Carol Leigh, activist who coined the term ‘sex work’, dies at 71

Carol Leigh, a working prostitute and sex worker’s advocate, poses for a photo in San Francisco in 1996 (Frederic Larson/San Francisco Chronicle/AP)

Carol Leigh, a San Francisco activist credited with coining the term sex work and who sought for decades to improve conditions for prostitutes and others in the adult entertainment business, has died at the age of 71.

She died from cancer on Wednesday, Kate Marquez, the executor of her state said, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.