Sex Work Policy in Poland and Its Impact on the Lived Experience of Sex Workers
Sex Work Policy in Poland and Its Impact on the Lived Experience of Sex Workers

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the model of sex work regulation in Poland. Officially being an abolitionist one, it criminalises directly third parties, while in practice the whole working environment is criminalised, pushing sex workers into shadow economy and precarious working conditions, and exposing them to heightened risks of violence. At the same time, the Polish state does not provide any support programmes for sex workers. As such, it misrecognises sex workers, who are not seen as workers or victims. This article looks at the prostitution policy from the perspective of sex workers’ rights. It also shows how complicated sex work policy is, since the law includes contradictory rules and values, which all have a negative impact on sex workers’ lives, and how these contradictory rules contribute to misrecognition of sex workers, as workers, subjects of rights and citizens, and to their stigmatisation.

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