Margaret Boittin’s research goes beyond studying the impacts of the law – it listens to those living it.
The Osgoode Hall Law School associate professor’s work exploring how prostitution laws influence the lived experiences of sex workers, police and public health officials in China, has earned global recognition, highlighting its scholarly impact.
Her book The Regulation of Prostitution in China: Law in the Everyday Lives of Sex Workers, Police Officers, and Public Health Officials (Cambridge University Press), received multiple prestigious international awards in 2025, including:
- the Best Book Prize from the American Society of International Law’s Interest Group on International Law and Social Science;
- the W. Wesley Pue Book Prize from the Canadian Law and Society Association;
- the Distinguished Book Award 2025 from the Asian Law and Society Association; and
- an honourable mention for the Giovanni Sartori Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association’s Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Section.
Grounded in extensive ethnographic fieldwork including observation, interviews and surveys, Boittin’s book presents a compelling case study of how legal frameworks are interpreted and enforced – often in ways that diverge from state policy.
It provides fresh insight into how legal systems intersect with everyday life, particularly for those directly impacted by sex work regulation, and is essential reading for those interested in law, governance, China and the lived realities of sex work.
“This research seeks to understand how law is experienced and implemented by individuals who live in complex regulatory environments,” says Boittin. “By engaging directly with sex workers, police officers and public health officials, my work reveals how laws are implemented, interpreted, negotiated and contested in everyday practice.”
Boittin’s broader research examines human trafficking, forced labour and the rights of migrant workers, further strengthening her contributions to legal and political science scholarship worldwide.
With files from Meghan Carrington