1 Regulating Sex Work Adrienne D. Davis VERY ROUGH DRAFT ...

In contrast to this institutional form, face-to-face sexual services that occur in
commercial establishments can pose a greater risk to workers. Brothels typically have
private rooms in which the prostitutes provide services to clients; similarly, some dance
clubs offer separate rooms or lounges for customers who want private lap-dances or
massages. It is during these interactions, while isolated from others, that clients are most
likely to assault or threaten workers. [find a good quote] In addition, as described above,
many assaults and threats against sex professionals occur when they are leaving the
establishment, i.e., in parking lots, on the street, etc.
Although commercial establishments have a heightened risk of violence, these
institutions are arguably the easiest to regulate for worker safety. Mandatory protections
in sexual commercial establishments might include bodyguards, panic buttons, a security
service, escorts out of the workplace, and surveillance if appropriate. 251 [fill in other
relevant guidelines from New Zealand?] All of the regulations of this institutional form
rest on two principles. The first is to ameliorate the risk correlated with isolation through
surveillance and/or empowering the worker to quickly call on others. The second is to
make the operator, not the worker, responsible for the risk reduction. As in other
workplaces compliance with these requirements would be a condition of licensing for
operators of these establishments. 252 “Scores” akin to restaurant sanitation ratings could
be publicly posted to alert workers and customers alike to the potential for conditions that
might compromise their safety.
It is the final institutional form that generates the greatest risk of violence. In this
sexual geography, workers physically interact with clients but outside of dedicated
commercial establishments. Unlike those who work in brothels or clubs, these sex
workers largely provide their sexual services in private homes, theirs or their clients’,
rented spaces such as hotel rooms, or on the street or other public places. 253 They might
work independently or for a third party intermediary, such as an escort service or [what is
the term for an agency that sends outcall dancers?]. The defining characteristic of this
sexual geography is its absence of an institutional infrastructure. Unlike brothel or club
workers, outcall, street, and home-based workers serve clients in unregulated private
contexts without any structural supports. These workers may serve multiple clients
simultaneously, but do so without co-workers, managers, or even other customers who
have a stake in the on-going stability of the enterprise, including the safety of its
workers. 254 The presence of other stakeholders can provide formal or informal security
for sex workers. In addition, in outcall or street work, unlike brothels and clubs, the law
cannot mandate a thick security apparatus—panic buttons, security guards or bouncers,
surveillance—because there is no stable worksite to regulate. Sex professionals working
out of their own home have greater control over their circumstances, but even they may
struggle to reduce risk. 255 If the worker is an independent contractor, working without a
251
Some brothels and clubs already include these safeguards. Workers recognize and discuss risk
management as they differentiate among worksites. See, e.g., BROOKS, supra note [x], at [pincite.] [Contra
the bodyguard concern, informal practices at brothels include “a madam’s stationing herself near a room if
she is concerned about the safety of a particular prostitute.” McGinley 105 fn omitted]
252
253
Duke LAX rented house.
254
Domestic worker literature.
255
Many high-end prostitutes would resist this regulation, contending that they rely on closely monitored
referral networks to carefully screen their clients and protect themselves. My point is that if they
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