Regulating sex work in the EU: prostitute women and the new spaces of exclusion

Contemporary prostitution policy within the European Union has coalesced around the view that female prostitution is rarely voluntary, and often a consequence of sex trafficking. Responding, different nation-states have, however, adopted antithetical legal positions based on prohibition (Sweden), abolition (UK) or legalisation (Netherlands). Despite the apparently sharp differences between these positions, in this article we argue that there is now a shared preoccupation with repressing spaces of street prostitution. Noting the forms of exploitation that nonetheless adhere to many spaces of off-street work, we conclude that the state and law may intervene in sex work markets with the intention of tackling gendered injustice, but are perpetuating geographies of exception and abandonment.     

Book reviews

The Regions and the European Community: The Regional Response to the Single Market in the Underdeveloped Areas. R. Leonardi (Ed.). London, Frank Cass, 1993, 274 pp, £27.50 hb, ISBN 0 7146 3460 3.

Technology Policy: Towards an Integration of Social and Ecological Concerns. George Aichholzer and Gerd Schienstock (Eds). Berlin and New York, De Gruyter, 1994, 418 pp, DM188.0, US$94.95, £59.35 hb, ISBN 3 11 13677 5.

Postmodern Cities and Spaces. Sophie Watson and Katherine Gibson (Eds). Oxford, Blackwell, 1994, VIII + 269 pp, £45.00 hb, ISBN 0 631 19403 7, £13.99 pb, ISBN 0 631 19404 5.

Gender, Planning and the Policy Process. Jo Little. Oxford, Pergamon, 1994, ix + 210 pp, £58.00 hb, ISBN 0 080404 812, ISBN 0 080404 807.

Women and Planning—Creating Gendered Realities. Clara H. Greed. London, Routledge, 1994, vii + 248 pp, £12.99 pb, ISBN 0 415077 810.

Perspectives Towards Sustainable Environmental Development. C. C. Williams and G. Haughton (Eds). Aldershot, Ashgate, 1994, xi + 200 pp, £35.00 hb, ISBN 1 85628 874 9.

Regional Networks, Border Regions and European Integration. Ricardo Cappellin and Peter W. Batey (Eds). London, Pion, 1995, 246 pp, £22.50/US$35.00 hb, ISBN 0 850 8 6124.

Design Review: Challenging Urban Aesthetic Control. Brenda Case Scheer and Wolfgang F. E. Preiser (Eds). New York and London, Chapman & Hall, 1994, vii‐219 pp, US$36.95 pb, ISBN 0 412 99161 6.     

Understanding ethnic differences in perceptions,attitudes, and behaviours: a study of domestic water use in Sydney

There is growing realisation among environmental and social studies researchers that people's decision‐making about water use conforms to their internal norms and beliefs, which are developed in social and cultural contexts. Little research, however, has addressed the possible impacts that ethnic and cultural diversity may have on domestic water use and management. This paper presents the results of a study conducted in Sydney, with specific reference to questionnaire findings. Among respondents from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, significant differences were observed in terms of perceptions, specific knowledge, attitudes, and self‐reported behaviours in relation to water use and conservation. The disparities identified were not masking socio‐demographic and economic characteristics but were the result of a series of constructs closely tied to ethnicity, including cultural value, environmental experience, language preference, and information access. As a factor explaining variation in the engagement of pro‐conservation behaviour, ethnic status was found to be more useful than some socio‐economic factors. The study highlights the importance of including ethnicity and cultural sensitivity issues in the decision‐making process of environmental management.