Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Publication Citation

71 UCLA Law Review 726 (2024)

Abstract

This Article argues that sex workers are silenced when they attempt to contribute to lawmaking processes. As a result, they are unable to contribute their knowledge in a meaningful way. The consequence is that laws reflect only one perspective of life in the sex trades: the prostitution abolitionist position that all sex work is inherently a form of violence against women. Without the ability to help shape this narrative, sex workers will continue to be silenced by the allegation that they are a danger to the feminist movement, courts will make harmful rulings, and legislatures will continue to enact laws that put sex workers in danger.

This Article makes several contributions. Firstly, it contributes to feminist philosophical literature by coining the "Cycle of Epistemic Oppression" as a tool to excavate silencing within the law. It then examines how this cycle operates in the context of sex work policy making. Finally, this examination demonstrates the wide applicability of the Cycle of Epistemic Oppression to diverse areas of law.

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