Prostitution, Research and Moral Conflict: Some Thoughts on the Role of the Researcher in Morally Contested Policy Domains

Prostitution policy is morality politics. The contemporary debate about prostitution and prostitution policy is dominated by an intractable moral controversy between abolitionist and regulationists. An important characteristic of this moral controversy is that it is decidedly asymmetrical with abolitionists dominating the public discourse and the political agenda. One of the characteristics of morality politics in general, and the abolitionist dominance in particular, is a disregard for facts and a tendency to inject strong emotions into the public debate. In this paper I present some thoughts on the role and position of the (academic) researcher in such a morally contested environment. After concluding that science des not afford a neutral ground, I argue for the more modest position of adhering to reason. Reason consists of respect for various kinds of facts about prostitution, as well as a willingness to justify our beliefs and commitments by using certain methods and practices, such as evidence-giving, that are common to but not exclusive of scientific research.