Research Evaluation Internship
Job Title: Research Evaluation Intern(s)
Location: Remote (U.S.-based preferred)
Hours: 4–6 hours per week
Compensation: Course credit.
Date: Fall Semester.
About Us:
The Erotic Service Providers Legal, Educational, and Research (ESPLER) Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for the rights, safety, and dignity of erotic service providers. Founded in 2009, we seek to empower the erotic community and advance sexual privacy rights through legal advocacy, education, and research. Our efforts include impact litigation, policy statements, and voicing concerns in political arenas to create change. Through educational trainings and outreach, we aim to address discrimination against erotic service providers and the greater erotic community. Additionally, we strive to archive and evaluate research related to the sex worker community, building on this history with inclusive and respectful studies relevant to erotic service providers and the larger erotic community.
Position Description:
As a research evaluation intern you will spend the semester learning about best research practices and sex work research. Interns will spend time sourcing existing research on sex work either within, or near, their own field of study, to then apply the ESPLERP Research Evaluation Tool© to such research to determine if it meets new standards for respect, inclusion, and relevance for sex workers. The intern will then apply a score to the work and produce written commentary. By the end of the internship, the intern will have learned about sex work movements, ethical research practices surrounding sex work, and make recommendations for future research.
ESPLERP Research Evaluation Tool©
This research evaluation tool will help the public, the media and our community to learn how to gauge if the research they’ve read or are embarking on or participating in meets this new standard as to increase respect, inclusion and relevance. Basic research must operate from ethics. There are a few golden rules in research: 1) “Do no harm,” 2) informed consent, and 3) voluntary participation The public, the media and our community benefits with this tool to help gauge in what manner research was and is being created, administered and interpreted on our behalf. This is especially important in light of the long history of academic suppression at any cost that has left us vulnerable to violence and marginalized our voices to the point where we are rarely ever consulted on the direction, the perspective or the consequences of such research on our class.
Responsibilities:
- Source legal and academic research related to sex work.
- Assess research compared to the ESPLERP Research Evaluation Tool©.
- Write up findings through scoring and written commentary.
Qualifications/Characteristics:
- Junior or Senior in a BA/BS program.
- This internship would be ideal for students in a number of fields, including anthropology, communications, economics, labor studies, legal studies, political science, social work, urban studies, and more. We are open to students of any major.
- MUST be able to receive course credit for this internship.
- Some research experience or coursework.
- Strong social justice commitment.
- Believes in sex worker rights and approaches the work with respect and sensitivity.
- Self-starter who can work independently, meet deadlines, and manage time effectively.
- Comfortable working in a remote, flexible environment.
We Especially Encourage Applications From:
- People with lived experience in the sex trade.
- BIPOC, LGBTQ+ folks, and people from other marginalized communities.
Application timeline:
- Applications open: August 11
- Applications close: September 3
- Interviews: September 8-12 (est.)
- Start date: Flexible
Application instructions:
To apply, submit an updated resume/CV and a 1-page cover letter expressing your interest in the internship.