Vice versa: sex work and drug use during the HIV epidemic in Thatcher's Britain.

This article examines the emergence in 1980s Britain of the intertwined cultural and political narrative linking prostitution and drug addiction, particularly in the context of rising heroin use and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It argues that public health policies and political debates of the era constructed the figure of the "drug-using prostitute" as a gendered symbol of moral and public health threat, reinforcing punitive approaches to both sex work and drug use while obscuring broader structural causes such as economic hardship and welfare cuts. The association was amplified by concerns over HIV transmission, positioning drug-using sex workers as vectors spreading the disease to the heterosexual population, which aligned with Thatcherite ideals emphasizing traditional family values and heteronormativity. Regional variations, notably in cities like Edinburgh and Liverpool, influenced public health responses, including harm reduction strategies that incorporated sex work outreach. The article situates this narrative within a longer history of moral panics around sex work and substance use, highlighting its ongoing political utility in debates over the regulation and criminalization of prostitution.