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2009

Selected Works

Sexuality and the Law

Articles 1 - 30 of 33

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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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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What Is Due To Others: Speaking And Signifying Subject(S) Of Rape Law, Penelope Pether Dec 2008

What Is Due To Others: Speaking And Signifying Subject(S) Of Rape Law, Penelope Pether

Penelope J Pether

Australian journalist Paul Sheehan's representation of the alleged and convicted immigrant Muslim/Arab rapists he demonises in Girls Like You, like his representation of the rape survivors in that text, has much to tell us about the law's production of rape law's speaking and signifying subjects, "real rape" victims and survivors, false accusers and perpetrators. This article uses a variety of texts, including Girls Like You, recent Australian rape law jurisprudence and legislative reform, texts involving two controversial recent US rape cases — one from Maryland and one from Nebraska — and a recent UK study on attrition in rape prosecutions, …

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A (Trans) Gender-Inclusive Equal Protection Analysis Of Public Female Toplessness, Luke Boso Dec 2008

A (Trans) Gender-Inclusive Equal Protection Analysis Of Public Female Toplessness, Luke Boso

Luke A. Boso

Federal, state, and municipal laws have long regulated, and often blanketly prohibited, the exposure of female breasts in public venues for a variety of purported reasons. Generally worded to prohibit the exhibition of the “female breast with less than a fully opaque covering or any portion thereof below the top of the nipple,” nudity-regulating laws lack a similar provision for male breasts, and, in fact, exclude the male torso from coverage entirely.

Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s sex-based discrimination jurisprudence, advocates for topfree equality have repeatedly challenged these laws in court, arguing that they violate U.S. and state constitutions’ equal …

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Paper Till Nordisk Konferens Om Kön Och Rätt, Tromsø 2009, Linnéa Wegerstad Dec 2008

Paper Till Nordisk Konferens Om Kön Och Rätt, Tromsø 2009, Linnéa Wegerstad

Linnéa Wegerstad

Sexualbrottens sexualitet(er) - om den straffrättsliga konstruktionen av sexualitet

Under de senaste trettio åren har sexualbrottslagstiftningen varit föremål för omfattande kritik, särskilt utifrån feministiska argument. Dessa argument, bestående i att sexuellt våld betraktas som ett uttryck för bristande jämställdhet mellan könen, har tagits upp i flera statliga utredningar. I första hand har utformningen av våldtäktsparagrafen diskuterats och ifrågasatts. Dock har förekomsten av en särskild brottskategori benämnd sexualbrott inte utmanats nämnvärt. Genom att ta avstamp i den enkla frågan ”Vad är ett sexualbrott?” syftar mitt avhandlingsprojekt till att utforska den straffrättsliga konstruktionen av sexualitet.

Fokus för projektet är den straffrättsliga gränsdragningen …

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Understanding The Prop 8 Litigation: The Scope Of Direct Democracy And Role Of Judicial Scrutiny, Ronald Steiner Dec 2008

Understanding The Prop 8 Litigation: The Scope Of Direct Democracy And Role Of Judicial Scrutiny, Ronald Steiner

Ronald L. Steiner

Once the California Supreme Court decision is handed down, the precise contours of the battle over Proposition 8 and marriage equality will change, but nothing on the political horizon will make moot many of the fundamental issues direct democracy raises for California and the nation. A special and enduring element of the Prop 8 controversy is the role of judicial review in the scrutiny of the results of ballot propositions. A slice of conventional wisdom seems to suggest that the results of plebiscites should be nearly immune from judicial review. On the other hand, many political and legal scholars are …

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The Gay Agenda, Libby Adler Dec 2008

The Gay Agenda, Libby Adler

Libby S. Adler

The Gay Agenda argues that the current gay rights agenda has been overly determined by the culture war and calls for a deliberate step outside of culture war discourse in order to see law reform possibilities that have largely been obscured. When anti-gay forces speak in terms of traditional family values, the paper observes, pro-gay rejoinders tend to come in the form of rights claims accompanied by rhetorical efforts to depict the gay family as morally indistinct from an idealized version of the heterosexual family (i.e., monogamous, bourgeois, and more about love than sex). These dual strategies of rights - …

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A Commentary On The Old Saw That Same-Sex Marriage Threatens Civilization, Ronald L. Steiner Dec 2008

A Commentary On The Old Saw That Same-Sex Marriage Threatens Civilization, Ronald L. Steiner

Ronald L. Steiner

Discussions of same-sex marriage frequently entertain the notion that civilization is somehow at stake were a society to award legal sanction to it, and to gay rights more generally. Typically, those who express concern for negative civilizational consequences have in mind Western civilization, and more specifically Christian civilization. This civilizational concern will often be amplified by the implication that opposite-sex, or opposite-sex monogamous marriage is a timeless human universal. Any other marital regime is presumed to be an aberration, most likely the result of grave moral depravity of a sort supposedly facilitated by the modern rights-based society. This chapter subjects …

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The Short, Puzzling(?) Life Of The Civil Union, John G. Culhane Dec 2008

The Short, Puzzling(?) Life Of The Civil Union, John G. Culhane

John G. Culhane

In the battle for marriage equality, equal protection has proven to be a more successful strategy than fundamental rights. This outcome is perhaps surprising, given that civil unions arguably afford at least "formal" equality to same-sex couples. Yet the supreme courts of Connecticut and California have emphasized the denial of equality that the difference in names connotes - civil unions or domestic partnerships v. marriage - and therefore have moved dramatically towards real equality. These two courts were the first to declare that sexual orientation is a suspect (California) or quasi-suspect (Connecticut) classification, thereby radically changing the debate and the …

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The Irrational Woman: Informed Consent And Abortion Decision-Making, Maya Manian Dec 2008

The Irrational Woman: Informed Consent And Abortion Decision-Making, Maya Manian

Maya Manian

In Gonzales v. Carhart, the Supreme Court upheld a federal ban on a type of second-trimester abortion that many physicians believe is safer for their patients. Carhart presented a watershed moment in abortion law, because it marks the Supreme Court’s first use of the anti-abortion movement’s “woman-protective” rationale to uphold a ban on abortion and the first time since Roe v. Wade that the Court denied women a health exception to an abortion restriction. The woman-protective rationale asserts that banning abortion promotes women’s mental health. According to Carhart, the State should make the final decisions about pregnant women’s healthcare, because …

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The Debt Financing Of Parenthood, Melissa B. Jacoby Dec 2008

The Debt Financing Of Parenthood, Melissa B. Jacoby

Melissa B. Jacoby

In this contribution to the symposium Show Me the Money: Making Markets in Forbidden Exchange, I explore an under-appreciated participant in the assisted reproduction and adoption industries: consumer lenders. Through fertility clinics and other service providers, financial institutions market and distribute loans specifically to finance acquisition of treatments, drugs, and human eggs. Adoption foundations and agencies advertise for-profit loans to intended parents, while small foundations offer adoption loans that appear to be low-cost financially but may condition loan approval on intended parent characteristics such as religious observance, marital status, sexual orientation, and adherence to traditional gender roles. After discussing how …

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Conversations In Equity And Social Justice: Constructing Safe Schools For Queer Youth, Donn Short Dec 2008

Conversations In Equity And Social Justice: Constructing Safe Schools For Queer Youth, Donn Short

Donn Short

No abstract provided.

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