Sex Work in the Early 21st Century

Sex workers are demanding that the European Union protect their rights.

"I believe this declaration is important not only for sexual workers, but it also could become very important for the European civil society. If they're recognized as workers, they can pay taxes and have the same duties and same rights as everyone else," Agnoletto said.

Sex workers demand labor rights

Two University of Las Vegas sociologists, Barb Brents and Kate Hausbeck, talk about the mainstreaming of sex work. How much this benefits the prostitutes and how much the brothel owners is an open question.

Many of the women and brothel owners they have interviewed talk of their profession as if it is like any other service industry, Brents said at a recent research rountable sponsored by UNLV's Women's Research Institute of Nevada.

The sex industry, including all legal and illegal services that sell sexual fantasies, media, toys or physical contact, is at minimum a $10 billion a year industry, Hausbeck said. That's more than all major league sports combined.

Prostitutes read self-motivation books like any businesswoman needing to learn how to market herself, and they talk of needing to tailor their product to what customers want, like any salesperson would, Brents said.

UNLV sociologists find that society is accepting brothels, other sex-trade businesses

In the third world many women who have been born into a tradition of sex work are trying to crawl out of ignominy and poverty.

"For the past 400 years, prostitution has been the tradition here. But now we are trying to rewrite our history of shame and subjugation with colours of hope," says Neelkamal, a village lad.

Where prostitution is a tradition