This book is part of a two volume set that examines prostitution and sex trafficking on a global scale, with each chapter devoted to a particular country in one of seven "geo-cultural" areas of the world. The 18 chapters in this volume (Volume I) are devoted to examination of the commercial sex industry (CSI) in countries within Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Oceania, while the 16 chapters that comprise Volume II focus exclusively on Europe, Latin America, and North America. Volume II also includes a "global" section, which includes chapters that are globally relevant — rather than those devoted to a particular country or geographic location. The content of each volume, as well as each chapter, reflects great diversity — diversity in focus, writing style, and personal position regarding the commercial sex industry. Diversity extends to the contributors, who are comprised of international scholars, service providers, and policy advocates representing a variety of fields and disciplines, with distinct and varied frames of reference and theoretical underpinnings with regard to the commercial sex industry.

In addition to addressing aspects of the CSI across the globe, as impacted by geography and culture, authors have also provided a spectrum of implications of their work — implications ranging from continued scholarship and research, to legislative maneuvers and policy change, to suggestions for collaboration across NGOS, fieldworkers, clinicians, and service providers. Together, the 34 expertly-crafted chapters provide a wealth of knowledge from which to more deeply appreciate and contemplate the global commercial sex industry. By uniting contributors from around the world, this book aims to build a relatively common knowledge base on global prostitution and sex trafficking.

Contributions by: Arun Kumar Acharya, Belinda Brooks-Gordon, Christopher Carey, Elder Cerqueira-Santos, Meredith Dank, Rosario Esteinou, Samir Goswami, Yasmina Katsulis, Silvia Koller, Dorota Lech, Jacqueline Lewis, Tami Moore, Kathleen Price, Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, Donna Sabella, Frances M. Shaver, Ada Sinacore, Lisa L. Thompson, Ine Vanwesenbeeck, Kamila Wasilkowska, Vladimir I. Zubkov