Feminist Regulatory Relationships with 'the Usefulness' of the Law and Sex

在活动家、研究和政策圈中，关于哪些法律制度能够限制甚至消除被认为与性行为相关的伤害的讨论正在进行。这在规范性工作者、其客户和国家行为者之间互动的当代法律努力中尤为明显。尽管这些讨论具有广泛且经常引起争议的性质，但对于“法律”如何成为对性行为问题的最高回应，或者这种固定是否阻碍了其他类型的政治组织，人们的关注相对有限。我的博士研究调查了法律如何成为当代女权主义者应对性行为问题的“有用工具”。女权主义者的反应特别值得研究，因为在其他时间点，它的许多支持者和倡导者对该法律深表怀疑，甚至对它可能有助于实现女权主义目标的想法感到反感。我的博士研究表明，法律如何在女权主义活动家的思想中变得有用的故事不仅是一段有趣的、经常被遗忘的历史，而且还提供了对法律在塑造当代活动家决策中所起作用的见解。我的研究揭示了对法律有用性的态度如何影响女权主义组织中谁应该做复印工作，活动家应该如何相互交谈，以及当警察采取宵禁等措施时，什么是错误的。它还表明，法律与女权主义者身份的确立、与“做女权主义”相关的活动以及对女权主义者应该努力实现的目标的理解密切相关。通过学术出版物、无障碍材料和与利益相关者的研讨会的制作，该项目的总体目标是在这些研究成果的基础上建立对话，鼓励对法律权力的细微理解。它希望扩大非学术观众对法律“有用性”及其影响的认知，超越法庭和警察突袭的想象。该项目将鼓励其受益者参与对我们使用法律的后果的战略思考。这些对话可能对激进组织、学者和政策制定者的工作产生巨大影响。它提供了一个新的机会，让我们认识到我们对法律的态度是如何塑造我们的活动、身份和共同生活的方式的。

There are ongoing discussions in activist, research, and policy circles about which legal regimes are able to limit or even abolish harms perceived to be associated with types of sexual conduct. This is particularly noticeable in contemporary legal efforts to regulate interactions between sex workers, their clients, and state actors. Despite the widespread and often contentious nature of these discussions, relatively limited attention has been paid to how 'the law' became the paramount response to problems of sexual conduct or whether this fixation has prevented other types of political organising.My doctoral research investigated how the law came to hold such a critical position as a 'useful tool' for contemporary feminist responses to problems of sexual conduct. Feminist responses are particularly fascinating to study because at other points of time many of its supporters and advocates treated the law with deep suspicion and were even repulsed by the idea it might be useful for achieving feminist objectives. My doctoral research revealed that the story of how the law became useful in feminist activist thinking is not only an interesting and often forgotten history, but also provides insights into the role law plays in shaping contemporary activist decisions. My research revealed how attitudes towards the usefulness of law impact who should do the photocopying at a feminist organisation, how activists should speak to one another, and what exactly is wrong when police introduce measures such as curfews. It also demonstrated that the law is intimately linked to how feminist identities are established, what activities become associated with 'doing feminism', and understandings of what objectives feminists should strive to achieve.Through the production of academic publications, accessible materials, and workshops with stakeholders, this project's overall objective is to build on these research findings to create conversations that encourage nuanced understandings of legal power. It hopes to expand non-academic audiences' perceptions of the 'usefulness' of law and its affects, moving beyond imaginations from court rooms and police raids. The project will encourage its beneficiaries to participate in strategic thinking about the consequences of what we do with the law. These conversations are potentially highly impactful on the work of activist organisations, academics and policy makers. It provides a new opportunity to recognise how our attitudes towards the law as useful shape our activities, identities and ways of living together.