SARA STEENSIG What is prostitution? Consenting adults having sex with money involved, or abuse of persons in a vulnerable situation? Laura Lee and Vednita Carter’s stories start the same way, just like many other stories across the world: with young women in need of jobs to finance their studies. While Lee’s friends worked three or […]
Niki Adams cautions against ‘the Swedish Model’ and raises concerns about the role of the religiously-motivated, State-funded Irish pressure group ‘Ruhama’. Olaf Tyaransen “To the moralist, prostitution does not consist so much in the fact that the woman sells her body, but rather that she sells it out of wedlock.” – EMMA GOLDMAN, Anarchism And Other Essays […]
Fionola MeredithFeminists and religious fundamentalists shouldn’t mix. If they do find common cause, it’s often a sign that one-dimensional moral or ideological fanaticism – rigid adherence, fuelled by heightened emotion, to absolutist messages and beliefs – has become more important than what happens to real people in the real world.Take the planned introduction of new […]
We, the undersigned demand that prostitution – the consenting exchange of sexual services for money – is decriminalised. As LGBTQ sex workers and allies we are asking for support for the decriminalisation of prostitution – consenting sex where payment is involved. “The freedom of two people to have sexual contact with each other has historically […]
by Carolina TalaveraHaving read the article “Legal or not, prostitution remains a harmful institution” by Melissa Farley in DREGS magazine, I write to comment and correct. In her piece, Farley makes a number of claims such as that prostitution is uniquely dangerous and damaging, and supports these claims with statistics and other evidence. On closer scrutiny […]
“Buy Sex – Pay the Price,” scream the posters in Brixton Tube. A silhouette of a shady man stands underneath the headline, moodily checking his mobile phone. “Lambeth Council and Lambeth police are targeting those who buy sex,” explains the blurb, helpfully reminding commuters that “Prostitution is a form of violence against women and girls.” […]
1. The public’s understandable concern for victims of trafficking including young people is being used to promote a moralistic and dangerous crusade against prostitution. The anti-trafficking campaign allied with law enforcement and the religious right claims that all prostitution is rape/sexual exploitation. It has led to proposals to increase arrests of sex workers on the street, advertising on […]
Lay off lap dancersCategorising lap dancing clubs as “sex encounter establishments” must be seen in the context of government plans to further criminalise sex workers and clients. It would stigmatise and segregate women working in these clubs, making it harder for women to insist on their rights and report exploitation.No reference is being made to […]
Recent legislation is further criminalising prostitutes but doing nothing about the reasons why they choose this workThe Policing and Crime Act came into force yesterday. Its anti-prostitution measures were put forward by government feminists who advocate the “Swedish model”.In 1998, Sweden passed legislation making it illegal for men to purchase sexual services. This was part of […]
Nick DaviesThere is something familiar about the tide of misinformation which has swept through the subject of sex trafficking in the UK: it flows through exactly the same channels as the now notorious torrent about Saddam Hussein’s weapons.In the story of UK sex trafficking, the conclusions of academics who study the sex trade have been […]