In this "for and against" book, ethicists Lori Watson and Jessica Flanigan debate the criminalization of sex work. Watson argues for a sex equality approach to prostitution in which buyers are criminalized and sellers are decriminalized, known as the Nordic Model. Flanigan argues that sex work should be fully decriminalized because decriminalization ensures respect for sex workers' and clients' rights, and is more effective than alternative policies.

Lori Watson is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at University of San Diego and affiliate faculty in the School of Law. She specializes in political philosophy, feminism, and legal philosophy. She is co-author of Equal Citizenship and Public Reason: A Feminist Political Liberalism (Oxford University Press, 2018) and Debating Pornography (Oxford University Press, 2018).
Jessica Flanigan is an Associate Professor of Leadership Studies and Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law at the University of Richmond where she teaches ethics and critical thinking. She is the author of Pharmaceutical Freedom (Oxford University Press,2017) and articles that address the ethics of paternalism, enforceable rights, and economic justice.

• Introduction


• Lori Watson and Jessica Flanigan


• Part 1: A Sex Equality Approach to Prostitution


• Lori Watson


• Chapter One: Prostitution and Sex Equality


• Chapter Two: Why "Sex Work" Cannot be Understood as Just Another Form of Work


• Chapter Three: In Defense of the Nordic Model


• Part Two: In Defense of Decriminalization


• Jessica Flanigan


• Chapter Four: The Case for Decriminalization


• Chapter Five: Defending Decriminalization


• Chapter Six: Conclusion