Agustin ... offers new insights into development

Critical reading for those studying mobility, migration and transportation ... of particular interest to international criminologists and development specialist, who may be surprised at the overlap with their work and the prevalence of possibly criminal income-generating activity

Sex at the Margins elegantly demonstrates that what happens to poor immigrant working women from the Global South when they 'leave home for sex' is neither a tragedy nor the panacea of finding the promised land. Above all, Agustín shows that the moralizing bent of most government and NGO programs have little to do with these women's experiences and wishes. This book questions some of our most cherished modern assumptions, and shows that a different ethics of concern is possible.

Arturo Escobar, University of North Carolina

Agustín's insightful study of commercial sex workers provides the most comprehensive and sophisticated treatment of this profoundly controversial topic...This is a bold and accessible book which raises many interesting questions and poses some challenging answers...Agustín confronts her readers with a thoughtful account of migration, sex and social justice.

Body & Society, 2008

This book should be recommended to everyone who works for any type of 'rescue industry.

Gender and Development

In Sex at the Margins, Agustín combines ethnographic observations, anthropological theory, and historical insights to critique the current trafficking regimes and moralizing discourses around migration and prostitution. Sex at the Margins reads primarily as a series of essays, each of which may be read independently and stands alone as a topic of interest.

International Migration Review, 2008

In restoring those living on the fringes of western societies to their full humanity, this invigorating book undermines our stereotypes and provides a challenging but unforgettable picture

Jeffrey Weeks, London South Bank University