Melissa Farley
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Melissa Farley | |
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Born | 1942 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of Iowa (Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, 1973) San Francisco State University (MS, Clinical Psychology, 1966) Mills College (BA, Psychology, 1964) |
Known for | Research on the effects of prostitution, sexual abuse, and violence against women[1] |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Psychology |
Institutions | Prostitution Research and Education 1996– Kaiser Foundation Research Institute (Oakland, CA), 1993–2000 |
Melissa Farley (born 1942) is a feminist research and clinical psychologist and anti-pornography and anti-prostitution activist.[1][2][3][4] Farley is best known for her studies of the effects of prostitution and trafficking on those engaged in those industries.
Farley is a leading proponent of the abolitionist view of sex work[5] (a term she is opposed to[6]) holding that all sex work is inherently exploitive and traumatizing, and should therefore be abolished. She is an opponent of wholesale decriminalization of prostitution, instead advocating the "Swedish model" in which selling sex is decriminalized, but the penalties for purchasing sex are increased. She is also largely opposed to sex workers' rights groups, such as COYOTE, which advocate legalizing or decriminalizing both prostitution and the purchase of sexual services.[7]
Since 1993, Farley has researched prostitution and trafficking in 10 countries. She is the author of several studies of street prostitutes in several parts of the world, which claim high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder among the women studied. Her studies, however, have been criticized (most notably by Ronald Weitzer, a social scientist at George Washington University) both for their methodology and for the way they have been more generally applied to demonstrate the harm of sex work of all kinds. Farley's critics also hold that her findings largely reflect her radical feminist ideology.[8][9][10]
Farley has also published several papers on the long-term effects of sexual abuse.
As of 2007, she is currently director of Prostitution Research and Education, a San Francisco nonprofit organization. In March 2007, she testified in hearings about Kink.com's purchase of the San Francisco Armory, comparing the images produced by Kink.com to images of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.[11][12] In September 2007, Farley published a report on prostitution and sex trafficking in the state of Nevada. In the report, Farley claims that, though Nevada has legal brothels, 90% of prostitution taking place in the state is illegal and that Las Vegas is a major destination for sex traffickers. She also claims that 81% of the 45 legal brothel workers she interviewed would like to leave prostitution, but in many cases are physically prevented from doing so. Farley claims to have been threatened at gunpoint by one of the brothel owners during the course of the interviews.[13][14]
Major works
- Farley M. (2007). Prostitution and trafficking in Nevada: making the connections. San Francisco: Prostitution Research and Education. (information)
- Farley M (ed). (2004). Prostitution, trafficking and traumatic stress. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Maltreatment & Trauma Press. ISBN 0789023784 (hardcover) ISBN 0789023792 (paperback)
- Farley M. (2004). "Bad for the body, bad for the heart": Prostitution harms women even if legalized or decriminalized. Violence Against Women 10(10): 1087–1125. doi:10.1177/1077801204268607
- Farley M, Cotton A, Lynne J, Zumbeck S, Spiwak F, Reyes ME, Alvarez D, Sezgin U. (2003). Prostitution and trafficking in nine countries: Update on violence and posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Trauma Practice 2(3/4):33–74. doi:10.1300/J189v02n03_03
- Farley M, Patsalides BM. (2001). Physical symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, and healthcare utilization of women with and without childhood physical and sexual abuse. Psychological Reports 89(3):595–606. doi:10.2466/PR0.89.7.595-606
- Farley M, Barkan H. (1998). Prostitution, violence, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Women & Health 27(3):37–49. doi:10.1300/J013v27n03_03
- Farley M, Baral I, Kiremire M, Sezgin U. (1998). Prostitution in five countries: Violence and posttraumatic stress disorder. Feminism & Psychology 8(4):405–426. doi:10.1300/J013v27n03_03
- Farley M, Keaney JC. (1997). Physical symptoms, somatization, and dissociation in women survivors of childhood sexual assault. Women & Health 25(3):33–45. doi:10.1300/J013v25n03_03
References
- ^ a b "Melissa Farley: Curriculum Vitae", 2004.
- ^ "Prostitution: The oldest use and abuse of women" by Melissa Farley, off our backs, May 1994. (FindArticles.com archive, p 3.)
- ^ "Slick S.F. posters advocate decriminalizing prostitution" by Kevin Foley, San Francisco Examiner, August 14, 1995.
- ^ "Sober forum, street theater on prostitution ballot issue" by Patrick Hoge, San Francisco Chronicle, August 31, 2004.
- ^ "Feminists fight over prostitution" by Roberta deBoer, Toledo Blade, September 24, 2006.
- ^ "Prostitution, trafficking, and cultural amnesia: What we must not know in order to keep the business of sexual exploitation running smoothly" by Melissa Farley, Yale Journal of Law and Feminism 18(1):109–144, Spring 2006.
- ^ "Ex-prostitutes' quilt honors slain women" by Associated Press, Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 13, 1994, p 14.
- ^ “Flawed Theory and Method in Studies of Prostitution” by Ronald Weitzer, Violence Against Women 11(7): 934–949, July 2005.
- ^ Letter to Ambassador John Miller by Ann Jordan and others, Center for Health and Gender Equity, April 21, 2005, p 4.
- ^ Debate between Tracy Quan and Melissa Farley, Conversations with Krys Villasenor, KERA radio, February 6, 2002.
- ^ "San Francisco Planning Commission - Special Public Hearing", SFGTV, March 8, 2007. (link to streaming Windows Media video and downloadable MP3 audio)
- ^ "Kink.Com in San Francisco: Women and Gay Men's Abu Ghraib" by Melissa Farley, Traffick Jamming (blog), February 8, 2007.
- ^ "Outlaw industry, ex-prostitutes say" by Lynnette Curtis, Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 6, 2007.
- ^ "Panel: Brothels aid sex trafficking" by Mark Waite, Pahrump Valley Times, September 7, 2007.
External links
By Melissa Farley
- Prostitution Research and Education
- Prostitution Research – select publications.
- Traffick Jamming – Melissa Farley's blog.
- Melissa Farley CV, 2004. – Includes list of publications as of 2004.
- "Fighting Femicide in the United States: The Rampage Against Penthouse" by Melissa Farley, in Jill Radford and Diana E. H. Russell (eds.), Femicide: The Politics of Woman Killing, New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992.
- "Letter to the Editor" by Melissa Farley , Changing Men, September 29 and November 6, 1992.
- "Ten Lies About Sadomasochism" by Melissa Farley, Sinister Wisdom #50, Summer/Fall 1993, p. 29-37. (Archived at MediaWatch.com.)
- "Prostitution: The oldest use and abuse of women" by Melissa Farley, off our backs, May 1994. (Archived at FindArticles.com.)
- “Prostitution of Indigenous Women: Sex Inequality and the Colonization of Canada’s First Nations Women” by Melissa Farley and Jacqueline Lynne Fourth World Journal 6(1):1–29, 2005.
- "Prostitution and sex trafficking as severe forms of violence against women" by Melissa Farely, Sisyphe (website), September 9, 2005. (archived at Wayback Machine)
- "The Demand for Prostitution" by Melissa Farley, Captive Daughters (website).
Criticism of Melissa Farley
- "A Feminist View That All Sexworkers are Abused and Sick", Sexwork.org, 2002.
- "The pimps are coming!: Opponents of Berkeley's prostitution measure use alarmist rhetoric" by Ann Harrison, San Francisco Bay Guardian, October 27, 2004.
- "Nevada Views: Vegas and the sex industry" by Kate Hausbeck, Barbara Brents, and Crystal Jackson, Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 16, 2007.
Debates between Melissa Farley and others
- "'Bad for the Body, Bad for the Heart': Prostitution Harms Women Even If Legalized or Decriminalized" by Melissa Farley, Violence Against Women 10(10): 1087-1125, October 2004.
- “Flawed Theory and Method in Studies of Prostitution” by Ronald Weitzer, Violence Against Women 11(7): 934–949, July 2005.
- "Prostitution Harms Women Even if Indoors: Reply to Weitzer" by Melissa Farley, Violence Against Women 11(7): 950–964, July 2005.
- "Rehashing Tired Claims About Prostitution: A Response to Farley and Raphael and Shapiro" by Ronald Weitzer, Violence Against Women 11(7): 971–977, July 2005.
- "Oversexed" by Debbie Nathan, The Nation, August 11, 2005.
- "Unequal" by Melissa Farley, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (website), August 30, 2005.
Panel and symposium discussions
- "Sex For Sale Symposium: Panel on Prostitution", Yale Law School, February 4, 2006. (Quicktime MOV video. Archived at Yale Journal of Law and Feminism website.)
News articles, reports, and editorials
- "Many Prostitutes Suffer Combat Disorder, Study Finds" by Abigail Zuger, New York Times, August 18, 1998.
- "Former Prostitutes Wage War Against Prostitution" by Edward Lawrence, KLAS-TV Eyewitness News, September 5, 2007.
- "City as Predator" by Bob Herbert, New York Times, September 4, 2007.
- "Escape From Las Vegas" by Bob Herbert, New York Times, September 8, 2007.
- "Fantasies, Well-Meant" by Bob Herbert, New York Times, September 11, 2007.
- "'It's like you sign a contract to be raped'" by Julie Bindel, The Guardian, September 7, 2007.
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