Prostitutes' Rights in the United States: The Failure of a Movement

Abstract

The prostitutes' rights campaign emerged in the early 1970s with the formation of COYOTE in San Francisco and affiliated movement organizations. This study examines the movement's major claims and goals, resource problems, and impact on public opinion, legislation, and law enforcement. The failure to attain key movement goals is explained in terms of chronic deficiencies of material and human resources that might compensate for the campaign's lack of moral capital and enhance its prospects for success.