Dr. Natasha Mulvihill is a lecturer in Criminology at Bristol University. Her research primarily focuses on prostitution policy and gender based violence. I caught up with her after attending her seminar, to talk about her work and gender inequality in 2017.
Hendrike: From training as an English teacher originally, how did you find yourself participating in research based on UK prostitution and gender violence policy?
Natasha: Well, you never know what paths you will take! After training, I did some part time work as a literacy teacher with young offenders, and I met a woman who worked as a volunteer in a house for women who were trying to leave sex work. She had to go away for a year, and asked me to cover. I taught creative writing to the residents and saw the difficulties they had around losing children, around drug addiction. But I never felt they were different to me. I wanted to know how they had got into this situation. I started doing a Criminology Masters at around the same time, so it started from there really!
H: As a woman yourself – you said you don’t feel different to the women you work with, but at times have you felt uncomfortable, or found it difficult to speak with women who have suffered?
N: At one point, I was researching pregnant women and new mums (who had been previously working in prostitution) within a new project started by the Bristol charity One25. These women were living in a shared house so that they could bring up their children in a safe and healthy environment. Many women who have been living chaotically can go through a vicious cycle – they become pregnant, and then they may lose custody of their child due to drug related issues, not having a stable home etc., and the distress that causes can mean that they go back to drug taking and sex work. As I said, I never felt different – we are all women – but I did feel angered, and more aware of the fact that gender can define your life experiences. I recognise violence against women as a continuum. Many women are reluctant to report rape, but it can be even more difficult to seek justice if you are working in prostitution. When sex is a transaction, some buyers think that affords them ‘unlimited access’.
H: Are there more female researchers in this field, than male researchers? Does that make a difference if men are researching women in prostitution? Might they be more sympathetic to the buyers?
N: Yes…I would say there are more female researchers in the field of prostitution (and within gender-based violence research generally) and I would think there are interesting gender dynamics within interviews, for example between female researchers and male perpetrators of gender violence or male sex buyers. It is possible that an interviewee might try to appeal to the gender of a male interviewee, or say something different. We need more research on that!
I should say that our work recognizes the experiences of male victims and within same-sex relationships too. For example, we are working on a large ESRC-funded project looking at what ‘justice’ means to victims and survivors of gender-based violence. More men are sharing their experiences of sexual and domestic violence and abuse and we would still see gender as important in understanding that experience and the way in which individuals seek help.
H: You went to an international conference based on prostitution and gender violence in 2015 (Prospol, Vienna). Did you find that there were cultural differences between the international researchers?
N: Not so much cultural differences as a clear divide between those who understand prostitution as an outcome of gender inequality and those who see it as regular work. Each country has their own laws. For example, in Germany brothels can be legally regulated, whereas here, it is illegal for individuals to work together out of premises. Of course, there are still brothels running here, but they occupy a sort of grey policing area. At the PROSPOL conference in Vienna, most delegates did think sex work should operate legally. There were current and ex prostitution workers present at the conference that spoke too.
H: Doing research on gender based violence must get shocking and disturbing at times. What motivates you to keep on participating in this research?
N: It can be heavy at times. The ESRC-funded Justice project that I spoke about has involved the team interviewing around 250 victims nationally, and reading and analyzing hundreds of police files. But we support each other as researchers. I remember when I was teaching in the house, I brought the play script of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita. It’s about a working class woman who goes back and succeeds at university despite her controlling husband and drunken tutor! We would read a section and then watch the film. The women loved it, and were inspired by it, I think.
I find it amazing that humans are so resilient. Their way to cope is helping others, by speaking up about what they have experienced. I do it, ultimately, because I see my job as facilitating people’s voices to help them speak out.
H: Thank you Natasha!