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Dockside sex work and female violence in the Zwin harbour (Flanders), 1376-1448

Kristiaan Dillen (UGent)
(2026) CRIME, HISTOIRE & SOCIÉTÉS = CRIME, HISTORY & SOCIETIES.
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Abstract
This text presents research on medieval sex work in the Zwin harbour in Flanders, the tidal port that stretched from Damme, over the now virtually disappeared outports of Monnikerede, Hoeke and Mude to Sluis and the mouth of the Zwin, about twenty kilometres from Bruges. Sex work is discussed as a socio-economic activity and sex workers as agents, navigating between opportunities and constraints. The Zwin harbour provided the context for a special type of sex market in which the search for partners took place. Central to the analysis are women and the economic choices that the specific context of a world port in a highly urbanized region made possible. I argue that the port network of Bruges was also a network of sex work where the specific properties of the maritime space of the Zwin and the characteristics of the port were of assistance to the women engaging in that line of work. The permissive free-market approach to sex work established in Bruges was applied throughout the entire Zwin harbour.

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MLA
Dillen, Kristiaan. “Dockside Sex Work and Female Violence in the Zwin Harbour (Flanders), 1376-1448.” CRIME, HISTOIRE & SOCIÉTÉS = CRIME, HISTORY & SOCIETIES, 2026.
APA
Dillen, K. (2026). Dockside sex work and female violence in the Zwin harbour (Flanders), 1376-1448. CRIME, HISTOIRE & SOCIÉTÉS = CRIME, HISTORY & SOCIETIES.
Chicago author-date
Dillen, Kristiaan. 2026. “Dockside Sex Work and Female Violence in the Zwin Harbour (Flanders), 1376-1448.” CRIME, HISTOIRE & SOCIÉTÉS = CRIME, HISTORY & SOCIETIES.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Dillen, Kristiaan. 2026. “Dockside Sex Work and Female Violence in the Zwin Harbour (Flanders), 1376-1448.” CRIME, HISTOIRE & SOCIÉTÉS = CRIME, HISTORY & SOCIETIES.
Vancouver
1.
Dillen K. Dockside sex work and female violence in the Zwin harbour (Flanders), 1376-1448. CRIME, HISTOIRE & SOCIÉTÉS = CRIME, HISTORY & SOCIETIES. 2026;
IEEE
[1]
K. Dillen, “Dockside sex work and female violence in the Zwin harbour (Flanders), 1376-1448,” CRIME, HISTOIRE & SOCIÉTÉS = CRIME, HISTORY & SOCIETIES, 2026.
@article{01JRSM184R9FPMAYFWAHM11P51,
  abstract     = {{This text presents research on medieval sex work in the Zwin harbour in Flanders, the tidal port that stretched from Damme, over the now virtually disappeared outports of Monnikerede, Hoeke and Mude to Sluis and the mouth of the Zwin, about twenty kilometres from Bruges. Sex work is discussed as a socio-economic activity and sex workers as agents, navigating between opportunities and constraints. The Zwin harbour provided the context for a special type of sex market in which the search for partners took place. Central to the analysis are women and the economic choices that the specific context of a world port in a highly urbanized region made possible. I argue that the port network of Bruges was also a network of sex work where the specific properties of the maritime space of the Zwin and the characteristics of the port were of assistance to the women engaging in that line of work. The permissive free-market approach to sex work established in Bruges was applied throughout the entire Zwin harbour.}},
  author       = {{Dillen, Kristiaan}},
  issn         = {{1422-0857}},
  journal      = {{CRIME, HISTOIRE & SOCIÉTÉS = CRIME, HISTORY & SOCIETIES}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{Dockside sex work and female violence in the Zwin harbour (Flanders), 1376-1448}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}