Using unpublished email interviews collected for a Home Office project on the sex industry, this anthology presents the individual stories of sex workers and buyers in England and Wales, in their own words. The author Natasha Mulvihill also re-interviews the participants to reflect on their original interviews, their experience of engaging in research and of managing through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of interest to policymakers and students of criminology, sociology, social policy, law and qualitative methods, the text seeks to navigate through the difficult politics of the sex industry and re-focus our understanding on the lived experiences of those involved.

"Mulvihill goes beyond tired dichotomies to present a nuanced and complex understanding of the phenomena of the sex industry and those who labour within it. A must-read for everyone interested in sex work." Gemma Ahearne, University of Liverpool

"Foregrounding sex workers' voices with insight and empathy, the book presents an innovative approach to narrative, participant-centred research that will prove invaluable to those interested in innovative approaches to studying the sex industry's nuanced socio-cultural terrain." Susan Dewey, University of Alabama

Natasha Mulvihill is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Bristol.

1. Introduction

2. Methods and Ethics

3. Female Independent Sex Workers

4. Male Independent Sex Workers

5. Managed Brothel Workers

6. Erotic Dancers and Strippers

7. Sex Buyers

8. Reflection

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