This article discusses the model of sex work regulation in Poland. Officially being an abolitioni... more 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.
Artykul powstal w ramach projektu „Gender equality and quality of life – how gender equality can ... more Artykul powstal w ramach projektu „Gender equality and quality of life – how gender equality can contribute to development in Europe. A study of Poland and Norway”. Badania naukowe prowadzące do osiągniecia opisanych rezultatow otrzymaly finansowanie z programu PolskoNorweska Wspolpraca Badawcza, realizowanego przez Narodowe Centrum Badan i Rozwoju w ramach Norweskiego Mechanizmu Finansowego na lata 2009–2014, na podstawie umowy w sprawie projektu n°Pol-Nor/200641/63/2013.
Handel ludźmi to współczesna forma niewolnictwa. Proceder ten narusza podstawowe prawa człowieka,... more Handel ludźmi to współczesna forma niewolnictwa. Proceder ten narusza podstawowe prawa człowieka, przede wszystkim jego godność. Już w XIX wieku odnotowano porywanie kobiet, szczególnie z ubogich żydowskich rodzin z terenu Królestwa Polskiego i Galicji do Ameryki, gdzie zmuszano je do prostytucji (Vincent 2006). Podobnie dzisiaj, w zglobalizowanym świecie, rosnące różnice między poziomem życia w biednych i bogatych regionach oraz zwiększająca się mobilność jednostek popychają do emigracji wiele osób szukających lepszego bytu. Część z nich pada ofi arą międzynarodowej przestępczości zorganizowanej. Według szacunków ONZ handel ludźmi jest bardziej dochodowy zarówno od handlu bronią, jak i narkotykami (Marcovich 2007), przynosząc rocznie 30 miliardów dolarów zysku (ILO 2005: 55). Jako że problem ten dotyczy przede wszystkim kobiet, zmuszanych do prostytucji i pracy domowej, nie może być rozpatrywany bez uwzględnienia takich kwestii, jak nierówności między kobietami i mężczyznami, przem...
The Main Department of Police in Poland notes about 2000 rapes a year. Some of the crimes are per... more The Main Department of Police in Poland notes about 2000 rapes a year. Some of the crimes are performed with "Date Rape Drugs". The term means substances helping comitting a rape such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid), ketamine, flunitrazepam and other benzodiazepines derivatives, MDMA ("ecstasy"), marihuana, amphetamine. The substances are often joined with alcohol. The victims are usually young women, and not all the cases are recorded by the police or physicians, because the victims often do not remember details of the event. The toxicological analysis of blood or urine would be helpful to explain the circumstances of the case and to prove using "Date Rape Drug". The samples for toxicological determinations should be collected as soon as possible (24 to 72 hours after admission). Preventing violence with "Date Rape Drugs" include wide education by media, police, teachers and parents. The purpose of the research was to check the level of kn...
This paper concerns the development of sex work discourse in Poland, with special atention given ... more This paper concerns the development of sex work discourse in Poland, with special atention given to the role of La Strada Foundation. In my paper, I am introducing the term “managers of recognition,” the social agents who aim at representing women selling sexual services. I will especially investigate the activity of La Strada Foundation, the frst and leading initiative in Poland in the feld of sex work and trafcking in women. The representatives of La Strada Foundation act as managers of recognition for women selling sexual services in Poland, shaping the discourse on sex work, the perception of female sex workers, and policy solutions in this feld. La Strada Foundation and its representatives, as certifed managers of recognition, hold dominant position in defning the recognition of sex workers, especially because of its influence on feminist movement in Poland.
The Main Department of Police in Poland notes about 2000 rapes a year. Some of the crimes are per... more The Main Department of Police in Poland notes about 2000 rapes a year. Some of the crimes are performed with "Date Rape Drugs". The term means substances helping comitting a rape such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid), ketamine, flunitrazepam and other benzodiazepines derivatives, MDMA ("ecstasy"), marihuana, amphetamine. The substances are often joined with alcohol. The victims are usually young women, and not all the cases are recorded by the police or physicians, because the victims often do not remember details of the event. The toxicological analysis of blood or urine would be helpful to explain the circumstances of the case and to prove using "Date Rape Drug". The samples for toxicological determinations should be collected as soon as possible (24 to 72 hours after admission). Preventing violence with "Date Rape Drugs" include wide education by media, police, teachers and parents. The purpose of the research was to check the level of kn...
In our article we critically examine institutionalized forms of knowledge concerning female sex w... more In our article we critically examine institutionalized forms of knowledge concerning female sex workers. Referring to our knowledge gathered during field work concerning situation of female sex workers in Poland and experiences as streetworkers associated with non-governmental organization, we have distinguished two disparate kinds of knowledge concerning female sex workers. On the one hand, we have identified “institutional knowledge”, exterior to them and created without their participation by the academic institutions, enforcement agencies (the police, prosecution) and aid institutions (governmental and non-governmental), and – on the other hand – “field knowledge”, constructed in a dialogue with female sex workers in the process of social work, particularly streetwork. The main difference between those two types of knowledge lies in the power relations intrinsic to the process of knowledge production, interests realized through this process and actions undertaken as its consequence.
This article discusses the model of sex work regulation in Poland. Officially being an abolitioni... more 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.
Artykul powstal w ramach projektu „Gender equality and quality of life – how gender equality can ... more Artykul powstal w ramach projektu „Gender equality and quality of life – how gender equality can contribute to development in Europe. A study of Poland and Norway”. Badania naukowe prowadzące do osiągniecia opisanych rezultatow otrzymaly finansowanie z programu PolskoNorweska Wspolpraca Badawcza, realizowanego przez Narodowe Centrum Badan i Rozwoju w ramach Norweskiego Mechanizmu Finansowego na lata 2009–2014, na podstawie umowy w sprawie projektu n°Pol-Nor/200641/63/2013.
Handel ludźmi to współczesna forma niewolnictwa. Proceder ten narusza podstawowe prawa człowieka,... more Handel ludźmi to współczesna forma niewolnictwa. Proceder ten narusza podstawowe prawa człowieka, przede wszystkim jego godność. Już w XIX wieku odnotowano porywanie kobiet, szczególnie z ubogich żydowskich rodzin z terenu Królestwa Polskiego i Galicji do Ameryki, gdzie zmuszano je do prostytucji (Vincent 2006). Podobnie dzisiaj, w zglobalizowanym świecie, rosnące różnice między poziomem życia w biednych i bogatych regionach oraz zwiększająca się mobilność jednostek popychają do emigracji wiele osób szukających lepszego bytu. Część z nich pada ofi arą międzynarodowej przestępczości zorganizowanej. Według szacunków ONZ handel ludźmi jest bardziej dochodowy zarówno od handlu bronią, jak i narkotykami (Marcovich 2007), przynosząc rocznie 30 miliardów dolarów zysku (ILO 2005: 55). Jako że problem ten dotyczy przede wszystkim kobiet, zmuszanych do prostytucji i pracy domowej, nie może być rozpatrywany bez uwzględnienia takich kwestii, jak nierówności między kobietami i mężczyznami, przem...
The Main Department of Police in Poland notes about 2000 rapes a year. Some of the crimes are per... more The Main Department of Police in Poland notes about 2000 rapes a year. Some of the crimes are performed with "Date Rape Drugs". The term means substances helping comitting a rape such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid), ketamine, flunitrazepam and other benzodiazepines derivatives, MDMA ("ecstasy"), marihuana, amphetamine. The substances are often joined with alcohol. The victims are usually young women, and not all the cases are recorded by the police or physicians, because the victims often do not remember details of the event. The toxicological analysis of blood or urine would be helpful to explain the circumstances of the case and to prove using "Date Rape Drug". The samples for toxicological determinations should be collected as soon as possible (24 to 72 hours after admission). Preventing violence with "Date Rape Drugs" include wide education by media, police, teachers and parents. The purpose of the research was to check the level of kn...
This paper concerns the development of sex work discourse in Poland, with special atention given ... more This paper concerns the development of sex work discourse in Poland, with special atention given to the role of La Strada Foundation. In my paper, I am introducing the term “managers of recognition,” the social agents who aim at representing women selling sexual services. I will especially investigate the activity of La Strada Foundation, the frst and leading initiative in Poland in the feld of sex work and trafcking in women. The representatives of La Strada Foundation act as managers of recognition for women selling sexual services in Poland, shaping the discourse on sex work, the perception of female sex workers, and policy solutions in this feld. La Strada Foundation and its representatives, as certifed managers of recognition, hold dominant position in defning the recognition of sex workers, especially because of its influence on feminist movement in Poland.
The Main Department of Police in Poland notes about 2000 rapes a year. Some of the crimes are per... more The Main Department of Police in Poland notes about 2000 rapes a year. Some of the crimes are performed with "Date Rape Drugs". The term means substances helping comitting a rape such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid), ketamine, flunitrazepam and other benzodiazepines derivatives, MDMA ("ecstasy"), marihuana, amphetamine. The substances are often joined with alcohol. The victims are usually young women, and not all the cases are recorded by the police or physicians, because the victims often do not remember details of the event. The toxicological analysis of blood or urine would be helpful to explain the circumstances of the case and to prove using "Date Rape Drug". The samples for toxicological determinations should be collected as soon as possible (24 to 72 hours after admission). Preventing violence with "Date Rape Drugs" include wide education by media, police, teachers and parents. The purpose of the research was to check the level of kn...
In our article we critically examine institutionalized forms of knowledge concerning female sex w... more In our article we critically examine institutionalized forms of knowledge concerning female sex workers. Referring to our knowledge gathered during field work concerning situation of female sex workers in Poland and experiences as streetworkers associated with non-governmental organization, we have distinguished two disparate kinds of knowledge concerning female sex workers. On the one hand, we have identified “institutional knowledge”, exterior to them and created without their participation by the academic institutions, enforcement agencies (the police, prosecution) and aid institutions (governmental and non-governmental), and – on the other hand – “field knowledge”, constructed in a dialogue with female sex workers in the process of social work, particularly streetwork. The main difference between those two types of knowledge lies in the power relations intrinsic to the process of knowledge production, interests realized through this process and actions undertaken as its consequence.
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Papers by Anna Ratecka
Foundation. In my paper, I am introducing the term “managers of recognition,” the social agents who aim at representing women
selling sexual services. I will especially investigate the activity of La Strada Foundation, the frst and leading initiative in Poland in
the feld of sex work and trafcking in women. The representatives of La Strada Foundation act as managers of recognition for women selling sexual services in Poland, shaping the discourse on sex work, the perception of female sex workers, and policy solutions
in this feld. La Strada Foundation and its representatives, as certifed managers of recognition, hold dominant position in defning
the recognition of sex workers, especially because of its influence on feminist movement in Poland.
Foundation. In my paper, I am introducing the term “managers of recognition,” the social agents who aim at representing women
selling sexual services. I will especially investigate the activity of La Strada Foundation, the frst and leading initiative in Poland in
the feld of sex work and trafcking in women. The representatives of La Strada Foundation act as managers of recognition for women selling sexual services in Poland, shaping the discourse on sex work, the perception of female sex workers, and policy solutions
in this feld. La Strada Foundation and its representatives, as certifed managers of recognition, hold dominant position in defning
the recognition of sex workers, especially because of its influence on feminist movement in Poland.