'This impressive collection tracks the multiple and substantial harms of the prostitution industry to women worldwide. Those seeking to normalize men's purchase of women rely on abstractions of agency and empowerment while marginalizing the recruitment and oppression that creates this lucrative industry. Anyone committed to equality between men and women will find in this book a welcome dose of reality.' Janine Benedet, University of British Columbia, Canada 'This lucid and wide-ranging volume constitutes a much-needed intervention in feminist debates about prostitution. Integrating theoretical innovation with new empirical research, Prostitution, Harm and Gender Inequality is a must-read for scholars and activists alike.' Rebecca Whisnant, University of Dayton, USA 'Taken together, the contributions of the book can be seen as pieces of a puzzle. Each one tells a part of the story of the contemporary commercialization of sex, which has been culturally normalized, by being conceptualized as womens choice. Such popular approaches, the puzzle shows, shadow the lived experiences of violence, exploitation and dehumanization of women in prostitution, while at the same time promoting regulatory policies based on decriminalization with doubtful effectiveness in controlling the industry.' LSE Review of Books 'In this hugely important work, the authors expose prostitution as a fundamental practice of gender inequality. It is shown to be both a cause and a consequence of unequal relations between women and men. Together the works blast through the fog of neoliberal rhetoric around individual choice and agency, and using evidence-based analysis place the harms inherent to prostitution centre-stage... Prostitution, Harm and Gender Inequality is crucial reading for academics, practitioners, and activists. What the research and analysis attest to is that as long as society tolerates or even enables prostitution, there can be no equality for women... Prostitution
