Barb Brents (Sociology), alumni Chris Wakefield and Alessandra Lanti, and an international team of researchers recently co-authored "How crime-based legal regimes shape sexual harm: Sex work, consent and vulnerability," published in the British Journal of Criminology. The research examines how legal regimes in the UK, US, and New Zealand shape the lives and safety of sex workers. We found that laws criminalizing sex work shifts the burden of safety onto individuals, making it harder to protect themselves or seek justice. Instead of just responding to harm, these legal regimes structure the conditions that make people vulnerable in the first place.