Julia Laite
Historian at Birkbeck, University of London and author of The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey, specialising in the history of sexual labour, migration and trafficking in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Best podcasts with Julia Laite
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Jun 27, 2025 • 52min
Sex Work in Victorian London
Join historian Julia Laite, a professor at Birkbeck University and author of "Common Prostitutes and Ordinary Citizens," as she dives into the world of Victorian sex workers. Discover the struggles and resilience of women navigating societal stigma and harsh laws. Laite reveals the military’s controversial ties to prostitution while critiquing gender inequality and the historical fight for sex workers' rights. Through engaging anecdotes and humor, she dismantles misconceptions about sex work, challenging listeners to rethink historical narratives and their modern implications.
Mar 31, 2026 • 47min
The Victorian Sex Trafficking Panic
Dr Julia Laite, historian at Birkbeck and author of The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey, explores Victorian 'white slavery' panics. She traces how migration, male anxiety and sensational investigations shaped moral scares. Conversations cover rescue homes, racialized stereotypes, real trafficking methods like isolation and grooming, police responses, and links between past reforms and modern laws.
