France criminalised clients in 2016. Medecins du Monde’s 2018 report found that since the law was introduced: 63% of sex workers have experienced deterioration of their living conditions, more isolation and greater stress; 42% are more exposed to violence (sexual violence, theft, and armed robbery); 38% have found it increasingly hard to demand use of condoms.
For more information please follow the work of our friends STRASS (Syndicat du travail sexuel).
The lockdowns imposed in most European countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic have brought to the forefront a reality that sex worker collectives have been highlighting for decades: the criminalisation of sex work puts lives at risk. In the past weeks, grassroots organisations have been working to raise funds and provide essential products to sex […]
STRASS – Syndicat du Travail Sexuel (France)c/o Act Up-Paris, 8 rue des Dunes, 75019 PARIScontact@strass-syndicat.orgwww.strass-syndicat.orgWednesday, May the 16th, 2018To the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission,Dear Madam,STRASS is France sex workers’ trade union with more than 500 sex workers members all over France from all backgrounds. We are also in contact with thousands of colleagues through […]
The English Collective of Prostitutes and the Sex Worker Open University present, with Club des Femmes:UK Première of 1975 Documentary: Les prostituées de Lyon parlent – The prostitutes of Lyon speak(45 Minutes, French with English subtitles)Plus: Rare footage and interviews from the 1982 occupation of the Holy Cross Church in the red light area of King’s Cross, […]
Sex workers in France are in our hearts and minds today as the French National Assembly passed a law to criminalise clients. This law will be a disaster for sex workers by forcing women to work in more isolated areas and make them more vulnerable to attack. At a time of economic crisis when poverty […]
On Tuesday 8 July 2014, the French Senate rejected proposals to criminalise sex workers’ clients. The Select Committee considering the proposal consulted sex workers and other organisations over several months and found that people were alarmed about the danger caused to sex workers. The Committee received compelling evidence that clients, anxious about being fined, could […]
The French parliament has been discussing the criminalisation of sex workers’ clients and will be voting on it tomorrow. The proposals are based on the ‘Swedish model’, and claim to decriminalise the women while criminalising the men.The English Collective of Prostitutes campaigns for the decriminalisation of prostitution, and together with STRASS, the French sex workers’ […]
A controversial move by French lawmakers to prohibit prostitution by targeting those who pay for sex will put the lives of prostitutes in danger, organizations representing sex workers told FRANCE 24 this week. On Tuesday a show of hands from members at the National Assembly in Paris was enough to set in motion a move […]
Las prostitutas necesitan mejores aliados que los hombres franceses centrados en sus propias libertades sexuales – pero, demasiado a menudo, las feministas sólo hacen sus vidas más difíciles Selma James Los 343 hombres intelectuales franceses que firmaron una declaración —“No toques a mi puta”(1)— defendiendo su derecho a comprar servicios sexuales han enfurecido a las mujeres […]
Prosititutes need better allies than French men focused on their own sexual freedoms – but too often, feminists only make their lives harder Selma James The 343 French intellectual men who signed a statement – “Hands off my whore” – defending their right to buy sexual services has infuriated women and caused wide controversy. Not only does […]