Papers by Tamara O'Doherty
Archives of Sexual Behavior, Dec 12, 2022
Archives of Sexual Behavior
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / Revue Canadienne Droit et Société
In Canada, there are persistent allegations and some empirical evidence suggesting racialized pol... more In Canada, there are persistent allegations and some empirical evidence suggesting racialized police bias; certain (non-White) groups appear to face over-enforcement as criminal suspects and under-enforcement as victims. Yet, it is challenging to prove or disprove these claims. Unlike other countries, where governments routinely publish police-reported crime and criminal court data identifying the race/ethnicity of criminal suspects and victims, Canada maintains a ban on the publication of such data. In this article, using an intersectional and critical analysis, we examine 127 prosecuted (predominantly domestic sex) trafficking cases and explore related claims of racial and gender bias together with sensationalism in the enforcement of Canadian anti-trafficking in persons laws. Our findings align with other empirical research observing the racially selective identification and prosecution of sex trafficking cases through a heteronormative and gender binary lens. Whether real or per...
Anti-Trafficking Review
This article explores the experiences, challenges and findings of two empirical research studies ... more This article explores the experiences, challenges and findings of two empirical research studies examining Canada's legal efforts to combat human trafficking. The authors outline the methodologies of their respective studies and reflect on some of the difficulties they faced in obtaining empirical data on human trafficking court cases and legal proceedings. Ultimately, the authors found that Canadian trafficking case law developments are in their early stages with very few convictions, despite a growing number of police-reported charges. The authors assert it is difficult to assess the efficacy and effects of Canadian anti-trafficking laws and policies due to the institutional and political limitations to collecting legal data in this highly politicised subject area. They conclude with five recommendations to increase the transparency of Canada's public claims about its anti-trafficking enforcement efforts and call for more empirically-based law reform.
This report continues our ongoing longitudinal work (2014-2020) empirically examining the chargin... more This report continues our ongoing longitudinal work (2014-2020) empirically examining the charging and prosecution of Canadian trafficking in persons offences. In addition to documenting the complex legal issues and challenges that arise in enforcing anti-trafficking laws, we focus our attention on the application and interpretation of law. Our findings solidify scholarly concerns about the effects of ongoing conflations of sex work and human trafficking, and the expansion of criminalization and other forms of legal regulation related to the commercial sex sector. Besides affirming the known list of harmful effects of legislative expansionism for the persons subjected to criminal and immigration law enforcement actions, our findings suggest that the criminalization of sex work via anti-trafficking law raises other potentially vexed legal issues. In this report, we outline several findings that expose concerns about the judicial interpretation of the elements of trafficking offences, the inherent difficulties with witness credibility and victim treatment in courts, problematic evidentiary requirements specific to anti trafficking laws, and the use of expert opinion evidence in trials. We also argue that Canadian anti trafficking laws potentially infringe fundamental principles of justice such as the rule of law and the principle of res judicata. These findings demonstrate a troubling trend towards increasing barriers to justice for sex workers and lay bare the intersecting effects of crimmigration, the stigmatization of commercial sex, and inequality in labour rights. To reduce labour exploitation, action must be taken to address the structural causes for precarious working conditions across all forms of labour.
This nationwide study examined victimization in Canadian off-street commercial sex. Working in co... more This nationwide study examined victimization in Canadian off-street commercial sex. Working in collaboration with sex workers, I recruited 109 adult women, men and transgender sex workers to take part in a self-administered survey, and I interviewed 42 sex workers. The survey focused on rates of several forms of violence, including threats, threats with weapons, assault, sexual assault, and confinement. Other forms of victimization included: theft, harassment, the refusal to use condoms, refusal to pay full price for services provided, and pressure to provide sexual activities beyond the worker's service parameters. Participants identified the perpetrators of their victimization-clients, co-workers, bosses, police, significant others-and the frequency with which they experienced victimization. In addition, I collected biographical information and data on risk management, crime reporting practices, and the real and perceived effects of criminal, family, taxation, and immigration laws. My participants described a wide range of experiences in several types of off-street commercial sex work, including adult film, exotic dance, online adult entertainment, and fetish-related erotic labour. A majority of the participants reported never experiencing violence in the course of their sex work (68% or 74 of 109 participants). While victimization occurs in the off-street sex industry, the findings demonstrate that violence is not inherent to commercial sex exchanges. Consequently, to reduce the types and frequency of violence experienced by off-street sex workers, we need to understand the individual, contextual, and structural factors that lead to varying levels of victimization in different sectors of the sex industry. In this dissertation, I outline the existing evidence on victimization in off-street sex work and then I present the evidence gained through this study. I explain the legal implications of the findings and demonstrate how this evidence contrasts with the assumptions that form the basis of criminalization policies in Canada and globally. Finally, I describe sex workers' recommendations to increase safety and reduce stigma in the sex industry. My participants challenged dominant and oppressive discourses about their work and suggested that the Canadian commercial sex industry is diverse and complex. Our policy responses ought to reflect a nuanced understanding of victimization in commercial sex.
Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 2020
Abstract Teaching Assistants (TAs) play an important role in many undergraduate courses throughou... more Abstract Teaching Assistants (TAs) play an important role in many undergraduate courses throughout North America. TAs have a range of responsibilities to fulfil, such as facilitating tutorials, delivering lessons, applying rubrics, invigilating exams, and/or providing students with feedback and academic support during the term. This article presents key findings from a project designed to identify how TAs in a School of Criminology in Western Canada are currently being prepared for and supported in their roles as TAs, their perceived utility of the preparation they receive, and their recommendations to improve their training and support preparation. Given the centrality of TAs in the delivery of undergraduate education, it is vitally important that institutions adequately train and support graduate students for their roles. This article provides recommendations for individual instructors, academic units, and universities to consider to better prepare and support graduate students for their increasingly complex roles as TAs.
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, 2020
In Canada, there are persistent allegations and some empirical evidence suggesting racialized pol... more In Canada, there are persistent allegations and some empirical evidence suggesting racialized police bias; certain (non-White) groups appear to face over-enforcement as criminal suspects and under-enforcement as victims. Yet, it is challenging to prove or disprove these claims. Unlike other countries, where governments routinely publish police-reported crime and criminal court data identifying the race/ethnicity of criminal suspects and victims, Canada maintains a ban on the publication of such data. In this article, using an intersectional and critical analysis, we examine 127 prosecuted (predominantly domestic sex) trafficking cases and explore related claims of racial and gender bias together with sensationalism in the enforcement of Canadian anti-trafficking in persons laws. Our findings align with other empirical research observing the racially selective identification and prosecution of sex trafficking cases through a heteronormative and gender binary lens. Whether real or per...
Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice, 2019
This article critically examines and compares adult male and female experiences selling sex in Ca... more This article critically examines and compares adult male and female experiences selling sex in Canada's off-street sex industry. Findings indicate that gender disparities exist when it comes to the work of selling sex: male providers are better insulated from violence and exploitation because of their gender, while female sex workers are forced to navigate multiple layers of oppression to assure safer working conditions. Despite these differences, this data suggests that prioritizing overarching labour issues, instead of gendered experiences working in commercial sex, can function to increase all sex workers' safety and access to justice.
Anti-Trafficking Review, 2017
Importance >50% of patients with new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) do not enter partial clinical re... more Importance >50% of patients with new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) do not enter partial clinical remission (PCR); early identification of these patients may improve initial glycemic control and reduce long-term complications. Aim To determine whether routinely obtainable clinical parameters predict non-remission in children and adolescents with new-onset T1D. Subjects and methods Data on remission were collected for the first 36 months of disease in 204 subjects of ages 2-14 years with new-onset type 1 diabetes. There were 86 remitters (age 9.1±3.0y; male 57%), and 118 non-remitters (age 7.0±3.1y; male 40.7%). PCR was defined as insulin-dose adjusted hemoglobin A1c of 9. Results Non-remission occurred in 57.8% of subjects. Univariable analysis showed that the risk for non-remission was increased 9-fold in patients with 4 diabetes-associated auto-antibodies (OR = 9.90, p = 0.010); 5-fold in patients <5 years old (odds ratio = 5.38, p = 0.032), 3-fold in those with bicarbonate of <15 mg/dL at diagnosis (OR = 3.71, p = 0.008). Combined estimates of risk potential for HC0 3 and the number of autoantibodies by multivariable analysis, adjusted for BMI standard deviation score, showed HC0 3 <15 mg/dL with a clinically significant 10-fold risk (OR = 10.1, p = 0.074); and the number of autoantibodies with a 2-fold risk for non-remission (OR = 1.9, p = 0.105). Male sex and older age were associated with decreased risk for non-remission. A receiver-operating characteristic curve model depicting
Unintended Consequences of Policy and Activism, 2014
ABSTRACT
Violence Against Women, 2011
The victimization experienced by street-based sex workers has led many observers to argue that pr... more The victimization experienced by street-based sex workers has led many observers to argue that prostitution is inherently dangerous. However, street-based workers form the minority of sex workers in Canada. Can their experiences validly be generalized to other types of prostitution? The research presented in this article examines whether female off-street sex workers face the same degree of victimization as female street-based sex workers in Vancouver, British Columbia. The results of a victimization survey examining interpersonal violence and other forms of victimization indicate that although violence and exploitation do occur in the off-street industry, some women sell sex without experiencing violence.
The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking, 2019
Responses to human trafficking are situated within a transnational criminal law framework that ai... more Responses to human trafficking are situated within a transnational criminal law framework that aims to address criminal actions through prosecution, while promoting the inclusion of human rights to prevent trafficking and protect and assist victims of trafficking. Responses to trafficking have been critiqued for overemphasizing criminal prosecution at the expense of human rights. This chapter explores the limits of enforcement-based and prosecution-oriented approaches from a human rights lens. Beyond a simple dichotomy between human rights versus prosecution, the chapter considers how anti-trafficking notions of prevention and protection also reinforce enforcement-based responses that result in ongoing violations of human rights.
This report continues our ongoing longitudinal work (2014-2020) empirically examining the chargin... more This report continues our ongoing longitudinal work (2014-2020) empirically examining the charging
and prosecution of Canadian trafficking in persons offences. In addition to documenting the complex
legal issues and challenges that arise in enforcing anti-trafficking laws, we focus our attention on the
application and interpretation of law. Our findings solidify scholarly concerns about the effects of
ongoing conflations of sex work and human trafficking, and the expansion of criminalization and other
forms of legal regulation related to the commercial sex sector. Besides affirming the known list of harmful
effects of legislative expansionism for the persons subjected to criminal and immigration law enforcement
actions, our findings suggest that the criminalization of sex work via anti-trafficking law raises other
potentially vexed legal issues. In this report, we outline several findings that expose concerns about the
judicial interpretation of the elements of trafficking offences, the inherent difficulties with witness
credibility and victim treatment in courts, problematic evidentiary requirements specific to anti
trafficking laws, and the use of expert opinion evidence in trials. We also argue that Canadian anti
trafficking laws potentially infringe fundamental principles of justice such as the rule of law and the
principle of res judicata. These findings demonstrate a troubling trend towards increasing barriers to
justice for sex workers and lay bare the intersecting effects of crimmigration, the stigmatization of
commercial sex, and inequality in labour rights. To reduce labour exploitation, action must be taken to
address the structural causes for precarious working conditions across all forms of labour.
Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice, 2019
This article critically examines and compares adult male and female experiences selling sex in Ca... more This article critically examines and compares adult male and female experiences selling sex in Canada's off-street sex industry. Findings indicate that gender disparities exist when it comes to the work of selling sex: male providers are better insulated from violence and exploitation because of their gender, while female sex workers are forced to navigate multiple layers of oppression to assure safer working conditions. Despite these differences, this data suggests that prioritizing overarching labour issues, instead of gendered experiences working in commercial sex, can function to increase all sex workers' safety and access to justice.
Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking, 2019
Responses to human trafficking are situated within a transnational criminal law framework that ai... more Responses to human trafficking are situated within a transnational criminal law framework that aims to address criminal actions through prosecution, while promoting the inclusion of human rights to prevent trafficking and protect and assist victims of trafficking. Responses to trafficking have been critiqued for overemphasizing criminal prosecution at the expense of human rights. This chapter explores the limits of enforcement-based and prosecution-oriented approaches from a human rights lens. Beyond a simple dichotomy between human rights versus prosecution, the chapter considers how anti-trafficking notions of prevention and protection also reinforce enforcement-based responses that result in ongoing violations of human rights.
Anti-Trafficking Review, 2017
This article explores the experiences, challenges and findings of two empirical research studies ... more This article explores the experiences, challenges and findings of two empirical research studies examining Canada's legal efforts to combat human trafficking. The authors outline the methodologies of their respective studies and reflect on some of the difficulties they faced in obtaining empirical data on human trafficking court cases and legal proceedings. Ultimately, the authors found that Canadian trafficking case law developments are in their early stages with very few convictions, despite a growing number of police-reported charges. The authors assert it is difficult to assess the efficacy and effects of Canadian anti-trafficking laws and policies due to the institutional and political limitations to collecting legal data in this highly politicised subject area. They conclude with five recommendations to increase the transparency of Canada's public claims about its anti-trafficking enforcement efforts and call for more empirically-based law reform.
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Papers by Tamara O'Doherty
and prosecution of Canadian trafficking in persons offences. In addition to documenting the complex
legal issues and challenges that arise in enforcing anti-trafficking laws, we focus our attention on the
application and interpretation of law. Our findings solidify scholarly concerns about the effects of
ongoing conflations of sex work and human trafficking, and the expansion of criminalization and other
forms of legal regulation related to the commercial sex sector. Besides affirming the known list of harmful
effects of legislative expansionism for the persons subjected to criminal and immigration law enforcement
actions, our findings suggest that the criminalization of sex work via anti-trafficking law raises other
potentially vexed legal issues. In this report, we outline several findings that expose concerns about the
judicial interpretation of the elements of trafficking offences, the inherent difficulties with witness
credibility and victim treatment in courts, problematic evidentiary requirements specific to anti
trafficking laws, and the use of expert opinion evidence in trials. We also argue that Canadian anti
trafficking laws potentially infringe fundamental principles of justice such as the rule of law and the
principle of res judicata. These findings demonstrate a troubling trend towards increasing barriers to
justice for sex workers and lay bare the intersecting effects of crimmigration, the stigmatization of
commercial sex, and inequality in labour rights. To reduce labour exploitation, action must be taken to
address the structural causes for precarious working conditions across all forms of labour.
and prosecution of Canadian trafficking in persons offences. In addition to documenting the complex
legal issues and challenges that arise in enforcing anti-trafficking laws, we focus our attention on the
application and interpretation of law. Our findings solidify scholarly concerns about the effects of
ongoing conflations of sex work and human trafficking, and the expansion of criminalization and other
forms of legal regulation related to the commercial sex sector. Besides affirming the known list of harmful
effects of legislative expansionism for the persons subjected to criminal and immigration law enforcement
actions, our findings suggest that the criminalization of sex work via anti-trafficking law raises other
potentially vexed legal issues. In this report, we outline several findings that expose concerns about the
judicial interpretation of the elements of trafficking offences, the inherent difficulties with witness
credibility and victim treatment in courts, problematic evidentiary requirements specific to anti
trafficking laws, and the use of expert opinion evidence in trials. We also argue that Canadian anti
trafficking laws potentially infringe fundamental principles of justice such as the rule of law and the
principle of res judicata. These findings demonstrate a troubling trend towards increasing barriers to
justice for sex workers and lay bare the intersecting effects of crimmigration, the stigmatization of
commercial sex, and inequality in labour rights. To reduce labour exploitation, action must be taken to
address the structural causes for precarious working conditions across all forms of labour.