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Sexuality and the Law

Selected Works

2009

Articles 1 - 30 of 45

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Oct 2009

The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Congratulations to the citizens of Rhode Island and national anti-trafficking advocates for the legislative victory in Rhode Island. This past week, the Rhode Island Assembly passed an unprecedented pieces of legislation that will protect victims from sex industry predators and give law enforcement the tools they need to arrest pimps, traffickers, and “johns.” 

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Victory In Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes Dr., Michael Horowitz Oct 2009

Victory In Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes Dr., Michael Horowitz

Donna M. Hughes

In stunning culmination of a David-Goliath struggle that, at least until lately, few believed the David side had the slightest chance of winning, the Rhode Island legislature enacted three major anti-trafficking bills last night that the Governor will soon sign into law. 

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Testimony On Prostitution Bill, Senate Judiciary Committee, Oct 2009, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Oct 2009

Testimony On Prostitution Bill, Senate Judiciary Committee, Oct 2009, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

I am here to support a bill that will give Rhode Island the prostitution law it needs to combat the growing sex industry and sex trafficking. 

Many letters and reports have been written describing the problems that decriminalized prostitution has created for Rhode Island. We know that women from foreign countries are here in the spa-brothels. We know that U.S teens are trafficked here from other states. We know there is much evidence of sex trafficking in the Asian spa-brothels and strip clubs. 

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Playboyt Targets Kids By Stripping Marge Simpson, Judith A. Reisman Phd Oct 2009

Playboyt Targets Kids By Stripping Marge Simpson, Judith A. Reisman Phd

Judith A. Reisman

No abstract provided.

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Federal Fraud: Porn Addicts At Nsf, Judith A. Reisman Phd Oct 2009

Federal Fraud: Porn Addicts At Nsf, Judith A. Reisman Phd

Judith A. Reisman

No abstract provided.

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Senate Prostitution Bill Weakens Law, Jim Meyen, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Sep 2009

Senate Prostitution Bill Weakens Law, Jim Meyen, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

No abstract provided.

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Senators' Prostitution Bill Is A Sham, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Sep 2009

Senators' Prostitution Bill Is A Sham, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

RHODE ISLAND needs a good prostitution law to halt the metastasizing problems of prostitution and sex trafficking. The growing number of spas and clubs are sordid destinations for foreign women and teens from around the Northeast. To address this problem, both the House and the Senate have passed bills they claim “close the loophole.” But the competing bills are profoundly different in their probable effectiveness. 

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Speak Your Voice On Prostitution Bill, Donna L. Landry, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Aug 2009

Speak Your Voice On Prostitution Bill, Donna L. Landry, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Now is the time to speak your voice and urge your Senator to pass the House bill H5044A. Now is the time to close the loophole of indoor prostitution in Rhode Island. Negotiations are ongoing, so please write letters to your senator and circulate petitions now. 

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Protect Our Children, Jenny Meyen, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Aug 2009

Protect Our Children, Jenny Meyen, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

There is something very disturbing about a business that advertises they are for “men and children” and evidence exists that this business has sexual acts occurring in the same building. That business is Gateway Barber and they advertise that they do haircuts, but that is not the only thing they do. According to the internet they are known as Salon 657 and described as offering erotic services. Gateway Barber is located on West Main Road in between two family restaurants. By all appearances one would assume that this is a “family business”. 

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Top Us Official On Trafficking Says Lack Of Prostitution Law Creates A "Zone Of Impunity" For Traffickers, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Aug 2009

Top Us Official On Trafficking Says Lack Of Prostitution Law Creates A "Zone Of Impunity" For Traffickers, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

The lack of a law against indoor prostitution can create a “zone of impunity in which police can’t go, and where traffickers can exploit their prey,” according to Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador at Large to Combat Human Trafficking and Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in the U.S. State Department.

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Sex Radicals Target Rhode Island, Margaret Brooks, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Aug 2009

Sex Radicals Target Rhode Island, Margaret Brooks, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Citizens Against Trafficking responds to the letter from 50 academics who support the status quo of decriminalized prostitution (indoors) in Rhode Island.On July 31, 2009, a letter co‐authored by Ronald Weitzer and Elizabeth Anne Wood and signed by 48 other “members of the academic community” was sent to the Rhode Island General
Assembly opposing any bill banning prostitution indoors.

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Evicted Brothel Relocates, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Aug 2009

Evicted Brothel Relocates, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

As it has become apparent that Rhode Island will pass a law prohibiting prostitution, property owner Joseph Paolino moved to evict a spa-brothel in his building. The Bali Day Spa has relocated to a sister spa-brothel at Smithfield Avenue.

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Tattoos Of Girls Under Pimp Control & Pimp Rules For The Control Of Victims, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Aug 2009

Tattoos Of Girls Under Pimp Control & Pimp Rules For The Control Of Victims, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

I have been collecting evidence of pimps’ practice of tattooing victims for several years. Tattooing, and sometimes branding or scarification, are marks of ownership. It is one of the ways that pimps maintain physical and psychological control over emotionally vulnerable girls. The girls and young women are frequently tattooed with the initials or street names of pimps. Marks also include gang symbols and $ signs or other symbols for the money the girls earn for the pimp. 

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Rhode Island Left Out Of Fbi Initiative, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Aug 2009

Rhode Island Left Out Of Fbi Initiative, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Rhode Island has been excluded from federal law enforcement investigations of sex trafficking of children because there is no law against prostitution.

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Citizens Confront Officials In Middletown, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Aug 2009

Citizens Confront Officials In Middletown, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

The parking lot was overflowing for the Middletown Town Council meeting on Monday evening. Dozens of citizens, including local business owners and parents, were there to express their concern about the presence of spa-brothels in the community and the loss of a children-centered business as a result.

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The Obstructionism Of Senator Paul Jabour, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Jul 2009

The Obstructionism Of Senator Paul Jabour, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

“I am disappointed in the last minute amendments [to the prostitution bill]. For Senator Jabour “to suggest that after all we have suffered through, with the way we are perceived as a state and the [lack of] tools we need in a court room; to suggest that [prostitution] is a violation, something like a traffic ticket, is a woeful decision. [Jabour’s amendments] are “what derailed [the prostitution bill] in the last week.” – Attorney General Patrick Lynch, on Channel 10 News Conference, July 12, 2009

Against all logic and political wisdom, in the closing weeks of the Assembly session last …

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Paternidades Negadas: Aplicación Del Enfoque De Género A Las Normas De Investigación De Paternidad Extramatrimonial., Beatriz Ramirez Jun 2009

Paternidades Negadas: Aplicación Del Enfoque De Género A Las Normas De Investigación De Paternidad Extramatrimonial., Beatriz Ramirez

Beatriz Ramirez

El trabajo analiza las normas de control de la sexualidad presentes en las normas de filiacion extramatrimonial.

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Salon 657 American Brothel In Middletown, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Jun 2009

Salon 657 American Brothel In Middletown, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Most of the spa-brothels in Rhode Island are run by Asians with Asian women engaging in prostitution. Salon 657 is one of the increasing numbers of prostitution venues with American women. Salon 657 advertises in the “adult entertainment” section of the Providence Phoenix that it offers “erotic massage and hair cutting services” for men only. 

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Rhode Island's Carnival Of Prostitution, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Jun 2009

Rhode Island's Carnival Of Prostitution, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

AFTER MY EXPERIENCE at the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday, I believe Rhode Island is headed for a human rights disaster and nationwide political embarrassment. It is becoming apparent that the Senate is not going to pass a much-needed prostitution bill. Rhode Island will continue to have an expanding number of spa-brothels, prostitution of minors in clubs, and no law that will enable the police to stop it. 

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Testimony In Support Of "An Act Relating To Criminal Offenses--Prostitution" At Governors Press Conference, Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Jun 2009

Testimony In Support Of "An Act Relating To Criminal Offenses--Prostitution" At Governors Press Conference, Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Prostitution is harmful to individuals involved, their families and the community. It is not a victimless activity or just a private sex act. Up to 90% of women in prostitution are beaten and raped by pimps and the men who buy sex. Approximately 90% are addicted to drugs and alcohol. They suffer depression and hopelessness; suicide attempts are common. For visual, physical evidence of the harm caused by prostitution, please look at this collection of serial photographs of prostitutes as they are being destroyed over time by prostitution and drug use. 

Because of decriminalized prostitution indoors, the sex industry is …

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Testimony On Human Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Jun 2009

Testimony On Human Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

 In 2007, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed an anti-human trafficking law. To date, there have been no prosecutions. There are three serious problems with the present Rhode Island law that need to be remedied in order to effectively combat human trafficking. 

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Indoor Brothel List By Senate District In Rhode Island, May 2009, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Apr 2009

Indoor Brothel List By Senate District In Rhode Island, May 2009, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Because of decriminalized prostitution, the number of places where there is indoor prostitution is rapidly increasing. The following is a partial list that demonstrates the escalating problem in Rhode Island, particularly since the Korean spa-brothels are known to be connected to Asian organized crime.

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Obama's Injuctice Department, Judith A. Reisman Phd Feb 2009

Obama's Injuctice Department, Judith A. Reisman Phd

Judith A. Reisman

No abstract provided.

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The Reclassification Of Extreme Pornographic Images, Andrew D. Murray Jan 2009

The Reclassification Of Extreme Pornographic Images, Andrew D. Murray

Professor Andrew D Murray

Legal controls over the importation and supply of pornographic imagery promulgated nearly half a century ago in the Obscene Publications Acts have proven to be inadequate to deal with the challenge of the internet age. With pornographic imagery more readily accessible in the UK than at any time in our history, legislators have been faced with the challenge of stemming the tide. One particular problem has been the ready accessibility of extreme images which mix sex and violence or which portray necrophilia or bestiality. This article examines the Government’s attempt to control the availability of such material through s.63 of …

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Surveying The Legal Landscape For Pennsylvania Same-Sex Couples, Anthony C. Infanti Jan 2009

Surveying The Legal Landscape For Pennsylvania Same-Sex Couples, Anthony C. Infanti

Anthony C. Infanti

By spring 2009, a quick succession of advances in the battle over same-sex marriage in Connecticut, California, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont had led some commentators to describe the moment using such hyperbolic phrases as “tipping point” and “potential watershed.” The legal and legislative wins in these states—however tentative—had created a sense of momentum in favor of lesbian and gay rights advocates in the battle over same-sex marriage. Yet jubilation over a string of victories should not obscure the larger perspective on this battle. We should not lose sight of the fact that in each of these jurisdictions, with …

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Gender Outlaws Before The Law: The Courts Of The Borderlands, Aeyal M. Gross Jan 2009

Gender Outlaws Before The Law: The Courts Of The Borderlands, Aeyal M. Gross

Aeyal M. Gross

This Article considers four trials held in the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel, in which gender outlaws were accused and convicted in a criminal court for fraudulent gender presentations. These trials raise questions at a number of junctures that touch on the regulation and politics of sex, gender, and sexuality. I argue that these cases manifest not only the unresolved tension between sexual and gender identities, but also the internal conflicts within the identities themselves, as well as the difficulty of maintaining boundaries amongst them. Furthermore, I argue that, contrary to the rhetoric used by the various courts, the …

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Legal Storytelling: The Theory And The Practice - Reflective Writing Across The Curriculum, Nancy Levit Jan 2009

Legal Storytelling: The Theory And The Practice - Reflective Writing Across The Curriculum, Nancy Levit

Nancy Levit

This article concentrates on the theory of narrative or storytelling and addresses the reasons it is vital to encourage in law schools in non-clinical or primarily doctrinal courses. Section I traces the advent of storytelling in legal theory and practice: while lawyers have long recognized that part of their job is to tell their clients' stories, the legal academy was, for many years, resistant to narrative methodologies. Section II examines the current applications of Writing Across the Curriculum in law schools. Most exploratory writing tasks in law school come in clinical courses, although a few adventurous professors are adding reflective …

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Theorizing And Litigating The Rights Of Sexual Minorities, Nancy Levit Jan 2009

Theorizing And Litigating The Rights Of Sexual Minorities, Nancy Levit

Nancy Levit

One of the best measures of a society is how it treats its vulnerable groups. A central idea in Professor Martha Nussbaum's writings is that all humans "are of equal dignity and worth, no matter where they are situated in society." The strategic challenge in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) rights litigation is how to get courts to see sexual minorities as people worthy of equal dignity and respect. This article focuses on the roles of a positive emotion - love - and a procedural method of proof - science - in the shaping of laws defining the rights …

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Price And Pretense In The Baby Market, Kimberly D. Krawiec Jan 2009

Price And Pretense In The Baby Market, Kimberly D. Krawiec

Kimberly D. Krawiec

Throughout the world, baby selling is formally prohibited. And throughout the world babies are bought and sold each day. As demonstrated in this Essay, the legal baby trade is a global market in which prospective parents pay, scores of intermediaries profit, and the demand for children is clearly differentiated by age, race, special needs, and other consumer preferences, with prices ranging from zero to over one hundred thousand dollars. Yet legal regimes and policymakers around the world pretend that the baby market does not exist, most notably through prohibitions against “baby selling” – typically defined as a prohibition against the …

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Cumulative Jurisprudence And Hate Speech: Sexual Orientation And Analogies To Disability, Age And Obesity, Eric Heinze Jan 2009

Cumulative Jurisprudence And Hate Speech: Sexual Orientation And Analogies To Disability, Age And Obesity, Eric Heinze

Prof. Eric Heinze, Queen Mary University of London

Non-discrimination norms in human rights instruments generally enumerate specified categories for protection, such as race, ethnicity, sex or religion, etc. They often omit express reference to sexual minorities.

Through open-ended interpretation, however, sexual minorities subsequently become incorporated. That ‘cumulative jurisprudence’ yields protections for sexual minorities through norms governing privacy, employment, age of consent, or freedoms of speech and association.

Hate speech bans, too, are often formulated with reference to traditionally recognised categories, particularly race and religion. It might be expected that the same cumulative jurisprudence should therefore be applied to include sexual minorities. In this article, that approach is challenged. …

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