ABSTRACT
In 1987, New Zealand sex workers were recruited by health department officials to form a publicly funded community organization devoted to HIV prevention. New Zealand is a small Pacific nation populated by people of British, Maori, and Pacific Island ancestry. New Zealand’s population was approximately 3,500,000 in 1991, of whom the majority claimed British or European heritage. The formal methods of data collection for this case study were semi-structured interviews of key informants and analysis of epidemiological and documentary data. The word “prostitute” has often been ascribed to women whose sexual activities brought them to the notice of health authorities. Sex work is legal in New Zealand. However, soliciting is a crime under Section 26 of the Summary Offenses Act 1981. The prostitution laws prohibit brothel-keeping, sex palaces, and household operations. For sex workers, “empowerment” was a critical concept that provided a rationale for their organizational and political activities.
