Curriculum Vitae

I first began studying social anthropology in 1987, but it was not until the year of 2000 that I would graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree from Stockholm University. In the interim years I worked as an instructor in self-defence for women and published two books: Slå tillbaka! En handbok i självförsvar fö kvinnor! (Strike Back! A Guide to Self-Defence for Women) in 1993 and Att komma till ro med det allra värsta (Coming to Terms with the Very Worst) in 1996. The other areas of study in my degree included Chinese language and sexology. My Bachelor´s Thesis 'The Influence of Western Ideas in Preparatory Work Leading up to the Sex Purchase Ban' (2000) examined Western ideas about gender and sexuality in the preparatory work of the ban, primarily utilising Gayle Rubin’s essay 'Thinking Sex'.  

In 2003, I completed my Master’s Thesis in Social Anthropology at Stockholm University, entitled 'The Ideological Sin: Modern Swedish Prostitution Policy as Creating a Sense of Identity and Safety' (2003), which interrogated the paradoxes that can be found in the Swedish prostitution policy. Whilst working on my thesis I was also researching material for the book Porr, horor och feminister (Porn, Whores and Feminists). It was published in 2006 by the same publisher as my previous books, Natur & Kultur, and analyses the Swedish anti-porn and anti-prostitution discourse, charting grassroots movements and political actors from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s. Don Kulick, professor in social anthropology, was the external editor. In the book I apply social anthropological theories and methodology in order to understand this discourse and locate why it has been so unified in Sweden when compared with other countries. As the only study of its kind, it consequently garnered much attention. It was published in paperback in 2008 and is today used as course literature and is frequently referenced in academic research. It is in the process of being translated in order to be published as an Open Source project.

In 2008 I was accepted to do a PhD in social anthropology at Lund University. I plan to complete my doctoral thesis about the meanings and functions of the Swedish Sex Purchase Ban at the beginning of 2016. Also in 2008, F-ordet. Mot en ny feminism (The F-word: Towards a New Feminism) was published by Alfabeta Publishing, for which I was the editor. The anthology caters for a wide audience and is a compilation of essays by academics and writers which takes traditional feminist themes and explores them in new, innovative ways. The book was published as a paperback in 2009.

Between 2010 and 2012 I was part of a research group which carried out a comparative study on prostitution policy: International Comparative Study of Prostitution Policy in The Netherlands, Austria and Sweden. It was led by Hendrik Wagenaar and was financed by the Nicis Institute, Leiden University and the cities of Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Vienna. The Swedish study mapped and discussed the documented effects of the Swedish Sex Purchase Act. In 2011, Susanne Dodillet and I completed the report, which was later published in 2013 in the document 'Final Report of the International Comparative Study of Prostitution Policy: Austria and the Netherlands'The same report has been published in German and Spanish, and can also be accessed in French.

In 2010, my article 'Att förstå prostitution' ('To Understand Prostitution') was published by Liber Publishers in the third edition of the book Sexologi (Sexology), edited by PO Lundberg and Lotta Löfgren-Mårtensson. The textbook is a multidisciplinary collection of essays written by the foremost experts in the field, bringing together a wide variety of perspectives on sexuality and sexual life. Two chapters in the book discussed the topic of prostitution, the other being written by Sven-Axel Månsson. My article outlines different perspectives on prostitution by discussing the underlying factors as to why there is a cognitive dissonance between how prostitution is experienced and perceived. The textbook is used in teaching at universities and colleges. 

In 2012, I published my article 'Sexköp, mer än bara sex' ('The Purchase of Sex, More Than Just Sex') in the anthology Privat på jobbet. Diskussioner om etik, lag och normer kring sexköp och porrkonsumption (Private at Work – Discussions about Ethics, Laws and Norms around Sex Purchase and Porn Consumption), by KRUS (Swedish Council for Strategic Human Resources). The aim of the book is to work as a foundation for ethical discussions about commercial sex and work.

Since 2013 I am a member of ProstPol - Comparing European Prostitution Policies: Understanding Scales and Cultures of GovernanceProstPol is a COST action network (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) gathering around 100 researchers, mainly from Europe. In 2015 ProstPol will publish an anthology with Routledge to which I will contribute an article about Swedish prostitution policy.

Since 2014, I have been the project leader for the Swedish section of DemandAt (Demand-side Measures Against Trafficking) which explores policies dealing with issues of demand in relation to trafficking, as well as evaluating the effects of these policies. DemandAt is an EU based interdisciplinary project funded by the Seventh Programme for Research and Technological Development. It includes nine partners from several European countries and is coordinated by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development in Vienna. The project’s final report will be completed during the spring of 2017.    

Thanks to my commitment to these issues and research within the field, I have, since 1998, been invited to hold lectures and to participate in public debates regarding Swedish politics and sex work. I am frequently consulted internationally by those who wish to access my research and opinions, and I have met with journalists, researchers, politicians, agencies and NGO’s from countries such as: Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, Italy, Israel, Spain, Iceland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Turkey, Canada and the USA. I have also participated in international research conferences; I presented papers at the Queering Anthropology Conference at Yale University in February 2015 and at the ProstPol Conference in Vienna in April of the same year. I also frequently contribute to Swedish and international media.

Grants

The first three years of my doctoral studies were funded by a grant from The Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation. Since then, I have received grants for field studies including travel and purchase of literature from Helge Ax:son Johnson Foundation, The Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography, The Foundation for the Memory of Lars Hierta, and The Ottar Fund.

Publications

The majority of my publications can be accessed in this PDF-document. My published research, some accessible for download, can be found here.