Social Movements & the Law

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

A selection of sources concerning legislation and different perspectives around the topic of abortion and reproductive rights.

Welcome! This is a guide to selected sources of information on Human Rights available in URI Libraries.

This guide offers an introduction to reproductive health and rights resources located in the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University's Rubenstein Library.

Sex work was not a prominent public issue in the USA a generation ago. Law and law enforcement were fairly settled. Over the past two decades, however, a robust campaign has sought to intensify the stigmatization and criminalization of the participants involved in all types of sex work, which are now conflated with human trafficking. These efforts have been remarkably successful in reshaping government policy and legal norms and in enhancing penalties for existing offenses. The article analyzes these developments within the framework of a modernized version of moral crusade theory that includes both instrumental and expressive arguments against sex work.

Sex workers' rights encompass a variety of aims being pursued globally by individuals and organizations that specifically involve the human, health, and labor rights of sex workers and their clients. The goals of these movements are diverse, but generally aim to legalize or decriminalize sex work, as well as to destigmatize it, regulate it and ensure fair treatment before legal and cultural forces on a local and international level for all persons in the sex industry.

Women and the Law (Peggy) is a collection that brings together books, biographies, and periodicals to provide a convenient platform for users to research the progression of women's roles and rights in society over the past 200 years.

This guide is designed teach young women ages 15-21 about the #MeToo Movement and related issues of Feminism and Sexual Harassment.

This guide will discuss fourth-wave feminism and recent online women's rights movements such as #MeToo.

The General Collections of the Library of Congress constitute most of the books and bound periodicals published since 1800. Part of the American Women series, this research guide highlights primary and secondary sources about American women's history.

Fighting for the human rights of people in the sex trades

The Outlaw Project is based on the principles of intersectionality and prioritizes the leadership of Transgender Women, BIPOC, gender non-binary, migrant and sex worker folks. Ensuring our rights and health as a first step will ensure the rights and health of all. We believe that accessible, safe and secure housing is the best way to support our community.

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Welcome to the new and improved SWOP-USA website! We're going through many changes as an organization and a digital overhaul is part of that. You'll find an entirely new resource section, our Chapter Hub site has moved here, and we'll also

Through artwork and performances, this pop-up exhibit asks visitors to listen to the voices of sex workers, and reflect on how society defines work.

Human Rights Watch has conducted research on sex work around the world, including in Cambodia, China, Tanzania, the United States, and most recently, South Africa. The research, including extensive consultations with sex workers and organizations that work on the issue, has shaped the Human Rights Watch policy on sex work: Human Rights Watch supports the full decriminalization of consensual adult sex work.

The Young Women’s Empowerment Project (YWEP) is a member based social justice organizing project that is led by and for young people of color who have current or former experience in the sex trade …

Covid-19 presents a new problem for sex workers. In-person sex work is intimate by its very nature, and workers are at heightened risk of contracting the virus if they keep working. But without work, as strip clubs close and clients dwindle, sex workers struggle to survive.

Sex workers all over the world face a constant risk of abuse. This is not news. Nor is it news that they are an extremely marginalized group of people, frequently forced to live outside the law. But when word got out that Amnesty International had initiated a consultation to develop a policy to protect the human rights of sex workers, it was like lighting a touch paper. Journalists and celebrities climbed on the band wagon. Ever-more sensational headlines condemned Amnesty International for advocating for “prostitution as a human right”.

Feminist librarians have fought for recognition through the decades: feminist history and women's library history are intertwined.

Missing white woman syndrome is a term which is used by social scientists[1][2][3] and media commentators in reference to the media coverage, especially on television,[4] of missing-person cases involving young, attractive, white, upper middle class women or girls compared to the relative lack of attention towards missing women who were not white, of lower social classes, or of missing men or boys.[5][6] Although the term was coined in the context of missing-person cases, it is sometimes used of coverage of other violent crimes. The phenomenon has been highlighted in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and other predominantly white countries.[7][8]

#MeToo[a] is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.[1][2][3] The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in 2006, on Myspace, by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke.[4] Harvard University published a case study on Burke, called "Leading with Empathy: Tarana Burke and the Making of the Me Too Movement" (2020).[5] The hashtag #MeToo was used starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem.

Tarana Burke is an American Activist from The Bronx, New York, who started the MeToo movement. In 2006, Burke began using MeToo to help other women with similar experiences to stand up for themselves. Over a decade later, in 2017, #MeToo became a viral hashtag when Alyssa Milano and other women began using it to tweet about the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases. The phrase and hashtag quickly developed into a broad-based, and eventually international movement.