The term “sex work” was first introduced by Carol Leigh in 1980 “to reconcile [her] feminist goals with the reality of her life as a prostitute” and “to create an atmosphere of tolerance within and outside the women’s movement for women working in the sex industry” (Leigh 1997: 224). According to Leigh, the term sex work counters the sexual shame ascribed to the word “prostitute” and provides a term of solidarity across the variety of different occupations within the sex industry, such as porn actresses and dancers which “marks the beginning of a movement” (230). By framing prostitution as work Leigh introduced a core concept into the discussion: that if sex work is a legitimate choice of occupation then the focus of feminist concern must shift from the act of being prostituted to addressing adverse and unacceptable conditions in which that work is carried out. From this perspective, sex workers simply want the same rights as any other workers, to have access to training in relation to health and safety, to control the conditions of their employment, to obtain work permits and travel and to reduce “occupational hazards” (93). The demand for legalization, regulation and/or decriminalization of the sex trade are the legislative and policy implications of such a position which continue to the present day. By recognizing sex work as a legitimate legal occupation, Chapkis (2010) claims, the possibility of rights, respect and dignity for those “performing erotic labour” can be realized (244). From this perspective, the themes of shame, guilt and isolation from family and community which recur in research on the harm of prostitution are not a consequence of sex work itself, but rather result from the pervasive, stigmatizing, societal view of prostitutes as “social pariahs, fallen women, ‘bad girls’, the abject, reviled ‘Other’” (Hubbard 1998: 58).

The stigmatization of sex work is highlighted as the main problem experienced by those working in the sex industry, in that it undermines intimate relationships because of lies and secrecy and legitimizes abuse and violence against sex workers. Mai (2009) claims that it is not the sex itself or the clients that are problematic, but rather “the stigmatization and illegality of their profession” which sex workers name as their primary concern (26).