This article identifies work by Andrea Dworkin (1981, 1997); Catherine MacKinnon (1987, 1989); Kathleen Barry (1995); and Sheila Jeffreys (1997) as examples of research that is absolutist, doctrinaire, and unscientific, due largely to their view that prostitution is categorically evil and caused by male domination and exploitation of women irrespective of historical periods, societal context, or type of prostitution. This article focuses, however, on the three recent articles in "Violence Against Women" written by Judy Raphael and Deborah Shapiro (2004), Melissa Farley (2004), and Janice Raymond (2004). At least two of these authors (Farley and Raymond) are activists in the anti-prostitution campaign. This article details the methodological flaws of these studies and discusses how the procedures used compromise the quality of the findings and the larger arguments made by the authors. A primary criticism is the failure to distinguish differences in the prevalence and types of violence experienced by prostitutes who work in various types of settings. There has also been a general lack of well-designed research that has encompassed male and transgender prostitution. What is needed are ideologically neutral studies of all types of prostitutes who work in various settings and under different geographic, sociological, and statutory conditions, using scientific methodologies. 5 notes and 52 references