Sex Work Politics From Protest to Service Provision

In San Francisco, the St. James Infirmary (SJI) and the California Prostitutes Education Project (CAL-PEP) provide free, nonjudgmental medical care, counseling, and other health and social services by and for sex workers-a radical political commitment at odds with government policies that criminaliz...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Majic, Samantha
Format: eBook Book
Language:English
Published: Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc 2013
University of Pennsylvania Press
Edition:1
Series:American Governance: Politics, Policy, and Public Law
Subjects:
AIDS (Disease)
AIDS (Disease) > California > Prevention > Case studies
California
California Prostitutes Education Project
Case studies
Health and Hygiene
Health facilities
Health facilities > California > Case studies
Nonprofit organizations
Nonprofit organizations > California > Case studies
Political activity
Political Advocacy
Political Process
POLITICAL SCIENCE
POLITICAL SCIENCE / General
Prevention
Prostitutes
Prostitutes > Health and Hygiene > California > Case studies
Prostitutes > Political activity > California > Case studies
Prostitutes > Services for > California > Case studies
Prostitution
Prostitution > California
Public Policy
Services for
Social action
Social action > California > Case studies
SOCIAL SCIENCE
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General
St. James Infirmary
Women's Studies
Public Policy
Political Science
ISBN:9780812245639, 0812245636, 0812209028, 9780812209020
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In San Francisco, the St. James Infirmary (SJI) and the California Prostitutes Education Project (CAL-PEP) provide free, nonjudgmental medical care, counseling, and other health and social services by and for sex workers-a radical political commitment at odds with government policies that criminalize prostitution. To maintain and expand these much-needed services and to qualify for funding from state, federal, and local authorities, such organizations must comply with federal and state regulations for nonprofits. InSex Work Politics, Samantha Majic investigates the way nonprofit organizations negotiate their governmental obligations while maintaining their commitment to outreach and advocacy for sex workers' rights as well as broader sociopolitical change.Drawing on multimethod qualitative research, Majic outlines the strategies that CAL-PEP and SJI employ to balance the conflicting demands of service and advocacy, which include treating sex work as labor with legitimate occupational health and safety concerns, empowering their clients with civic skills to advance their political commitments outside the nonprofit organization, and conducting and publishing research and analysis to inform the public and policymakers of their constituents' needs. Challenging the assumption that activists must "sell out" and abandon radical politics to manage formal organizations, Majic comes to the surprising conclusion that it is indeed possible to maintain effective advocacy and key social movement values, beliefs, and practices, even while partnering with government agencies.Sex Work Politicssignificantly contributes to studies of transformational politics with its nuanced portrait of nonprofits as centers capable of sustaining political and social change.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographic references and index
ISBN:9780812245639
0812245636
0812209028
9780812209020
DOI:10.9783/9780812209020