Sex and the City: International Sex Worker Rights Day

Posted on: 27 February 2025 by Dr Gemma Ahearne in Blog

Dr Gemma Ahearne, module co-ordinator of Crime, Justice and the Sex Industry, writes about writes about the importance of sex workers’ rights, challenging epistemic violence, and the innovative, research-informed teaching behind her popular module.

March 3rd marks International Sex Workers’ Rights Day—it also happens to be my birthday, which I never fail to mention!

My module, SOCI349 Crime, Justice and the Sex Industry is our largest optional module in the University of Liverpool's , with 216 registered students for 2024/25 academic year. This is the fifth cohort, and it is wonderful to see the module, and the community, thrive and grow. More details about the module can be found on the University of Liverpool’s blog.

We are committed to the slogan of the global sex worker rights movement: “Nothing about us, without us”. Students examine and interrogate a wide range of material, from journal articles, books, legal and policy documents, campaign briefings, charity summary reports and bulletins, to podcasts, Reels, Tiktok's, documentaries, tweets, films and more. We are keen to challenge the epistemic violence that sex workers face, and recognise the privilege associated with knowledge production. We do not seek to speak over, or for, those in the sex industry.

The module is research-informed and committed to innovative pedagogy and the student experience. I have been involved with the sex industry for 23 years, and my current funded research project, with Dr Janine Yazdi-Doughty, School of Dentistry, is 'Sex worker oral health: understanding research priorities and the acceptability of oral health outreach with students'. We recognise the particular oral health and dentistry needs of such marginalised women, including the role of various trauma and impacts of domestic violence on the ability to seek dental care. We are also keen to ensure that we engage with sex workers, and that research provides real solutions and recommendations for those selling sexual services.

The module has recently been in the national teaching press, where I have discussed our authentic assessment. 

The assessment ensures that students can hold conflicting and competing perspectives in tension, developing strong leadership skills, negotiation, influence and reflection.

I developed the module as a Dyslexic, with accessibility at its core, and the non-linear trauma-informed pedagogy is being considered for adaptation by colleagues around the university. I give students control over the pace and direction of their learning, ensuring that they can study around their health, paid work, voluntary placements, caring responsibilities and other module commitments. I write about the changing needs of the student body with Professor Lisa Anderson in the blog Belonging needs to be built into the curriculum.

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This approach also empowers students to make choices regarding material that may be sensitive, as I discuss in this article on online microlearning and teaching sensitive topics. You can also read a journal article on my non-linear pedagogy and explore a Centre for Innovation case study on this approach.

We are keen to build community within the curriculum, and provide embedded and co-curricular opportunities, explicitly associated with the module. Alongside the E lectures, weekly 2-hour workshops, and the guided walk, students are given ‘skills sessions’ via our careers and employability colleagues. Working in a holistic team of colleagues ensures that students are exposed to real-life examples and expertise of practitioners and pracademics.  Students are also provided with a workbook, a collaborative Google Doc, and encouraged to meet as small groups between timetabled lessons.

It is a blessing to coordinate this module, and I hope that it continues to grow for many years to come. Hearing from students after graduation, who are using the knowledge from the module within their own careers, is humbling and reminds me of the importance of teaching and learning.

About the author

Dr Gemma Ahearne is Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Faculty Lead for Community and Belonging, and is a member of Liverpool Learning Framework development group. Gemma is committed to the student experience and innovation.