Annales de la Faculté de Droit d’Istanbul 0578-9745 2687-4113 Istanbul University 10.26650/annales.2024.74.0006 Law in Context (Other) Hukuk (Diğer) Criminalisation of Sex Work: A Critical Approach to Criminalisation Theories from a Human Rights Perspective https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0652-2227 Ekinci Başak ISTANBUL BILGI UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF LAW, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC LAW, DEPARTMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 05 30 2024 74 99 131 10 12 2023 12 29 2023 Copyright © 1951, Annales de la Faculté de Droit d’Istanbul 1951 Annales de la Faculté de Droit d’Istanbul

Criminalisation is a popular legal approach to sex work. It adopts the view that sex work is harmful and wrong both for sex workers and the community. This argument seemingly coincides with fundamental principles of criminalisation, namely harm and wrong principles. However, I provide a new approach to criminalisation theories which introduces a real restriction on the state’s authority to criminalise. In doing so, I first discuss that harm and wrong principles are only defining principles which determine the scope of behaviours that can be considered within the criminal law realm. On the other hand, the restricting principles, namely those of proportionality and prohibition of discrimination, determine the boundaries of the state’s authority to criminalise the defined harmful wrongdoings. After I apply the defining principles to sex work, I investigate whether the restricting principles give countervailing reasons against criminalisation. The conclusion is that, unless it is proven to be contrary in a specific jurisdiction, sex work should not be criminalised because prima facie reasons cannot turn into all-things-considered reasons to justify criminalisation of sex work.

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