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Not Your Rescue Project: Migrant Sex Workers Fighting for Justice
A landmark abolitionist primer on migration, sex work, policing, and the “anti-trafficking industry”—and a powerful argument about who is really leading the way toward justice: migrant sex workers themselves.
In this impassioned corrective to decades of misguided, carceral approaches to migration, sex work, and human trafficking, long-time organizers Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam deftly expose the harms of criminalization in the name of “anti-trafficking” and lift up migrant sex workers’ organizing across North America and Europe. In doing so, they make the compelling case that the only effective response to both human trafficking and the needs of migrant sex workers must be led by migrants in the sex trade, as they fight for rights, safety, and autonomy. Gallant and Lam illustrate how this movement is taking aim at the root causes of violence and abuse: the white supremacist securitization of borders, the criminalization of both migration and sex work, the patriarchial devaluation of women’s labor, and forced displacement due to climate disaster, war, and poverty—all fueled by racial capitalism.
An indispensable exploration of the relationship between migration, sex work, and trafficking—and the underlying societal conditions they reflect—Not Your Rescue Project is a thorough indictment of the anti-trafficking industry as an engine of criminalization and state violence, and an instructive account of the emancipatory politics already being practiced by migrant sex workers in their organizing. Throughout, Gallant and Lam place migrant sex workers at the center of struggles against border imperialism, carceral states, and capitalism—dispelling a range of poisonous myths and paving the way for deeper alliances across movements with the shared goal of dismantling and abolishing carceralism in all its forms.
In this impassioned corrective to decades of misguided, carceral approaches to migration, sex work, and human trafficking, long-time organizers Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam deftly expose the harms of criminalization in the name of “anti-trafficking” and lift up migrant sex workers’ organizing across North America and Europe. In doing so, they make the compelling case that the only effective response to both human trafficking and the needs of migrant sex workers must be led by migrants in the sex trade, as they fight for rights, safety, and autonomy. Gallant and Lam illustrate how this movement is taking aim at the root causes of violence and abuse: the white supremacist securitization of borders, the criminalization of both migration and sex work, the patriarchial devaluation of women’s labor, and forced displacement due to climate disaster, war, and poverty—all fueled by racial capitalism.
An indispensable exploration of the relationship between migration, sex work, and trafficking—and the underlying societal conditions they reflect—Not Your Rescue Project is a thorough indictment of the anti-trafficking industry as an engine of criminalization and state violence, and an instructive account of the emancipatory politics already being practiced by migrant sex workers in their organizing. Throughout, Gallant and Lam place migrant sex workers at the center of struggles against border imperialism, carceral states, and capitalism—dispelling a range of poisonous myths and paving the way for deeper alliances across movements with the shared goal of dismantling and abolishing carceralism in all its forms.
288 pages, Paperback
Published November 12, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 4, 2025
This book has made me want to dismantle the systems that oppress migrant sex workers with my bare hands. After reading this exceptionally well written and researched book, I know that the systems that are oppressing migrant sex workers are police forces and the carceral system, immigration control, and "anti-trafficking" organizations, which seek to punish workers with false promises of liberation.
This is an essential text for anyone engaging with migrant labour and I would recommend it to anyone, even if you think you are politically aligned with migrant sex workers. I am very well informed on migrant justice and still learned so so much from this. Read this book!
This is an essential text for anyone engaging with migrant labour and I would recommend it to anyone, even if you think you are politically aligned with migrant sex workers. I am very well informed on migrant justice and still learned so so much from this. Read this book!
December 4, 2024
Not Your Rescue Project is a groundbreaking exploration of the challenges faced by migrant sex workers, offering a vital critique of the carceral "anti-trafficking" industry and the white savior narratives that perpetuate harm. Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam not only lay bare the systemic exploitation of migrant sex workers but also provides a powerful vision for justice and change—led by the workers themselves.
One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its accessibility. The authors skillfully break down complex topics like border imperialism, the Nordic model, and the intersections of capitalism and patriarchy, ensuring the arguments are deeply informed and easy to follow. Whether you're new to these discussions or already engaged in abolitionist and socialist movements, this book offers a clear and compelling call to action.
The core argument is simple yet profound: the state's "sex trafficking" narrative, often couched in white savior rhetoric, does more harm than good. By criminalizing migration and sex work under the guise of protection, these policies leave workers trapped in exploitative labor conditions and vulnerable to state violence. The authors particularly excel in dismantling the Nordic model of partial legalization, demonstrating how it exacerbates the challenges faced by migrant workers, especially those without visas, by overcriminalizing other aspects of their lives.
The experience narratives woven throughout the text make Not Your Rescue Project stand out. These firsthand accounts ground the arguments in reality, illustrating the human cost of carceral approaches and the resilience of migrant sex workers organizing for their rights. Gallant and Lam remind us who should lead the fight for justice by centering the voices of those directly impacted.
The actionable steps outlined toward the end of the book are another highlight. They provide concrete pathways for allies to support the abolitionist movement and dismantle the systems of oppression that harm migrant sex workers. This pragmatic approach, combined with the book's broader theoretical framework, makes it an indispensable resource for activists.
I would recommend Not Your Rescue Project to every leftist, especially given the ongoing debates around sex work within socialist spaces. It's a necessary read for anyone committed to dismantling capitalism, patriarchy, and carceral systems—and to building a world rooted in true liberation.
One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its accessibility. The authors skillfully break down complex topics like border imperialism, the Nordic model, and the intersections of capitalism and patriarchy, ensuring the arguments are deeply informed and easy to follow. Whether you're new to these discussions or already engaged in abolitionist and socialist movements, this book offers a clear and compelling call to action.
The core argument is simple yet profound: the state's "sex trafficking" narrative, often couched in white savior rhetoric, does more harm than good. By criminalizing migration and sex work under the guise of protection, these policies leave workers trapped in exploitative labor conditions and vulnerable to state violence. The authors particularly excel in dismantling the Nordic model of partial legalization, demonstrating how it exacerbates the challenges faced by migrant workers, especially those without visas, by overcriminalizing other aspects of their lives.
The experience narratives woven throughout the text make Not Your Rescue Project stand out. These firsthand accounts ground the arguments in reality, illustrating the human cost of carceral approaches and the resilience of migrant sex workers organizing for their rights. Gallant and Lam remind us who should lead the fight for justice by centering the voices of those directly impacted.
The actionable steps outlined toward the end of the book are another highlight. They provide concrete pathways for allies to support the abolitionist movement and dismantle the systems of oppression that harm migrant sex workers. This pragmatic approach, combined with the book's broader theoretical framework, makes it an indispensable resource for activists.
I would recommend Not Your Rescue Project to every leftist, especially given the ongoing debates around sex work within socialist spaces. It's a necessary read for anyone committed to dismantling capitalism, patriarchy, and carceral systems—and to building a world rooted in true liberation.
December 25, 2024
This book broadened my knowledge about migrant sex work, the harmful effects of anti-trafficking laws and how migrant sex work is connected to other justice issues like labor exploitation, climate injustice, and surveillance, detention and control by the carceral state.
Anti-trafficking laws do little to "save" or prevent harm to women. Instead, they disempower migrant sex workers, isolate them from community and resources and expose them to exploitation and state violence. The book calls for the decriminalization (not legalization) of sex work.
Under the guise of "saving" women, the state instead enforces its monopoly on violence against women and migrants. I think it's important to point out that the exploitation of female bodies does not just happen in sex work. It is telling that corporations like Amazon support anti-trafficking laws and fund programs to train former sex workers to work in factories. Factory jobs that provide unlivable wages, require more hours of work and take a greater toll on the body than sex work does.
Anti-trafficking laws do little to "save" or prevent harm to women. Instead, they disempower migrant sex workers, isolate them from community and resources and expose them to exploitation and state violence. The book calls for the decriminalization (not legalization) of sex work.
Under the guise of "saving" women, the state instead enforces its monopoly on violence against women and migrants. I think it's important to point out that the exploitation of female bodies does not just happen in sex work. It is telling that corporations like Amazon support anti-trafficking laws and fund programs to train former sex workers to work in factories. Factory jobs that provide unlivable wages, require more hours of work and take a greater toll on the body than sex work does.
July 31, 2025
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: A landmark abolitionist primer on migration, sex work, policing, and the “anti-trafficking industry”—and a powerful argument about who is really leading the way toward justice: migrant sex workers themselves.
In this impassioned corrective to decades of misguided, carceral approaches to migration, sex work, and human trafficking, long-time organizers Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam deftly expose the harms of criminalization in the name of “anti-trafficking” and lift up migrant sex workers’ organizing across North America and Europe. In doing so, they make the compelling case that the only effective response to both human trafficking and the needs of migrant sex workers must be led by migrants in the sex trade, as they fight for rights, safety, and autonomy. Gallant and Lam illustrate how this movement is taking aim at the root causes of violence and abuse: the white supremacist securitization of borders, the criminalization of both migration and sex work, the patriarchial devaluation of women’s labor, and forced displacement due to climate disaster, war, and poverty—all fueled by racial capitalism.
An indispensable exploration of the relationship between migration, sex work, and trafficking—and the underlying societal conditions they reflect—Not Your Rescue Project is a thorough indictment of the anti-trafficking industry as an engine of criminalization and state violence, and an instructive account of the emancipatory politics already being practiced by migrant sex workers in their organizing. Throughout, Gallant and Lam place migrant sex workers at the center of struggles against border imperialism, carceral states, and capitalism—dispelling a range of poisonous myths and paving the way for deeper alliances across movements with the shared goal of dismantling and abolishing carceralism in all its forms.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: "Impassioned" is code for "making assertions of your self-evident correctness while bashing their benighted foolishness." This book is impassioned.
I agree with it.
White saviors never save anyone or anything but their own sense of superiority. See the multitudes of debunked "charities" and crowdfunding scams and the like over the decades. Capitalism needs scary monsters, or else how will it convince you to keep paying huge money to them so they'll keep you "safe." High-control systems need enemies to keep you afraid of what will happen if you dare not to believe them. The intersection of those things is usually called "fascism."
The voices of those opposed to the fascistic, moralistic response to the "problem" of women immigrating to the US are worth attending to. These voices belong to people with an established base in the migrant communities most affected by this spurious "moral panic." They do not deny that the trafficking of females of all ages for sexual abuse exists, only that this is the real focus of most of those claiming to want to combat it.
The authors are people who have spent decades on the ground, investing time and energy into *real* moral crusades in aid of the actual people impacted by the actual criminals. That group includes some...many...of those loudest in calling for carceral solutions to the "problem" of immigration.
I found their message much in line with my sense of how the situation really is. I don't necessarily think the hectoring tone of the read will make converts. Nor will the outrage in their words (honest and well-founded in their real-world experiences it may be and is) do more for those not sure what the fuss is about than a blander tone might have.
I think those who genuinely believe in personal autonomy and actual liberty will accept their strongly worded and rooted-in-experience message with slightly revolted by the facts surprise. I hope some few of y'all will be moved to action in your own communities by the read.
The Publisher Says: A landmark abolitionist primer on migration, sex work, policing, and the “anti-trafficking industry”—and a powerful argument about who is really leading the way toward justice: migrant sex workers themselves.
In this impassioned corrective to decades of misguided, carceral approaches to migration, sex work, and human trafficking, long-time organizers Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam deftly expose the harms of criminalization in the name of “anti-trafficking” and lift up migrant sex workers’ organizing across North America and Europe. In doing so, they make the compelling case that the only effective response to both human trafficking and the needs of migrant sex workers must be led by migrants in the sex trade, as they fight for rights, safety, and autonomy. Gallant and Lam illustrate how this movement is taking aim at the root causes of violence and abuse: the white supremacist securitization of borders, the criminalization of both migration and sex work, the patriarchial devaluation of women’s labor, and forced displacement due to climate disaster, war, and poverty—all fueled by racial capitalism.
An indispensable exploration of the relationship between migration, sex work, and trafficking—and the underlying societal conditions they reflect—Not Your Rescue Project is a thorough indictment of the anti-trafficking industry as an engine of criminalization and state violence, and an instructive account of the emancipatory politics already being practiced by migrant sex workers in their organizing. Throughout, Gallant and Lam place migrant sex workers at the center of struggles against border imperialism, carceral states, and capitalism—dispelling a range of poisonous myths and paving the way for deeper alliances across movements with the shared goal of dismantling and abolishing carceralism in all its forms.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: "Impassioned" is code for "making assertions of your self-evident correctness while bashing their benighted foolishness." This book is impassioned.
I agree with it.
White saviors never save anyone or anything but their own sense of superiority. See the multitudes of debunked "charities" and crowdfunding scams and the like over the decades. Capitalism needs scary monsters, or else how will it convince you to keep paying huge money to them so they'll keep you "safe." High-control systems need enemies to keep you afraid of what will happen if you dare not to believe them. The intersection of those things is usually called "fascism."
The voices of those opposed to the fascistic, moralistic response to the "problem" of women immigrating to the US are worth attending to. These voices belong to people with an established base in the migrant communities most affected by this spurious "moral panic." They do not deny that the trafficking of females of all ages for sexual abuse exists, only that this is the real focus of most of those claiming to want to combat it.
The authors are people who have spent decades on the ground, investing time and energy into *real* moral crusades in aid of the actual people impacted by the actual criminals. That group includes some...many...of those loudest in calling for carceral solutions to the "problem" of immigration.
I found their message much in line with my sense of how the situation really is. I don't necessarily think the hectoring tone of the read will make converts. Nor will the outrage in their words (honest and well-founded in their real-world experiences it may be and is) do more for those not sure what the fuss is about than a blander tone might have.
I think those who genuinely believe in personal autonomy and actual liberty will accept their strongly worded and rooted-in-experience message with slightly revolted by the facts surprise. I hope some few of y'all will be moved to action in your own communities by the read.
January 31, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book was published in the US on November 12, 2024 by Haymarket Books.
Full Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up
Few books dismantle dominant narratives with as much precision and urgency as Not Your Rescue Project: Migrant Sex Workers Fighting for Justice by Elene Lam and Chanelle Gallant. This is not a book about victimhood. It is a book about power—who has it, who doesn’t, and how the state weaponizes law, borders, and morality to control racialized, migrant sex workers under the guise of protection. It exposes the violence of the so-called rescue industry, the dangerous conflation of sex work and trafficking, and the carceral feminist frameworks that ultimately harm the very people they claim to save.
Lam and Gallant refuse easy binaries, insisting that sex work is neither inherently empowering nor degrading—it is labor. And like all labor, its conditions are determined by structures of capitalism, patriarchy, racism, and colonialism. The authors demonstrate how sex work, for many migrants, is not a last resort but a strategic choice, one often safer and better-paying than other exploitative industries available to them. Yet, because of the racialized criminalization of both migration and sex work, migrant sex workers are treated as disposable—targeted by police, denied housing, and placed at constant risk of deportation. The state, not the work itself, creates the greatest danger.
The book excels in its analysis of the intersection between sex work and border politics, revealing how immigration laws are used to regulate and punish laboring bodies. The authors meticulously deconstruct anti-trafficking policies, exposing how they function less as protective measures and more as tools of surveillance, exclusion, and incarceration. Through case studies and firsthand accounts, they reveal the everyday realities of migrant sex workers—resisting, surviving, and organizing in the face of relentless criminalization.
One of the book’s most powerful interventions is its critique of white feminism’s role in the anti-sex work movement. Lam and Gallant illuminate the racialized moral panic surrounding sex work, tracing it back to colonial histories of controlling and policing women of color’s sexuality. White feminists, they argue, often uphold a framework of rescue that reinforces carceral power, echoing the same paternalistic logic as imperialist interventions that have come to dominate our world. The book rejects this model entirely, aligning itself instead with abolitionist and decolonial movements that prioritize self-determination over state intervention.
Not Your Rescue Project does not just challenge misconceptions about sex work—it demands a complete reorientation of how we think about justice. It calls for decriminalization, not tighter restrictions. It advocates for solidarity, not saviorism. It insists on listening to sex workers rather than speaking over them. At its core, this book is an indictment of the state’s role in manufacturing violence against migrant sex workers—and a call to action for those willing to fight for a world where justice is not defined by policing and punishment, but by autonomy and collective care.
📖 Recommended For: Readers invested in abolitionist and decolonial perspectives; those interested in the intersections of sex work, migration, and criminalization; activists, organizers, and anyone challenging carceral feminism; fans of Harsha Walia.
🔑 Key Themes: Sex Work as Labor, Criminalization of Migration, Anti-Trafficking Myths, Carceral Feminism vs. Abolition, State Violence and Surveillance, Worker-Led Resistance.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Police Brutality (severe), Sexual Content (minor), Stalking (minor), Domestic Abuse (minor), Emotional Abuse (minor), Sexual Assault (severe), Murder (moderate), Racism (moderate), Transphobia (minor).
Full Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up
Few books dismantle dominant narratives with as much precision and urgency as Not Your Rescue Project: Migrant Sex Workers Fighting for Justice by Elene Lam and Chanelle Gallant. This is not a book about victimhood. It is a book about power—who has it, who doesn’t, and how the state weaponizes law, borders, and morality to control racialized, migrant sex workers under the guise of protection. It exposes the violence of the so-called rescue industry, the dangerous conflation of sex work and trafficking, and the carceral feminist frameworks that ultimately harm the very people they claim to save.
Lam and Gallant refuse easy binaries, insisting that sex work is neither inherently empowering nor degrading—it is labor. And like all labor, its conditions are determined by structures of capitalism, patriarchy, racism, and colonialism. The authors demonstrate how sex work, for many migrants, is not a last resort but a strategic choice, one often safer and better-paying than other exploitative industries available to them. Yet, because of the racialized criminalization of both migration and sex work, migrant sex workers are treated as disposable—targeted by police, denied housing, and placed at constant risk of deportation. The state, not the work itself, creates the greatest danger.
The book excels in its analysis of the intersection between sex work and border politics, revealing how immigration laws are used to regulate and punish laboring bodies. The authors meticulously deconstruct anti-trafficking policies, exposing how they function less as protective measures and more as tools of surveillance, exclusion, and incarceration. Through case studies and firsthand accounts, they reveal the everyday realities of migrant sex workers—resisting, surviving, and organizing in the face of relentless criminalization.
One of the book’s most powerful interventions is its critique of white feminism’s role in the anti-sex work movement. Lam and Gallant illuminate the racialized moral panic surrounding sex work, tracing it back to colonial histories of controlling and policing women of color’s sexuality. White feminists, they argue, often uphold a framework of rescue that reinforces carceral power, echoing the same paternalistic logic as imperialist interventions that have come to dominate our world. The book rejects this model entirely, aligning itself instead with abolitionist and decolonial movements that prioritize self-determination over state intervention.
Not Your Rescue Project does not just challenge misconceptions about sex work—it demands a complete reorientation of how we think about justice. It calls for decriminalization, not tighter restrictions. It advocates for solidarity, not saviorism. It insists on listening to sex workers rather than speaking over them. At its core, this book is an indictment of the state’s role in manufacturing violence against migrant sex workers—and a call to action for those willing to fight for a world where justice is not defined by policing and punishment, but by autonomy and collective care.
📖 Recommended For: Readers invested in abolitionist and decolonial perspectives; those interested in the intersections of sex work, migration, and criminalization; activists, organizers, and anyone challenging carceral feminism; fans of Harsha Walia.
🔑 Key Themes: Sex Work as Labor, Criminalization of Migration, Anti-Trafficking Myths, Carceral Feminism vs. Abolition, State Violence and Surveillance, Worker-Led Resistance.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Police Brutality (severe), Sexual Content (minor), Stalking (minor), Domestic Abuse (minor), Emotional Abuse (minor), Sexual Assault (severe), Murder (moderate), Racism (moderate), Transphobia (minor).
March 26, 2025
Everyone should read this book! This book completely changed what I thought I understood about so-called "human trafficking." The authors make the powerful case that the "anti-trafficking industry" is not actually consistent with progressive values -- and it's often part of an explicitly right-wing agenda that involves controlling migrant futures, women's bodies, and their capacities for economic agency. The book is a deep-dive into a topic many people mistakenly assume they understand. Read this book if you don't want to be unwittingly co-opted into supporting a right-wing agenda that criminalizes sex workers rather than supporting them or listening to them.
March 18, 2025
What a delight to find this book so accessible! Yes, it is strong on analysis as all the editorial reviewers have noted, but that is intertwined with the personal stories of various sex workers and the long experience of the authors. They also allow the reader to ease into the book, using an engaging conversational style where appropriate. Having grown up in the repressive 1950s in South Carolina, I really appreciated this. And they include the right amount of documentation, closing with pragmatic next steps. A model of strong politics with a gracious and inclusive approach.
January 3, 2025
This book is just about faultless - a careful, evidence- based, and incisive survey of migrant sex worker justice.
Gallant and Lam outline the issues with clarity, and state the case passionately for the abolition of the so-called anti-trafficking industry, and the urgent need for labour rights and protection for racialized sex workers.
I highly recommend this book!
Gallant and Lam outline the issues with clarity, and state the case passionately for the abolition of the so-called anti-trafficking industry, and the urgent need for labour rights and protection for racialized sex workers.
I highly recommend this book!
January 23, 2025
This was an incredible read and an important one.
“To strengthen movements for justice, the left must understand how anti-trafficking politics serve as a right-wing recruitment strategy and a smokescreen for carceral, anti-migrant, and anti-sex work policies. Racial, migrant, gender, and economic justice and abolition are all intimately connected to migrant sex worker justice.”
“To strengthen movements for justice, the left must understand how anti-trafficking politics serve as a right-wing recruitment strategy and a smokescreen for carceral, anti-migrant, and anti-sex work policies. Racial, migrant, gender, and economic justice and abolition are all intimately connected to migrant sex worker justice.”
February 24, 2025
The world would be a better place if everyone read this book and followed the road map so thoughtfully set out in it.
August 7, 2025
saw the panel at socialism 2025 and got the book after it restocked at pcb — brilliant and compelling platform to include migrant sw at the heart of abolitionist organizing
December 22, 2024
Rating: 5/5 stars
Firstly, I’d like to thank Haymarket Books, NetGalley and the authors for the opportunity to read Not Your Rescue Project: Migrant Sex Workers Fighting for Justice. This book is a thought-provoking and incredibly important work, and I’m giving it 5 out of 5 stars. Gallant and Lam have crafted a powerful, well-researched, and eye-opening examination of migrant sex workers’ experiences, especially within the framework of North America’s unique societal mentality and systemic prejudices. While this regional focus could be clarified in the description, it doesn’t detract from the universal value of their insights.
This book is both educational and profoundly engaging, breaking down the language of the topic and the terminology used around migrant sex work. The careful exploration of language emphasizes how words shape perceptions and policy, making it a crucial foundation for understanding the broader issues at hand. The book is accessible to readers with varying levels of prior knowledge—whether you're an expert or completely new to the topic, Gallant and Lam write with clarity and respect, never sounding condescending.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is its in-depth class and racial analysis. Gallant and Lam shed light on the racial dimensions of North America’s policies toward migrant sex work, providing essential historical context that makes the current issues all the more understandable. The authors openly explore how systemic inequalities have led to the alienation and dehumanization of migrant sex workers, making it clear that this is not just a question of individual prejudice but a result of entrenched societal and legal structures.
Stories from real individuals are woven throughout the narrative, lending a deeply human perspective that greatly amplifies the book’s impact. These personal accounts help readers empathize with the challenges migrant sex workers face and highlight the courage and resilience of those pushing back against a hostile system. I particularly appreciated the book’s coverage of the Butterfly network—a support system for Asian and migrant sex workers in North America—which serves as a beacon of hope and a call to action for creating a more just society.
Gallant and Lam don’t shy away from the complexities and nuances of sex work, breaking down common misconceptions and illustrating the systemic problems that migrant sex workers encounter daily. Not Your Rescue Project is a powerful critique of North American policies that alienate sex workers, and the book raises an important challenge for readers: to advocate for a system more aligned with progressive policies. (Like the ones found in many European countries, where sex work is better understood and regulated.) This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to educate themselves on this topic and reconsider their perspectives on migrant sex work.
Firstly, I’d like to thank Haymarket Books, NetGalley and the authors for the opportunity to read Not Your Rescue Project: Migrant Sex Workers Fighting for Justice. This book is a thought-provoking and incredibly important work, and I’m giving it 5 out of 5 stars. Gallant and Lam have crafted a powerful, well-researched, and eye-opening examination of migrant sex workers’ experiences, especially within the framework of North America’s unique societal mentality and systemic prejudices. While this regional focus could be clarified in the description, it doesn’t detract from the universal value of their insights.
This book is both educational and profoundly engaging, breaking down the language of the topic and the terminology used around migrant sex work. The careful exploration of language emphasizes how words shape perceptions and policy, making it a crucial foundation for understanding the broader issues at hand. The book is accessible to readers with varying levels of prior knowledge—whether you're an expert or completely new to the topic, Gallant and Lam write with clarity and respect, never sounding condescending.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is its in-depth class and racial analysis. Gallant and Lam shed light on the racial dimensions of North America’s policies toward migrant sex work, providing essential historical context that makes the current issues all the more understandable. The authors openly explore how systemic inequalities have led to the alienation and dehumanization of migrant sex workers, making it clear that this is not just a question of individual prejudice but a result of entrenched societal and legal structures.
Stories from real individuals are woven throughout the narrative, lending a deeply human perspective that greatly amplifies the book’s impact. These personal accounts help readers empathize with the challenges migrant sex workers face and highlight the courage and resilience of those pushing back against a hostile system. I particularly appreciated the book’s coverage of the Butterfly network—a support system for Asian and migrant sex workers in North America—which serves as a beacon of hope and a call to action for creating a more just society.
Gallant and Lam don’t shy away from the complexities and nuances of sex work, breaking down common misconceptions and illustrating the systemic problems that migrant sex workers encounter daily. Not Your Rescue Project is a powerful critique of North American policies that alienate sex workers, and the book raises an important challenge for readers: to advocate for a system more aligned with progressive policies. (Like the ones found in many European countries, where sex work is better understood and regulated.) This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to educate themselves on this topic and reconsider their perspectives on migrant sex work.
August 13, 2025
This book is well-written and necessary. Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam thoroughly unpack the history of the anti-sex-trafficking movement, and the harms it causes sex workers. They get into the details, breaking down the meaning and impact of specific laws in Canada and the United States. Reading it will make you mad - the way that anti-trafficking infrastructure can devastate the lives of sex workers who are already balancing multiple challenges is oppressive, maddening, and somehow getting away with labeling itself 'help'. The last few chapters of the book suggest what type of work is helpful for sex workers, in particular migrant sex workers, who are in difficult situations. The book includes personal contributions from several sex workers who recount their personal experience - these were some of the most memorable parts of the book, as they were powerful, illustrative & moving stories.
September 30, 2024
This book challenges conventional narratives surrounding migration, sex work, and the often misguided anti-trafficking industry; recognizing the voices and agency of migrant sex workers themselves, advocating for their rights, safety, and autonomy.
This is a well-researched critique of the carceral approaches to migration and sex work, illuminating how these methods not only fail to protect vulnerable populations but often make it worse.
Highly recommended for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding migration and sex work in contemporary society.
Thank you Net Galley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a review.
This is a well-researched critique of the carceral approaches to migration and sex work, illuminating how these methods not only fail to protect vulnerable populations but often make it worse.
Highly recommended for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding migration and sex work in contemporary society.
Thank you Net Galley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a review.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews