Donna M. Hughes
Encyclopedia
Donna M. Hughes is a University of Rhode Island
professor of women's studies
and activist against prostitution and human trafficking
, and pornography
.
Hughes has written extensively on the prevalence of these issues of exploitation of women within Islamic Fundamentalism
. She later attended Pennsylvania State University
, earning degrees in animal science
before earning a PhD in genetics
in 1990.
While a student, she became increasingly interested in feminism
and started volunteering at a women's shelter
. Hughes writes that she began to feel emotional and cognitive dissonance
between her scientific studies and the feminist activist work she was doing. Initially an instructor in both genetics and women's studies, an increasingly critical view of what she felt was the disconnected nature of science led her to focus on women's studies.
Hughes later served as a lecturer on women's studies at University of Bradford
, UK, between 1994 and 1996, before moving on to a full professorship at University of Rhode Island
, where she holds the Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Endowed Chair in Women's Studies. She has also served as Education and Research Coordinator for the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
.
in several countries, including Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, China, and the United States. Additionally, she has published research and analysis on the role of the Internet
in facilitating prostitution and trafficking and on the mail-order bride
industry. She has also written extensively on women's rights in the Islamic world. Hughes has also published several articles on the role of women in science
and technology.
. Hughes has received criticism from sex workers' rights activists for her view that laws against prostitution are necessary to combat human trafficking and sexual slavery, and what many see as personal attacks against other academics and activists who support decriminalization of prostitution.
, and was a founding member of the Rhode Island group, Citizens Against Trafficking (CAT) in 2009. The initial legislative battles over indoor prostitution are documented in the 2009 documentary film Happy Endings?
, in which Hughes appears, speaking at a community forum on human trafficking
and testifying before the state legislature to change the prostitution law
.
In September 2009, Hughes wrote several opinion pieces in the Providence Journal supporting a version of the legislation with stronger penalties for prostitution and taking the Rhode Island State Senate to task for what she viewed as its de facto support for continuing decriminalization of prostitution. This version of the bill was signed into law in November 2009. Several Rhode Island State Senators wrote editorials disputing Hughes claim that they had kept indoor prostitution legal, with Senator Charles Levesque taking Hughes to task for, in his view, providing a highly distorted reading of the legislation passed by the RI Senate.
Soon after the Rhode Island prostitution law hearings, Hughes was involved in a controversy surrounding the opening of the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health (CSPH), a sexual education center in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
organized by Megan Andelloux
, a sex educator who had testified before the Rhode Island Senate in opposition to criminalizing indoor prostitution. Supporters of Andelloux claim that in September 2009, the opening of the CSPH was blocked after an email
was sent by Hughes to Pawtucket city council members (stating, "Hello, A center for 'sexual rights' and 'sexual pleasure' is opening in Pawtucket"), also citing remarks made about Andelloux in an earlier Providence Journal editorial by Hughes, as well as in a bulletin on the Citizens Against Trafficking website. A 6-month zoning
battle followed with the city of Pawtucket; the CSPH was eventually allowed to open in early 2010.
A March 2010 editorial
in the Providence Journal stated that Hughes and Citizens Against Trafficking co-founder Melanie Shapiro have faced threatening remarks on various internet forums from patrons of massage parlors in retaliation for their role in banning indoor prostitution in Rhode Island.
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
professor of women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
and activist against prostitution and human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, and pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
.
Hughes has written extensively on the prevalence of these issues of exploitation of women within Islamic Fundamentalism
Biography
Hughes was raised on a farm in central PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She later attended Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, earning degrees in animal science
Animal science
Animal Science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of mankind". Historically, the animals studied were farm animals, including livestock and horses, but courses available now look at a far broader area to include companion animals, for example dogs, cats and...
before earning a PhD in genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
in 1990.
While a student, she became increasingly interested in feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and started volunteering at a women's shelter
Women's shelter
A women's shelter is a place of temporary refuge and support for women escaping violent or abusive situations, such as rape, and domestic violence....
. Hughes writes that she began to feel emotional and cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying,...
between her scientific studies and the feminist activist work she was doing. Initially an instructor in both genetics and women's studies, an increasingly critical view of what she felt was the disconnected nature of science led her to focus on women's studies.
Hughes later served as a lecturer on women's studies at University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
, UK, between 1994 and 1996, before moving on to a full professorship at University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
, where she holds the Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Endowed Chair in Women's Studies. She has also served as Education and Research Coordinator for the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women is an international non-governmental organization opposing human trafficking, prostitution, and other forms of commercial sex.-Views:...
.
Academics
Hughes has published research on the trafficking of women for prostitution and sexual slaverySexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
in several countries, including Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, China, and the United States. Additionally, she has published research and analysis on the role of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in facilitating prostitution and trafficking and on the mail-order bride
Mail-order bride
Mail-order bride is a label applied to a woman who publishes her intent to marry someone from another country. This term is considered offensive by some people. The mail-order bride industry is the economic trade of contracted domestic partnerships, often between citizens of different countries or...
industry. She has also written extensively on women's rights in the Islamic world. Hughes has also published several articles on the role of women in science
Women in science
Women have made contributions and sacrifices to science from the earliest times. Like many men in science, women have received little or no distinction for their work during their lifetimes. Science is generally and historically a male-dominated field, and evidence suggests that this is due to...
and technology.
Activism and views
She is a strong opponent of prostitution and one of the leading advocates of the "abolitionist" view of prostitution. She is seen by many as a key figure linking the feminist and social conservative movements against prostitution and the sex industrySex industry
The sex industry consists of businesses which either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment...
. Hughes has received criticism from sex workers' rights activists for her view that laws against prostitution are necessary to combat human trafficking and sexual slavery, and what many see as personal attacks against other academics and activists who support decriminalization of prostitution.
Prostitution in Rhode Island controversy
From 2006-2009, Hughes was a leading figure in the campaign to end the decriminalized status of indoor prostitution in Rhode IslandProstitution in Rhode Island
Prostitution in Rhode Island was outlawed in 2009. On November 3, 2009, Governor Donald Carcieri signed into law a bill which makes the buying and selling of sexual services a crime....
, and was a founding member of the Rhode Island group, Citizens Against Trafficking (CAT) in 2009. The initial legislative battles over indoor prostitution are documented in the 2009 documentary film Happy Endings?
Happy Endings?
Happy Endings? is a 2009 cinema verite documentary film directed and produced by Tara Hurley.Filmed over 27 months, it chronicles the lives of the women in massage parlors in Rhode Island during a battle in the state legislature to make prostitution illegal...
, in which Hughes appears, speaking at a community forum on human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
and testifying before the state legislature to change the prostitution law
Prostitution in Rhode Island
Prostitution in Rhode Island was outlawed in 2009. On November 3, 2009, Governor Donald Carcieri signed into law a bill which makes the buying and selling of sexual services a crime....
.
In September 2009, Hughes wrote several opinion pieces in the Providence Journal supporting a version of the legislation with stronger penalties for prostitution and taking the Rhode Island State Senate to task for what she viewed as its de facto support for continuing decriminalization of prostitution. This version of the bill was signed into law in November 2009. Several Rhode Island State Senators wrote editorials disputing Hughes claim that they had kept indoor prostitution legal, with Senator Charles Levesque taking Hughes to task for, in his view, providing a highly distorted reading of the legislation passed by the RI Senate.
Soon after the Rhode Island prostitution law hearings, Hughes was involved in a controversy surrounding the opening of the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health (CSPH), a sexual education center in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
organized by Megan Andelloux
Megan Andelloux
Megan Andelloux is a certified sexologist and sexuality educator, accredited through The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists and The American College of Sexologists...
, a sex educator who had testified before the Rhode Island Senate in opposition to criminalizing indoor prostitution. Supporters of Andelloux claim that in September 2009, the opening of the CSPH was blocked after an email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
was sent by Hughes to Pawtucket city council members (stating, "Hello, A center for 'sexual rights' and 'sexual pleasure' is opening in Pawtucket"), also citing remarks made about Andelloux in an earlier Providence Journal editorial by Hughes, as well as in a bulletin on the Citizens Against Trafficking website. A 6-month zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
battle followed with the city of Pawtucket; the CSPH was eventually allowed to open in early 2010.
A March 2010 editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
in the Providence Journal stated that Hughes and Citizens Against Trafficking co-founder Melanie Shapiro have faced threatening remarks on various internet forums from patrons of massage parlors in retaliation for their role in banning indoor prostitution in Rhode Island.
External links
- Donna M. Hughes, University of Rhode Island (Faculty page and publications)
- Donna M. Hughes publications list at National Review Online
- Citizens Against Trafficking