About this episode

The episode discusses the potential impacts of decriminalising sex work in the UK with experts in economics and human rights.

In this episode, Pascale hosts Eric Neumayer and Madeleine Rees to discuss the possible legalisation of sex work in the UK and the impacts it would have. Eric Neumayer is an economist by training, he is the author, co-author or co-editor of numerous articles and publications on economics, sustainability and social issues, including a research paper on whether legalised prostitution increases human trafficking. Madeleine Rees is a British human rights lawyer who has brought cases to the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court in Luxembourg. Madeleine served as Head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to human rights. To explore this topic of decriminalising sex work, first the economic implications are considered and then the legal and social implications that decriminalisation, legalisation and criminalisation have on the industry. Part 1 will focus on the economics and how the market for sex work overlaps with the market for human trafficking, and thus how changing legalisation and demand affects both industries. Part 2 looks at the…

People in this episode

Host: Pascale

Guests: Eric Neumayer, Madeleine Rees

Topics covered

• decriminalisation of sex work
• legalisation
• human trafficking
• economic implications
• social implications
• human rights

Keywords

• sex work
• decriminalisation
• legalisation
• human trafficking
• economics
• human rights
• UK law

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: European Court of Human Rights, European Court in Luxembourg, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

More episodes of LSE's On The Case

• 38: How to Save the World: The Geopolitics of Energy Transition with Munir Hassan · March 28, 2026 · 37 min
• 37: Institutional Blindspots: Why 55.6% of CEOs Lose Their Companies - Jonathan Bloom · February 1, 2026 · 48 min
• 36: From Silicon Valley to London: How Lawyers Help Startups Scale Globally · January 6, 2026 · 39 min
• 35: Dr Ann Olivarius: female sexuality, sex discrimination and the law · November 10, 2025 · 45 min
• 33: An Interview with Lord Elliott: Let Me Never be Confounded · September 7, 2025 · 47 min
• 32: Exploring the state of UK environmental protections in law, advocacy and policymaking post-Brexit (with Ruth Chambers) · August 1, 2025 · 30 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the LSE's On The Case podcast page.