Hi all! So a friend of mine and fellow sex-work activist suggested that I post this here. I'm a sex-worker myself and doing research on the way that criminalisation hinders agency. I've pasted the info about my research below. If you have 45 minutes to spare to talk to me I'd really appreciate it! Unfortunately my project isn't funded, so I can't offer any sort of compensation for the interview, but I'm working with several organisations in London who are advocating for decrim, and I'm intending on writing up my research in a final report for those agencies to use as a tool for their advocacy. Hope to hear from you!

My name is Jenna Ciotta, and I'm working on my MA in Human Rights at University College London. I'm currently working on my dissertation, and for this project, I'm researching the effects of laws that regulate sex work, specifically how sex workers respond to these laws and how these laws affect the safety of sex workers. I'm interested in talking to people who have done sex work in England (or the greater UK) for at least a year.

So, if you fit this description, here's some more info:

The research will entail of an approximately 45-minute interview that can be conducted in person or over the phone. If you decide to participate, we'll talk about things that are relevant to your work- what are the laws that regulate sex work that most affect you? How you respond to these laws? How do these laws affect your safety? Your participation would be completely confidential. Any identifying information you may share would be removed in the final write-up of the report. Any question that makes you uncomfortable can be skipped, and you can stop the whole interview at any time. Finally, if after the interview has concluded you wish to withdraw the data from your interview, you are able to do so up until it has been transcribed in the final report on 22 August, 2014.

Another goal of this research is collaboration and participatory action- so, if you agree and are interested, I'll gladly contact you at the end of July for a brief follow-up, to discuss the general findings, and get your input on how you feel the findings reflect the experiences of sex workers and how these findings should be represented in the final write-up.

What this research has to offer you:
This is an opportunity to add your voice to an important issue. I'm personally very frustrated by how many researchers create research about sex work without ever talking to sex workers. Additionally, I'm working with organisations in London who are advocating against the current proposal in Parliament to criminalise the clients of sex workers. Participating in this research is an opportunity to contribute to a final report that will be used to advocate against this proposal and for the decriminalisation of sex work in the UK. Your lived experiences and expertise in this area are invaluable to this research.

If you have any questions or would like to talk about participating in an interview, please send me a message! You can also contact me at jenna.ciotta@gmail.com or +44 07932 252444.

This study has been approved by the UCL Research Ethics Committee:5425/001