Introduction

Since sex work was decriminalised in New Zealand through the passing of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) 2003, all citizens have the right to work as a sex worker, and this right extends to those who work on the street. Sex workers are now able to exercise their rights as citizens through use of the legal system (Abel, 2018) and, because street-based sex workers have rights, some have a better relationship with the police and no longer fear arrest (Armstrong, 2017). In general, since the law change street-based sex workers are more likely to report violent acts committed against them to the police and to help police investigations of other crimes (Armstrong, 2017). But, while decriminalisation has been seen to be successful and is widely accepted in New Zealand (Prostitution Law Review Committee, 2008; Abel et al, 2010; Abel, 2014), there has still been some unease about street-based sex workers’ presence within certain communities. Primarily, this unease has been linked to public nuisance associations with street-based sex work (Buckley, 2009; Boreham, 2012; Robinson, 2015; Law, 2017; Steele, 2018). Some community members have used these associations to argue that street-based sex workers’ presence in some residential and mixeduse areas is not consistent with community values and therefore is out of place in a community environment (Boreham, 2012; Anon, 2017).

Place, in geographical terms, often refers to the physical environment. But the social relationships and activities that happen within any particular place make separating the social and geographical impossible (Cresswell, 1996). Spaces become places when people use them and make them meaningful (Chen et al, 2018). The city is made up of different places which are constructed through social processes into middle-class and working-class suburban spaces, industrial and commercial spaces, green spaces and entertainment spaces, each fulfilling particular social needs (Chen et al, 2018) and each having attachment and meaning to those who use or live in them (Holloway and Hubbard, 2001). It is important to understand social space because, although it is concealed, it plays a big part in the experiences minority cultures have in society (Sibley, 1995). Who is considered as belonging or not belonging to a community contributes to the shaping of a social space.