[3] Initially liberal feminists, the pair became involved in sex workers' rights activism, eventually identifying as communists.

[3] Smith said her activism led her to develop her views relating to other areas including migration, drug criminalisation, and capitalism.

[7][1] In general, they believe criminalisation causes sex workers to work in more dangerous locations, to hire procurers who may put them at risk, or to be at a higher chance of being extorted by police.

[1] It also describes the concept of a "deserving client", usually a disabled man who is argued to need sex workers as the only way he can experience physical intimacy.

[9] The philosopher Tom Whyman, writing in The Guardian, called it "one of the best interdisciplinary political books in recent years".

[14] The book received positive reviews from Real Change's Mike Wold and Wendy Lyon of Irish Legal News.

[9] Lyon found that the "writing is impressive throughout", while Wold said that the authors put forward "a compelling case" for their recommended policy approaches.

Schulte praised it as "exhaustively researched to foreground the voices and experiences of sex workers" and Lyon found that the "referencing displays a laudable commitment to evidence-based advocacy".