Sex Work and Feminism

Feminism is a political belief system which believes women face many more problems than men in society today. It seeks to change this by creating equal political, economic, cultural and social rights for women.

Feminism is linked to sex work because most sex workers are women and clients are almost all men. There is also unequal power between women and men. This inequality is common in society as a whole, with men generally having more money and social power and sex being seen as mainly for men’s enjoyment.

There are many different versions of feminism and so many different ways to talk about the issue. This fact sheet outlines some feminist views on sex work and explains why the decriminalisation of sex work is supported by many feminists and human rights campaigners.