Stigma is a harm that shapes many sex workers’ experiences worldwide, with a considerable number living double lives because of it. This book breaks down what this stigma looks like, the harms resulting from it, and the role that laws play in it. Drawing on over a decade of research, and interviews with sex workers in New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland, it offers a comparative analysis of lived experiences shaped by the divergent legal frameworks operating in these jurisdictions.

Foregrounding sex worker’s voices, the book shows how they challenge harmful myths and discrimination in a range of contexts. It offers a vision for more inclusive societies in which the laws in place work against stigma.