ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the current UK approach to abolitionism by examining how a popular Northern European prostitution agenda has been translated into the English context. It argues that while neo-abolitionism has, over the last decade, had a noticeable impact on prostitution policy and practice in the UK, this has its own peculiarities. The chapter traces the evolution of prostitution law and policy in England and Wales, and explores its impact upon various subjects and spaces of sex work. Accordingly, while in England and Wales the scene was set for the adoption of an asymmetrical neo-abolitionist approach - criminalising those who purchasing sex, whilst decriminalising the sale of sex - the resulting reforms produce their own unique form of abolitionism. The chapter argues that the next generation of reform in the UK should be informed by a sex work discourse, which acknowledges and responds to the complexities of prostitution and trafficking.
