Building evidentiary basis and research capacity on sex work in Italy through participatory anti-oppressive methods

With Giulia Garofalo

This project is concerned with the changing nature of commercial sex in Europe, competing policy approaches to regulate the phenomenon, and the limited scientific evidence on the extent, experiences and needs of those involved in it. We approach our investigation of these aspects with a focus on Italy. With a national prostitution law that was passed over 60 years ago, one of the oldest sex worker movements in the world, widespread punitive local-level anti-prostitution measures, and one of the earliest and most comprehensive measures to support victims of trafficking in Europe, Italy represents an especially rich, yet often overlooked case for the analysis of prostitution policies and practices.