-based screening; use of peer educators; increased awareness campaigns; and the provision of incentives to offset opportunity costs. Complementary perspectives from policymakers and providers revealed misalignments between policy intentions and service delivery realities, especially the lack of targeted programming for FSWs. The study concludes that equitable access to cervical cancer screening for FSWs is not merely a technical challenge but a moral imperative. Addressing this gap requires policies that prioritise structural inclusion, stigma reduction, and community co-design. Key messages • This study explored several barriers to accessing cervical cancer services by FSWs in Nigeria. • This study identifies gaps and opportunities to make Nigeria’s cervical cancer screen and treat policy more responsive to address the gaps for marginalised populations like FSWs.

Argues that the concern with trafficking in women is a modern manifestation of the myth of white slavery. This work examines in detail sex worker reactions to the myth of trafficking, questions the feminist preoccupation with the 'suffering female body' and argues that feminism needs to move towards the creation of new myths.

Background Globally, the most important human rights and public health issue that sex workers face is their experience of high levels of violence (Kinnell, 2006, Kinnell, 2008, Alexander, 1999). Deering's systematic review estimated levels of sexual violence in sex working populations as being between 14% and 54% (Deering et al, 2014). Aims This international, robust mixed methods study will explore the frequency of sexual violence against sex workers, barriers in criminal justice and the legal consciousness of sex workers regarding their rights and consent. The hypothesis to be tested is that the safety of sex workers from sexual violence is mediated by the differing legal contexts of sex work environments. We will compare experiences across research sites in the context of legalisation (Nevada USA), client criminalisation (Northern Ireland), decriminalisation (New Zealand) and partial criminalisation (England, Scotland and Wales) [henceforth ESW]. Methods An international survey (n = 1,000) will be translated into several languages, to disaggregate experiences by demographic categories (gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation) and sex work sector (including online, street-based and brothels). Interviews (n = 100) with sex workers, police, prosecutors and service providers will be thematically analysed to explore legal consciousness, why the patterns occur and contextualise the statistical findings. These data will be supplemented with comparative legislative, policy and case analysis. Research study data will be used to compare the social factors and legal norms shaping sex workers experiences of sexual violence, justice and support interventions. Recommendations for a 'best practice' review of legal improvements and support interventions will be produced following completion of the study. Given the sensitive nature of the research, robust ethical and data protection mechanisms are in place. The research has ethical approval from each research site, an Advisory Board and trained, paid peer researchers to assist with data gathering, analysis and dissemination. The study will report findings in 2023/2024.

Stigma is felt, constructed, understood and negotiated differently by varied marginalized groups, including diverse groups among commercial sex workers themselves. Brothel-based sex workers in India have more visibility and undergo greater social scrutiny, moral surveillance and stigmatization. For the transient sex workers, invisibility and non-identification as sex workers are strategically used to mitigate stigmatization. The current research conducts semi-structured interviewing of 23 brothel-based and 21 transient sex workers in and around Kolkata in Eastern India. The results delineate the differences between the impact of stigmatization on brothel-based and transient sex workers in India and how these two groups negotiate with and resist stigma in their lives. The current study shows that the impact and extent of stigmatization varied among the sex workers in accordance to their location and status.

Whilst greatly valuing recent critiques of the vertical imaginary and reified ontology of scale theory, and of the unfettered flows of network theory, this paper argues against a human geography without scale. Rather, four propositions from the theoretical literature are used to provide a tool-kit to analyse the practical negotiation of scalar politics, namely that: scales should be considered as effects, not frames or structures, of practice; networks must be considered in all their complexity and heterogeneity; networks can be interpreted as assemblages, the more re-territorialising and re-scaling of which can be analysed as apparatuses; and that state apparatuses work to create the impression that scales are ahistorical, hierarchical and possess exclusive relationships. These propositions are used to explore a period of history when the scalar constitution of the world was under intense debate. The interwar era saw the imperial scale clash with that of the international, both as ideological worldviews, and as a series of interacting institutions. The assemblages of internationalism and imperialism were embodied by apparatuses such as the League of Nations and the colonial Government of India respectively. Attempts by the League to encourage the abolition of tolerated brothels in an attempt to reduce the trafficking of women and children led to intense debates between the 1920s and 1930s over what constituted the legitimate domains of the international and the 'domestic'. These explicitly scalar debates were the product of League networks that threatened the scalar sovereignty of the Raj, most directly through the travelling Commission of Enquiry into Traffic in Women and Children in the East in 1931.