Book Review: Campbell, R., & O'Neill, M. (Eds.). (2006). Sex Work Now. Portland, OR: Willan Publishing. Pp. 297

• Date: 01 December 2007
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567707310564
• Published date: 01 December 2007
• Author: Edward J. Schauer
• Subject Matter: Articles

also serve to overcome the barriers that accompany any organization too steeped in history and

inflexible to change.

The book is very well researched with access to many organizational documents allowing for a rich

history to be painted for the reader. The text is meticulously documented with extensive footnotes,

sometimes to the point of distraction. The author uses numerous quotations that help highlight pertinent

points, while also showing the access that he had to a vast array of stakeholders.

The book is well suited for the seasoned reader who has an interest in victimology, policy, or history

and is appropriate for graduate students who seek to gain a comprehensive understanding of policy

making. It is particularly interesting because it details the harsh realities of policy making that are

not always sensitive to the plight of victims, such as the importance of thrusting the victim into the

political spotlight despite his or her personal vulnerabilities and the use of token victims to push an

issue to the forefront. Overall, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the process of political

and societal change. The issues presented throughout remain pertinent, and the lessons drawn from

this reading are broadly applicable to politics and policy making.

Bernadette T. Muscat

California State University, Fresno

Campbell, R., & O’Neill, M. (Eds.). (2006). Sex Work Now. Portland, OR: Willan

Publishing. Pp. 297.

DOI: 10.1177/1057567707310564

In conceiving this book, the editors purposely selected a title that would pay tribute to the seminal

work by Eileen McLeod, Women Working: Prostitution Now, which was published by Croom Helm

of London in 1982. Campbell and O’Neill state that McLeod’s book

remains a landmark text that interweaves the lived experience of women who sell sex; the role

and experiences of clients; a focus upon the law and a call for decriminalisation; and the role

and importance of sex worker rights campaigns. (pp. ix-x)

Sex Work Now is a valuable update of McLeod’s work especially in the areas of changes in social

policy discourses, female sex work, and legislation. The editors accomplish this modernized

resource by inviting British sex work experts to produce chapters in 11 subject areas. The book’s

content relates primarily to action and policy within the United Kingdom; however, issues of inter-

national migration, international impacts of national policies, and international dialogue and

activism are illustrated as well.

Six notable issues are emphasized as emerging since the 1980s: That there exists today an

increased focus on children and youth by policy makers, centering on the issue of their being abused

through prostitution and in other sex work venues, is the first. Second, the term sex work is more

commonly used today by policy makers, academics, and activists. Third, the phrase children abused

through prostitution has replaced such terms as juvenile prostitute and adolescent prostitution.

Fourth, though the focus of research and policy tends to be on street prostitution because of its

visibility, citizen complaint, and the ease of police response, there exists increased acknowledgment

that sex work is highly diversified and complex. It is suggested that part of the change in focus is

due to new technologies that have increased communication and labor modalities, part to increased

sexual labor migration and trafficking, and part to simple recognition among those concerned that

sex work has always extended in many venues beyond street prostitution.

364 International Criminal Justice Review