Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of some of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book attempts to offer some explanations for the spreading influence of neo-abolitionism, informed by case studies of policy activism and state practices in a select number of jurisdictions. It suggests that the best approach to considering why neo-abolitionism has become so influential in the contemporary Western world is, in effect, to build theory from the ground up, based on discrete case studies. While feminism has had a long and continuing debate about its positions on sex work, neo-abolitionism's positing of sex work as inherently a form of violence, carved out a neat fit with gains made by the violence against women movements in various domestic polities. The book suggests a set of drivers - factors, actors, forces and institutions of neo-abolitionism from the case studies.