The authors and contributors to Harlots Parlour will have received an email asking them to join WordPress to continue to post on Harlots Parlour.
The blogger site was becoming temperamental to say the least. It was very hard to moderate and was a legacy site passed onto me which I had distinct problems with.
To keep everything completely separate, please ONLY use this site to post new topics, all of our posts have been imported from blogger and hopefully this site will be a more sturdy and reliable site to host Harlots.
The wordpress server is still very much a work in progress so you might see different themes, colours and layouts over the next few days.
If you comment on a post, you will be added to moderation for your first post only, after that is approved, subsequent comments using the same email address will be automatically approved. This will cut down on any abuse of the blog. I am sure everyone will welcome the changes and remember, use the new domain name. The old domain name will direct you to the old blogger site for the next few months.
And don’t assume that countries with liberal attitudes are enlightened in their treatment of young sex workers:
“even in the Netherlands and New Zealand, where adult prostitution has been decriminalized, a youth under the age of majority who trades sex may be placed under state-ordered custody including incarceration”
The following article is partly a reply to comments made by Julie Bindel during my interview with her concerning sex work and unionisation.
It is time that the law recognised that sex workers deserve the same rights as the rest of society. That means that sex workers should be allowed to work together for safety, hire ancillary staff or employ an agent to represent them. It is only sensible and right in a free, democratic and liberal society that sex workers should have these choices and that they should not be penalised by the law for wanting what every other British worker expects as a right. British juries are beginning to recognise this right as witnessed in the case of Claire Finch who as a Madam openly used her home as a brothel but was acquitted by a British jury of charges of brothel keeping. Similar cases are now going through British courts where women have been arrested by the police on brothel keeping charges often after reporting crimes committed, by violent criminals, against them and the people they represent. The image of the pimp promoted by anti sex work campaigners as a misogynous villain is increasingly recognised for what it is, propaganda, rather than a reflection of reality.
There is also a worrying xenophobia being exploited by anti sex work campaigners. This was particularly obvious in the recent hysteria surrounding trafficking. Large numbers of foreign sex workers working legally and illegally in many of the larger UK cities has been used by some to exploit popular anxieties over foreigners and human trafficking. This fear was hyped by the then Labour government in the 2009 policing and crime bill to justify raising the penalties already in existence against sex worker managements as well as increasing police powers to target and close brothels.
The British public however understand that facts have been manipulated to justify bad law. The public know that it is mostly women who manage the thousands of small brothels that operate in Britain, not men. Men involved in management are usually partners of women who work consensually in the industry. The law increasingly is seen to be being used as a crude form of social engineering that does not liberate women from exploitation as it claims but does the opposite. The real result of targeting sex worker managements is an increase in criminal convictions against women, the forcing of women into dangerous working environments and the inevitable negative impact upon families that will result.
Culturally we have a confused understanding about what sex worker management is. Influenced by American pop culture the gangsta pimp has become mythologised especially by black youth who eulogise the social out cast. Rappers like Snoop Dogg who claims to have once been a pimp glamorises in his vocals what many would agree are misogynous stereotypes, associating pimping and prostitution with violence and drugs. In popular British culture the pimp as a Bill Sikes figure who preys upon the vulnerable, procuring women into a life of vice, seduced by a combination of drugs and violence into selling sex remains one of the most prevailing motifs for male violence within our society. Some so called feminists increasingly now adopt that motif to also include all male clients of sex workers. Primitive attempts however to demonise all men as perpetrators of violence toward women sit uneasily with a public wary of such simplistic gender stereotyping. Such stereotyping ignores the consensual participation of women in the sex industry as both purchasers and sellers of sexual services as well as in the management of sex work. What is increasingly recognised by the public is that present legislation on sex work does not reflect the reality of the relationship that exists between most sex workers and their managements. The law does not differentiate between good managements and bad managements. The law simply perpetuates myths.
As a society however we should deal with reality and not with myth. Sex worker managements have a role within sex work that is not dissimilar to the role of managers and agents in other industries. No one denies that exploitation does exists in sex work but we have to acknowledge that the majority of sex work managements do their very best in very difficult circumstances to organise sex work so that it is safe, to provide anonymity for those they represent, provide comfortable and secure working conditions and deal with the complexities of an increasingly complex, sophisticated and global market. It is not the fault of the sex industry that there is no legislation to enforce good management. It is the law, not the pimp that is the real danger to sex workers’ safety and freedom to work.
British governments have repeatedly failed sex workers. Criminals know that the law leaves sex workers vulnerable. Brothels for example are now considered easy, even safe targets by criminals because there is little likelihood of sex workers contacting the police because to do so would be to place them in danger of prosecution, displacement, exposure and in the case of transient migrants, deportation. The law by refusing to differentiate between good managements and bad causes suffering when it should be offering protection. This is not justice.
The new coalition government has promised that the much heralded freedom bill will recognise individual liberty and freedom and remove bad laws from statute. There are few laws more desperately in need of repeal than the laws pertaining to prostitution and especially those relating to brothel keeping and pimping. Let us hope the government will keep its promise and truly represent the liberal and progressive nation that is modern Britain.
Thierry Schaffausser at the International AIDS Conference this week in Vienna. Religious missionaries play a key role in shutting down access to condoms in poor countries. (Photo by Suksma Ratri, an Indonesian AIDS activist and sex worker rights ally. Check out her video channel.)
There are few professions as prejudiced against as sex work. The sex worker as the sinner and corruptor of public morality is a motif that runs deep in our cultural psyche. Some feminist and anti sex work campaigners now add to that burden the idea that sex workers are victims. As either victim, sinner or both the sex worker as outcast reaffirms public perceptions of good women and bad women, good people, bad people. Changing the language of prejudice however does not change that prejudice and no where is that prejudice reflected more than in the reaction of anti sex work campaigners to sex workers who are activists for sex worker rights.
An out sex worker becomes fair game. Like a laboratory mouse your private life is over, you become an object to be scrutinised in detail. You become a sort of celebrity but with out the perks. Everyone demands to know who you are, why you do what you do, what your politics are, what does your partner do, what do your family think about you being a sex worker, how much do you earn. The questions then progress from being intrusive to often abusive, are you a pimp or are you some sort of failure, were you abused, and finally they become dismissive, contemptuous, even aggressive, suggesting that, obviously are not representative, asking; do you take drugs, are you an alcoholic, are you ashamed, are you……and the questions go on. Anti sex work campaigners and media types ask why sex workers are reticent about speaking about their work and surmise that it must be because they are embarrassed or that they are too victimised and traumatised. I think that sex workers do not speak publicly in numbers because they know how they will be treated.
I am an out male sex worker. I was nervous when I first started speaking as an activist and perhaps naively secretive over admitting that I was an escort. I, like many sex workers, had very good reasons for keeping parts of my life secret until I felt confident enough to deal with the reactions not only of the media and the public, but more importantly of my friends and family. Coming out is not just about admitting what you are to the public, it is also about coming to terms with your own fears about the world knowing your private, often very secret life and the consequences that may follow. Coming out is not only a journey for yourself but also for everyone you care about.
As a sex worker you cope not only with the stigma but also with the possible repercussions of working in an industry that is criminalised. The law deters you from speaking and the media and anti sex work groups collude to silence you by questioning your motivation for being an activist by accusations that you profit from the sex industry
Sex workers make money out of their industry. It is the fact that they are sex workers and involved in the everyday reality of all aspects of the sex industry that makes their voices so powerful and so noxious to anti sex work campaigners. Sex worker activists speak with a genuine honesty that they cannot. Sex worker activists are best placed to understand their industry, its good points and it’s bad. Sex worker activists know the harm that negative legislation causes better than anyone else.
I have learned the hard way as a sex worker activist to accept that putting my head above the parapet inevitably means that it will be shot at. I have however always felt better within myself about being open about what I am. It is for me so important for sex workers to speak out and to be heard. It is important that sex workers challenge popular misconceptions about what being a sex worker is and what our work is. It is our honesty with which the public increasingly empathise and perhaps why the public are now increasingly demanding that sex workers be protected by, rather than persecuted by the law.
Regarding prostitution in the state of Massachusetts: some good news – a proposal designed to stiffen the punishment for prostitution and solicitation of a prostitute in Springfield has overwhelmingly failed 12 to 1:
“…On Monday, City Councilor Jimmy Ferrera proposed that the city move to a one year mandatory sentence for prostitutes and those who solicit them if caught.
The measure failed 12-1.
Right now, most who face prostitution or solicitation charges pay only a $500 dollar fine and serve no jail time.
After a sting on Friday, the police department made 4 arrests within just a few hours.
Margaret Pilon lives in Springfield and wasn’t big on the idea of the one year mandatory sentence, either.
She said, “I really don’t believe in mandatory sentences, but I believe that if the prostitute is punished, so too should the john, it should be both.”
A group of protestors showed up at the City Council meeting to oppose the mandatory sentence.
Ellen Graves is with “Arise for Social Justice”. She thinks prostitution should be legal. She told 22News, “Going after prostitution is going after people who are poor and also usually drug users. There should be rehab centers, there should be training centers where they could learn a skill. The money they’re spending on putting people in jail is huge.”
Ferrera says the measure is dead, and will most likely not be brought up again.”
While this is not the most progressive news – since I believe adult prostitution should be totally legalised – this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Listen to this inspiring video from the international AIDS conference (IAC) posted by viennayouthforce on Youtube. You may recognize some Harlot’s Parlour faces/voices in the crowd!
~~~ No coincidence: on Wednesday, a Red Ribbon Award for Supporting Human Rights was given to Nikat Women’s Association, established in 2006 by a group of sex workers in Ethiopia. Read about Nikat here. Nikat is one of six special recognition winners announced during the ceremony.
Here’s a snapshot from the Nikat drop-in centre located in Addis Ababa:
Follow the NSWP on Twitter for more Nikat, more IAC and more sex worker rights.
A sex worker describes her detention in Phnom Penh:
“Two days after my arrival, I was caught when I tried to escape. Five guards beat me up. The guard threatened to slit our throats if we tried to escape a second time, and said our bodies would be cremated there.”
How is this a result of US policy, you ask? Cambodia’s government relies on foreign aid, and the US is one of its largest donors. Under pressure from the US, Cambodia passed an anti-trafficking law that additionally criminalized sex work. The police declared open season on sex workers: extreme torture, rape, even deaths in custody. In addition to police abuse, sex workers were unlawfully detained by anti-trafficking NGOs.
Read Melissa Ditmore at RH Reality Check for news from IAC in Vienna and background on the Cambodian situation.
Denial of Service: Sex Workers Confront Dr. Eric Goosby and Protest the Anti-Prostitution Pledge
Since the opening plenary for the International AIDS Conference (IAC) on Sunday, July 18th, the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) has been a vocal and visible presence at the conference. NSWP members have challenged both policy makers and funding agencies to break with the status quo, which perpetuates institutional violence and violation of sex worker’s human rights that lead to a higher rates of HIV infection and death.
On Tuesday, July 20th, NSWP organized sex workers and allies to disrupt a speech by United States Global AIDS Coordinator Dr. Eric Goosby to demand justice for sex workers harmed by PEPFAR’s discriminatory anti-prostitution loyalty oath.
Here are some reports from NSWP activists who were there:
“On Tuesday, July 20 sex workers’ rights activists marched through the IAC conference centre to protest the PEPFAR Anti Prostitution Pledge at a session at which was to be a presenter. Eric Goosby cancelled his speech to avoid the sex workers and instead held a press conference in the media centre. Sex worker activists followed him there, where we loudly accused him of murdering sex workers and preventing the crucial funding for sex workers. Everyone was upset and challenging him to be responsible and support human rights for all. I sat on the table with my red umbrella and screamed that he was a murderer, and everyone was chanting “SHAME SHAME SHAME!!!!” He tried to escape and fell from his chair, and then he was helped to his feet by security and escorted out. The media stayed in the room and sex workers were venting their issues of concern. For example, in Uganda the only funding is for rehabilitation and there is NO money for condoms. In Kenya there is no funding for necessary sex worker support services, only rehabilitation. All who receive money from USAID’s PEPFAR fund have to sign an anti-prostitution loyalty oath. We left chanting, “sex workers united will never be defeated!!! PEPFAR kills sex workers!!!”
–Cheryl Overs, Paulo Longo Research Institute, Asia and the Pacific Region
Watch a video of the protest, featuring some of the sex workers’ chants and impassioned speeches from Kyomya Macklean, of the Ugandan sex worker group WONETHA, and John Mathenge (in still frame below), a male sex worker from Kenya
“Highlights for me: sex worker activist Thierry Schaffauser sat in Goosby’s lap and after we chased him out of the press conference room, sex workers from around the world took over the microphones and held their own press conference while the whole world was watching and declared that we will follow Goosby to every presentation he makes until he answers for the crimes of PEPFAR’s anti-prostitution pledge.”
–Will Rockwell, Global Network of Sex Work Projects, North America Region
“After we chased Goosby out of the press conference room, sex workers from around the world took over the microphones and held their own press conference while the whole world was watching and declared that we will follow Goosby to every presentation he makes until he answers for the crimes of PEPFAR’s anti-prostitution pledge
“The protesters toured the Center for Media, carrying red umbrellas and placards with slogans. One of the interviewees was the prostitute [Kyomya] Macklean, Uganda: “We want respect, recognition, social inclusion, and dialogue with our political leaders. And we can’t do all this without funding. ”
After a few minutes, everyone was ushered out of the Center for Media, but continued to move through the wide corridors of the Convention Center, moving in the direction of the Global Village. The group celebrated the impact of the action at the booth of the Global Network of Sex Work (NSWP), which promoted the protest.
Sex workers from around the world demand that the U.S. funds to fight AIDS, via USAID’s PEPFAR program, do not discriminate. It is essential to support sex worker organizations in order to strengthen HIV prevention.”
Four years ago in 2006, at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, NSWP member Melissa Ditmore and journalist Erin Siegal collected footage and interviews for a short film on PEPFAR and how it harms sex workers – not much has changed. Watch the thirteen minute film, Taking the Pledge, below.
Catherine Stevens
Douglas Fox
Elrond
Jessie Abraham
Laura Lee
Morven
PONY
Sensuous Amanda
Sexwork IE
Shelly Stoops
Silky
Snowdrop Explodes
Steve Newcastle
Teegan Fox
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