A Vindication of the Rights of Whores

In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, made a plea for basic human rights and equality for women -a radical demand for the time. Now, 200 years later, prostitutes are calling for similar rights and equality. The need o speak out for the rights of sex workers became clear to Margo St. James, a former prostitute, in the early 1970s. She founded Coyote (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) in 1973 and went on to establish a network of prostitutes, social workers and politicians.The book consists of the voices of a diverse group of prostitutes, sex worker's rights activists and feminist scholars from around the world, discussing their lives and their concerns.It includes the complete text of the World Charter for Prostitutes' Rights; unedited transcripts of workshop arranged by topic from the First World Whores' Congress held in Amsterdam in February 1985 and Second World Whores' Congress at the European Parliament held in Brussels in October 1986; position papers; as well as interviews with various participants.