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The Sessions

Posted in Campaigns and Groups, Government Reviews and Change, In the Media, Law, tagged , , , , , , on 20 January, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Sunday, 20 January 2013

The Sessions

This weekend sees the launch of The Sessions, a film which is creating quite a stir in the media. Starring Helen Hunt and John Hawkes, The Sessions explores the relationship between a late thirties virginal man and a professional sex surrogate. Sex with the disabled is surely one of the last remaining cinematic taboos. Indeed, this week has seen some fierce debates take place on This Morning and The Jeremy Vine Show amongst others. There are many with an opinion as to whether offering sexual services to the disabled is a ‘good’ thing – that they don’t actually have any experience of their subject matter is as usual, no deterrent to arm chair critics.

Let’s begin by exploring what I mean by ‘disabled’, that you may fully appreciate the challenges it can bring to a sex worker. In terms of physical disability, I meet clients who are amputees, wheelchair users, those who have had a stroke, varying levels of paralysis, not to mention the mind boggling range of machinery that can sometimes accompany those conditions. In my own journey as a sex worker, I have learned how to roll a client across a bed, how to use a hoist, how to help them in and out of a bath and of course what to do if it all goes wrong, in terms of first aid.

When I’m working with the physically disabled, it is absolutely key to treat my client in exactly the same way as I would the able bodied. That means, loudly remonstrating with them as to the state of their bedroom, remarking on their Kermit the frog boxer shorts and being completely matter of fact should an ‘accident’ happen (I won’t go into further detail on that except to say that as a mother, colostomy bags don’t even touch the sides of ‘no way’).

The second challenge is what I refer to as the ‘Bedroom Krypton Factor’, by which I mean that the rules of engagement may be somewhat hampered by my client’s mobility or positioning, but there is always a way. Truly, you haven’t lived until you’ve had to balance yourself by holding on to a hoist hook, whilst dressed as a nurse and in killer heels, it’s quite an experience.

In terms of mental disabilities, the two main categories I meet are Autism and Asperger syndrome. As lifelong developmental conditions, the main issues that can and do arise are communication, interaction and anger. It is very difficult to have a conversation with a person who constantly interrupts or shouts, simply because they don’t appreciate the parameters of socially acceptable behaviour. Similarly, it is hugely frustrating when a ‘rage’ develops, based on a misapprehension. I liken it to the situation when as a child, you are standing in the kitchen and your mother is shrieking at you – “I know you stole those sweets, you might as well admit it”. You know you didn’t do it, but she is beyond listening to reason and is in a dark rage. You offer evidence to show her that she’s wrong, in the fervent hope that she’ll suddenly relax and apologise profusely, but that doesn’t happen. In the end, you end up in floods of tears, born out of sheer frustration, because nothing you can do is going to change the outcome.

The key skill here is to find a calm strength, to look the client in the eye and say – “I need you to step back from me, and when you are ready to have a rational discussion on the matter we will go from there. In the meantime I want you to think about how long you’ve known me and whether you think I could really be that person”. Yes, it’s hard, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Here’s why.

I have a client who is confined to his torso, neck and head. His limbs are redundant and so in the beginning, our relationship was challenging because of his physical limitations but also because of the huge anger he had festering inside, at the bloody unfairness of it all. All of his friends were playing football and falling out of bars at the weekend, whilst he was confined to bed with a television and a laptop for company. For life.

It took approximately four sessions before we found the golden fleece, and when ever I think of that day I still get misty eyed. The look on his face was one of true gratitude and love, not the romantic starry eyed stuff but real love. When two people have a moment where they truly connect, that love. With tears streaming down his face, he snuggled me into his chest and whispered ‘thank you’, before gently kissing my forehead.

That’s why I do what I do. The warm glow I felt that day spread from my very core, and I was still beaming several hours later.

Judge ye not, able bodied bigots, here is a quote from The Sessions. Father Brendan - ”I have a feeling that God is going to give you a free pass on this one. Go for it.”

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Annus horribilis / Annus mirabilis

Posted in Campaigns and Groups, In the Media, Law, sex worker politics, tagged , , , , , , on 19 December, 2012 | 4 Comments »

2012 has been a roller coaster of a year, no doubt about that. Image
It was the year for change and growth.

On a couple of occasions I was taken aback, courtesy of people I thought I could trust. Part of being an adult, though, is to learn from every experience and at any rate – the signs of toxicity were screamingly apparent. So, two choices. Either dwell on the negativity or focus on the renewed energy and drive which comes from finally saying – “I’m done with you”. I choose the latter, particularly when every time I questioned why on earth I had ever allowed myself to become involved with such people there were several other people ready to pick me up and dust me down, never for a minute questioning my choices. 2012 is the year when I learned that sooner or later, the mask always slips and the lesson for the future is to take that first glimpse as a stark warning.

2012 was the year when I learned not to be afraid of the media. In years gone past, when a journalist made contact, yours truly would be found hiding behind the nearest available sofa, but no more. When it comes to media work, provided I have the support of my sex worker advocate colleagues, my real friends and my family, then that’s all I need. I have come to realise that there are some members of the media who are very definitely sex work positive – the challenge now is how to stop them editing interviews to infinity and beyond.

Speaking of being misquoted, allow me to share with you a short tale from this morning. To borrow a phrase from my good friend N, I don’t come out of this one very well. Not in my actions per se, but my reactions. I got upset and I cried. No, I howled. Because of SCASE. For the uninitiated, SCASE is the Scottish Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation and, well, they hate me. With reference to the first two paragraphs I’ve written above, I don’t actually care about that. From time to time I peek in at their Facebook page and I’ve become accustomed to the snarky comments, the sarcasm and the back-slapping.

So why did I get so upset this morning? Well, I read a piece which SCASE have paraded on their site and Twitter feed, my mistake. With other haters I just block them on every site I can think of and resolve never again to subject my corneas to their drivel. This is a formula which works. Quite what possessed me to go and read this piece KNOWING it was going to be blatant hatred, I do not know. I’ve learned my lesson now, of course and blocked them everywhere but that’s a little like locking the stable door after the entire farm has bolted.

So to the piece itself. Allow me to make this clear, SCASE didn’t write this piece, it is the anonymous submission of one of their members. However, they did parade it with glee, so I take it as being representative of their views.

First off we have -

“The pro-sex work lobby in Scotland has attacked individuals online and as a result they have experienced high levels of harrassment (sic) and abuse”

Run that one past me again? I have NEVER harassed any abolitionist online. EVER. I went so far as to praise both Rhoda Grant and Jan MacLeod for being approachable and friendly women. Next.

“What about the women who have not had media training or had the chance to polish their media personality”?

The only reason I have had an opportunity to polish my media ‘personality’ is because I am up to my ears defending the rights of ordinary decent women against bigots like you. Also, those ‘other’ women are afraid of coming forward and speaking to the media because THIS is exactly what happens – personal attacks from cowardly anonymous keyboard warriors. Next.

“What about the women who don’t write blogs about how transgressive, revolutionary and empowering prostitution is? What about all those women who are struggling to cope and don’t position themselves to get book deals or plays written about them”?

What about them ? Have you gone out to the saunas and the streets and spoken to these women ? Thought not. I have. Also, exactly who do you think you are to presume that I have never struggled to cope ? You know nothing about me and my background, only what you see in the press and that is edited to death. Next – this was the one that really got me …

“I have heard vulnerable women described disrespectfully by “sex-work” representatives as “drug addled prostitutes,” with little empathy for their situations and how they have ended up involved”.

There you go again. Taking what I said completely out of context and to suit your own agenda. THAT’S NOT WHAT I SAID. I said, “let’s step back from the hysteria of the stereotype of drug addled prostitutes and see sex work for what it is, an incredibly multi layered and diverse industry”.

Let me explain something to you in plain English. I started sex work in the dingiest of dumps in Dublin, working for ‘pimps’. Each week I went to the sex workers’ clinic held in Haddington road, so I could socialise with sex workers and not feel so alone. Whilst I was there I made some friends for life, including street sex workers, one of whom I chat to online daily. It was those women who stood by my side when I reported a client for raping me, who went with me to the Garda station. It was those women who did me the honour of inviting me to christenings, communions and weddings. To this day, it is those women and their friendship I miss.

I was a law student then, and those women really believed that I would help them. It may be twenty years later but damn right I’m going to help them. I’m going to do EVERYTHING in my power to stop these laws going through and stop those women I loved so much suffer at the hands of ‘feminists’. Unlike you, I am quite prepared to shake off my cloak of anonymity if that’s what it takes. Because I OWE THEM. I owe them for what they did for me and I owe them for the suffering they have already been through. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

So congratulations, both you and SCASE made me cry today. You made me cry for the women of my past, those women who are lost forever, either through sex work or through drug addiction or through sheer poverty. Some got out, with no help from organisations such as yours.

I ought to mention – that last night I sat in a room filled with people in Glasgow to remember the victims of violence through sex work. We cried. We cried for our friends, for our colleagues and for the bloody injustice of it all. Don’t let me stop you, go right ahead and press for this law to be passed, but know that you will be placing real women in danger, women just like you and me. I hope you’re going to be immensely proud of yourself.

I ought to thank you really, whoever you are. Because once I had stopped sobbing I realised that – it’s bigots like you who spur me on to do what I do. When sheer exhaustion kicks in and I’m getting sick to death of the threats, it’s women like you who give me that last five percent of strength which says – “keep going”. So thank you.

To you the writer and to SCASE, I’m done with you.

To my friends, my fellow sex workers and everyone else I simply adore, Merry Christmas. May you enjoy the rest and relaxation and may we all hit the ground running in 2013.

LL xx

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Sexual Entertainment Venues and managing risk

Posted in Campaigns and Groups, Feminism, Government Reviews and Change, lap dancing, Law, Research on 9 December, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Harlots is pleased to announce the initial finding of research into attitudes toward adult entertainment venues and an assessment of their influence on nuisance and safety in areas where they exist. The research is being carried out by the university of Kent and was financed by the Economic and Social Research Council Shaping Society.

Please note that these are the initial findings and that further updates and the final research data will be available

“HERE”

images (9)

Sexualisation, nuisance and safety: Sexual Entertainment Venues and the management of risk
Start date: 31 December 2011
End date: 30 December 2012

In the last decade, around 300 dedicated clubs have opened in England and Wales where the live display of nudity is regularly offered. Such venues have been accused of offering exploitative and degrading forms of entertainment which compromise the safety not just of female performers, but all women who live and work around such venues. However, there is no existing academic research documenting this. This research accordingly aims to collect such evidence, performing a grounded analysis of the impacts of such venues on surrounding businesses and residents. This will be achieved through an examination of the impacts of venues in a small town, a large town, a small city and a regional capital, chosen to represent the diversity of club styles and settings. The research will combine analysis of objections to club licensing, guided walks in the vicinity of clubs and an extensive survey of local residents.

This project is grounded in social science literatures on the sexualisation of society, fear of crime and the regulation of the night-time economy. The findings will be of interest to stakeholders in licensing, town centre management and community safety, as well as audiences in sociology, criminology and geography.

Aims

To date, there has been no academic research on the impacts of lap dancing clubs on the communities in which they are
located. The purpose of this research was therefore to explore how local authorities can best achieve the aims of licensing – i.e. maximizing public safety, minimizing public nuisance, and reducing crime and disorderin relation to SEVs. More widely, the aim is to explore whether SEVs have a place in England and Wales. The specific aims were:

1. To examine local residents’ perceptions of Sexual Entertainment Venues in four case study locations selected to be
representative of different styles and settings of clubs.

2. To explore the ways that SEVs change peoples’ experience of the night-time city, paying particular attention to
questions of gender.

3. To contribute to emerging academic and popular understandings of the anxieties that surround adult entertainment as it becomes more visible in the night-time economy of British towns and cities.

In the last decade, venues where the live display of nudity is regularly offered have opened across England and Wales. This ESRC-funded research collected evidence of the impacts of such venues on surrounding businesses and residents. Some of the key findings were:

• There are 241 licensed premises regularly offering lap dancing or striptease in
England and Wales. Nearly half (43%) of those applying for a Sexual Entertainment
Venue (SEV) license have received no formal objections.

• A survey of residents in towns and cities with lap dance clubs suggests that around
one in five were not aware there was an SEV operating in their town or city. Fewer
than one in ten identified an SEV as a particular source of local nuisance, and in
some locations this was considerably lower.

• Women, those over 40, those who have lived in their current home for over 5 years
and those with children are most likely to argue there are too many lap dance clubs
in their town. Women, those with children and the over 40s are least likely to
suggest that striptease is harmless entertainment and most likely to suggest it
attracts criminal elements and promotes sexism.

• Around one in ten in our survey suggested there is no suitable location for lap
dancing clubs. Very few believe clubs are suitable near schools, though the majority
(55%) regard town and city centres as appropriate locations.

• Walk-along events were used to gauge the impact SEVs had on the night-time
economy in four case study locations. These suggested that SEVs were not the
most significant source of fear or anxiety for participants, with most instances of
antisocial and rowdy behavior being associated with other venues, notably pubs.

• Women were more likely than men to pass comment on SEVs and express un-ease
or anxiety about them. None argued that SEVs were a major source of antisocial
behavior, or were able to cite any instances of harassment, noise or violence
associated with such clubs: concerns appeared to coalesce around the
normalization of male-oriented sexual entertainment and the encouragement of
sexist attitudes among younger people. This suggests moral anxiety and disgust,
rather than fear, may underpin many objections about SEVs.

• SEVs which were discrete in terms of their signage, naming and exterior
appearance appeared to generate least comment or concern. Sexist imagery and
names were objected to by many of our participants.

Conclusions

Opposition to SEVs appears mainly based on perceptions that clubs normalize sexism and promote anti-social behavior rather than any direct experience of crime. Those who have children in their home appear significantly more likely to describe existing SEVs as a source of nuisance, while women are most likely to argue for fewer SEVs. However, not all clubs are perceived to have similar impacts on their locality, and some communities seem more accepting of SEVs.
Some clubs are judged to be better managed, and some locations as more suitable. This implies the need for
considering each application on a case-bycase basis. Irrespective, current approaches based on excluding SEVs from residential areas or near schools appear to be widely supported. However, few regard SEVs as a major threat to
children’s safety, suggesting concern is primarily about the normalization of particular attitudes towards women
among young(er) people.The implications here is that licensing needs to take seriously its commitment to Gender
Equity and Equality, and that objections based on grounds of sexism and morality might be considered when determining
licensing applications given these might have implications for the appearance and naming of clubs (noting most people first become aware of lap dancing clubs in their city by seeing them on their streets).How to get further information

Outputs and summaries of the research findings are available online at:

https://researchoutcomes.rcuk.ac.uk/grants/ES.J002755.1/details

Please contact P.Hubbard@kent.ac.uk for further details of the methods and findings.

Editors note

These initial findings are preliminary and only a small part is published here. Harlots will be happy to publish the complete research paper which will help in creating evidential based policy in the future. And policy based on evidence is especially needed to combat the hysteria that is often generated around this topic by parties ideologically opposed to such venues.

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UKNSWP statement.

Posted in Campaigns and Groups, Escorting Lives, Law, NSWP, Organisations Comment, Research, Safety, Uncategorized on 9 November, 2012 | 7 Comments »

I am pleased to publish a response from UKNSWP regarding a recent post that illustrated concerns felt within the sex working community with regard to the pilot Nationwide Ugly Mug Scheme.
Alex has asked for feed back, so please either contact him direct or comment on this forum, which would be helpful for any discussion on sex workers concerns with regard to the NUM scheme, or you can email me direct as dearharlot@googlemail.com and I will be pleased to pass comments, suggestions on.

UKNSWP is proud to be part of a tradition of “ugly mugs” and third party reporting schemes which give options for sex workers to alert each other and to report crimes. In our reports and public presentations about ugly mugs we have always acknowledged that “ugly mugs” originates from sex workers themselves and that sex workers have been and are resourceful in finding ways to protect themselves, often in challenging legal and social contexts. Before the National Ugly Mugs (NUM) Pilot Scheme was established a year-long development project was undertaken by the UKNSWP which consulted widely with sex workers. We still welcome feedback from sex workers and reply personally to anyone who sends us any comments which we take on board and make changes if we can. The vast majority of the feedback we have from sex workers has been positive and we are constantly told that the scheme is really useful. It has to be remembered that this is a pilot project and thus we are continuously learning from the experiences of scheme participants. The scheme is also being evaluated by two academic members of UKNSWP (on a voluntary basis), and they will be seeking the views of participants early next year to inform the final evaluation report and make recommendations for ways in which the scheme might be improved.
UKNSWP is pleased that there is discussion about NUM amongst sex worker online communities. We would welcome such forums to get directly in touch with us so we can consider their feedback and views through constructive engagement. In fact to date, many of the changes we have made to the scheme have come about as a response to constructive feedback from sex workers or those who run forums or escort sites.
NUM aims to support all sex workers, whether male, female or trans, and whether working on the streets, in parlours, flats, advertising online or working in any sector. Some sex workers do not necessarily have access to the internet or websites for information-sharing and it is important to make reporting as accessible as possible to all sex workers, through a range of options.
We are fully aware that sex workers who take bookings over the phone would find full numbers and profile names useful as it makes it easier for them to block people. For escorts taking bookings over the phone we do try include as much information as possible (if we have it) which might alert people to individuals to avoid such as whether the incident was an in/out call, their name, their accent, their telephone manner, the area they live in and any other details or habits which may come to light before actually meeting the individual in person.
With regards to phone numbers, our current policy is if we have a full phone number to include, this will be included with three digits taken out. This policy was based on the legal advice we took during the development of the scheme. As well as the legal issues with publishing full details of reported perpetrators, we have a duty to individuals making the report not to put them in danger of repercussions if the alert fell into the wrong hands. In compiling any alert we therefore have to consider how any details or content might identify the victim, so this can sometimes limit what is included. The other main reason why we cannot fully identify alleged perpetrators is that it could undermine a prosecution of an ‘ugly mug’ and ultimately lead to a court case falling apart. By fully identifying people we mean by including full details that identify a specific individual – telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, car registration numbers and names of alleged perpetrators are all details which we need to be extra careful about. We must also be mindful of the possibility that malicious reports could be made into the scheme.
For clarification some of the posts about NUM imply that we would include a phone number in an alert with more than three digits removed – we would never do that. In addition, in alerts where there is no phone number included that is because the person reporting the incident didn’t provide us with a phone number. The same goes for descriptions of perpetrators – we include as detailed a description as we can with the information provided to us. We encourage all NUM members to include as much information as possible about perpetrators; this will enable us to provide fuller alerts. We provide alerts in cases of limited information because members have said they want these.
That leads me on to the other main aspect of the NUM Scheme which is to support sex workers in reporting information to the police. Less than 30% of the victims reporting into NUM feel comfortable enough to make a full report to the police. That is why, if and only if the victim gives consent, we will feed the information (including full details about the perpetrators) to the police without giving any information about the victim. We have already seen positive results from this and many police forces are actually investigating them as if they had been formally reported. This is one area where NUM can really complement other schemes, whether being run by forums or escort sites or sex work projects.
We acknowledge that the laws around sex work are problematic and can undermine sex workers’ access to the criminal justice system – that is why we need schemes like this. Currently, whilst challenging laws and policies detrimental to sex worker safety, we are having to work within the existing framework to try to make a difference. Engaging with the police on our terms has already had positive outcomes in many areas.
NUM is supported by a range of organisations and individuals and we hope to build the network of supporters. Although the scheme is supported by some projects and individuals who take an abolitionist approach, the scheme is run independently and autonomously by the UKNSWP, which is fully committed to recognising sex workers’ right to self-determination. It is also important to note that the board members of the UKNSWP are unpaid and the NUM Scheme is run on a small budget by two members of staff who work very hard to manage and develop the service.
It is hard to see how a scheme which raises awareness about how the law and bad police practices contributes to sex workers being targeted by criminals, and makes them reluctant to report to the police, could be used to support abolitionist policies. UKNSWP has a long history of opposing criminalisation of sex work, and if the scheme were ever misrepresented in such a way, we would strongly oppose this.
The purpose of NUM is to complement, not replace, the work of local projects working with sex workers as well as forums, escort sites or agencies who share warnings and alerts. It may not be the perfect model for everyone working in the sex industry and we know that the alerts would be more effective, especially for those who arrange bookings over the phone, if we could identify perpetrators, but we have outlined the legal considerations we are working within that shape our practice.
However, we have already had some positive outcomes in the four months since the scheme launched. Within this short timescale, NUM has already been instrumental in the arrest and charging of 3 criminals wanted for the aggravated assault and robbery of at least 9 sex worker premises in London, the arrest of one male wanted for rape in Merseyside and the recalling to prison of a well-known scammer of male escorts.
Taking on board the feedback we have received, we will re-examine the issue of our legal requirements regarding telephone numbers and other key personal information with our legal advisers. We are also currently looking into the possibility of introducing a number checker which would allow members of the scheme to type in a number to see if it matches any that have been reported to us. As we stress, this is a pilot scheme and we genuinely want to reflect and develop.

Alex Bryce
Coordinator
National Ugly Mugs Pilot Scheme
you can email direct alex.bryce@uknswp.org.uk
or follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/NationalUglyMug

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A letter to The Irish Times

Posted in Campaigns and Groups, Government Reviews and Change, Law, Uncategorized on 28 August, 2012 | 3 Comments »

A Chara,

I am an Irish sex worker of 17 years experience and although I now live in Scotland, I lived and worked in Ireland until 2003.

The current consultation around paid sex is in danger of being derailed. Much of the “evidence” is badly presented and seriously skewed. One of the chief advocates for criminalising the consensual and essentially private acts we engage in is Ruhama, who have based their campaign on the following statement – “75% of all sex workers enter the industry as children”. That statement is based on a study (Melrose, 2002) which had as its subjects a mere forty six women, three quarters of whom were engaged in street work. As only 10% of all sex work is conducted on the street, the 75% figure is not statistically allowable.  It is being manipulated purely to create a moral panic.  It is not based on fact.

Some facts – 81.7% of Irish clients said they had never met an escort they suspected was being physically abused. (Irish Escort Clients Survey, 2006).

Following decriminalisation in New Zealand, 93.8% of sex workers reported feeling that they had health and safety rights under the law ( Abel, Fitzgerald and Brunton 2007).

In the UK, 440 sex workers were interviewed and only 7% reported that being paid meant that they handed control over to the client. 85% of the women were aged 26 and over. 32.9% of the women had degrees whilst 18% held post-graduate qualifications (Jenkins, 2009).

Ireland has for many years laboured under the shame of its treatment of unmarried mothers in Magdalene laundries. It is time to stop marginalising and stigmatising sex workers who, ultimately, are inheriting identical practices.

The International Union of Sex Workers campaigns for the human, civil and labour rights of those who work in the sex industry, and for policy which is based on evidence. Evidence, please.

Is mise le meas,

Laura Lee
International Union of Sex Workers

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People smugglers target their victims as organ donors and house slaves

Posted in Anti Sex Work, Campaigns and Groups, Escorting Lives, Government Brutality, Government Reviews and Change, In the Media, Law, Migration, Uncategorized on 27 August, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

I was made aware of this article in the Guardian by a fb friend. The article talks about the first official assessment of human trafficking data in the UK. Firstly, the amount of human trafficking appears relatively minimal, the assessment recognises only some 2,077 “possible” trafficking victims smuggled into the UK last year. Secondly, the assessment reveals that less than half of those alleged victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation. Remember, despite what the law says, there is a huge difference between someone who is tricked or coerced, and an illegal, but never the less, willing migrant worker.
Considering there are an estimated eighty thousand sex workers in the UK it suggests that trafficking victims are few and far between, which begs the question why is the government spending vast amounts of money on combating sex trafficking, a crime which appears to barely exist, except in the fevered imaginations of moralists and abolitionists. Is it just an excuse to continue a crusade against the sex industry and prostitution in particular? It certainly appears so.
Sex workers know that trafficking for sexual exploitation is mostly a manufactured hysteria, but with evidence like this, why is the media and government still getting away with a campaign of violence against sex workers? OK, the rhetoric from this present government is less than from the previous government, yet they have not repealed the changes in the law, brought in by the last Labour administration, which encourages the police to target brothels, agencies, and sex workers. I suspect the the reason is that prostitution is such an easy financial target. Fighting prostitution also allows the media to promote government and the police as protectors of women. The fact that such brutal criminalising endangers women and men in sex work, means nothing. Such is the perverse morality of saviours.

You can read the full article “HERE”s

The first official assessment of human trafficking in the UK reveals the increasingly diverse reasons people are being smuggled into the country, including domestic servitude, sexual and criminal exploitation, and organ harvesting.

The United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre’s 2011 baseline assessment concludes that 11% of victims were trafficked for the purposes of domestic servitude; 1% for organ harvesting; 5% for multiple exploitation; 17% for criminal exploitation; 22% for labour exploitation; and 31% for sexual exploitation. The remaining 13% were trafficked for reasons unknown.

The report, which is compiled from information submitted by police forces, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, the UK Border Agency and other organisations, suggests that last year some 2,077 potential victims of human trafficking were identified in the UK.

The picture that emerges contrasts strongly with the popular perception that trafficking is predominantly for the purposes of prostitution.

The assessment revealed that, “for the first time, two potential victims reported that they had been trafficked specifically for organ harvesting,” and noted a third person was also suspected to have been trafficked for such a purpose.

According to the UKHTC, “the illegal trade is dominated by kidneys, which are in the greatest demand and are the only major organs that can be wholly transplanted with relatively few risks to the life of the donor”.

Klara Skrivankova, Anti-Slavery International’s trafficking programme co-ordinator, said: “The UKHTC 2011′s assessment shows that more than 50% of trafficking in the UK happens for purposes other than sexual exploitation.

“The prevalence of trafficking for forced labour in industries like agriculture, construction or food processing is a problem we have been pointing to for a number of years. It is important that the law enforcement authorities now increase efforts to arrest those who profit from forced labour and ensure that all victims of trafficking see their exploiters brought to justice.”

The five most common countries of origin for victims of trafficking were Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Nigeria.

The assessment reported evidence that 99 UK citizens were trafficked within the UK last year, of whom 52 were trafficked for sexual exploitation, with more than 80% identified as female children. However, an Observer analysis of trafficking figures recorded by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency’s National Referral Mechanism database provides an alternative snapshot.

Between 1 April 2009, when the database started recording trafficked incidents, until March 2012, the latest set of figures available, some 2,445 people were suspected, or were found, to have been trafficked into the UK.

The figures reveal 1,566 were female, 596 were male and the remainder were children. Some 431 people were believed to have been trafficked from Nigeria, compared with 255 from Vietnam, the second most active trafficker of people to the UK. China was the third largest trafficker, responsible for bringing a suspected 224 people to the UK.

Europol, the international police agency, has identified Nigerian organised crime as one of the largest law enforcement challenges to European governments. In many cases, Nigerian victims are trafficked after a friend or family member offers a child a chance for a better life abroad.

On accepting the offer, the victim will have a “juju” ceremony performed by a witchdoctor to ensure success in their new life. Victims fear they will be magically harmed should they report their plight to the authorities, meaning the true scale of the abuse remains hidden.

A 2010 report by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre identified the trafficking of Vietnamese children into the UK as another key trend. The majority were forced to work in cannabis farms, with others being exploited in brothels and nail bars, or pressed into committing street crimes such as selling illegally copied DVDs or breaking and entering.

The UKHTC assessment found many trafficked victims were told that they owed debts of up to €70,000 (£55,400) for their travel costs. It notes: “They are then subjected to labour exploitation, sexual exploitation or criminal exploitation until they are perceived to have repaid their debt. In some cases, the debt increases through a combination of high costs for food and accommodation and low wages, and the victim is unable to reduce or repay the money owed.”

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NATIONAL UGLY MUG SCHEME, IS IT GOOD NEWS?

Posted in Campaigns and Groups, Escorting Lives, Government Reviews and Change, Human Rights, Law, Organisations Comment, Research, Safety, sex worker politics, Uncategorized on 16 August, 2012 | 3 Comments »

Time will tell if the introduction of the first UK nationwide Ugly mug scheme will be good news for sex workers or bad, or more likely indifferent. An ugly mug, for non sex worker readers, is a client of a sex worker who has been violent or abusive.
Ugly mug schemes are nothing new. Although in this “article” it is claimed that local sex work projects have operated ugly mug schemes for twenty years, real sex workers, however, have operated them for as long as there have been sex workers. In the north east where I work, local agencies have shared information for the last fifteen years, and most agents/brothels have lists of hundreds, if not thousands of clients who have either, in the worse case scenario, been abusive or violent, to repeat, no shows clients. (Clients who book appointments, in call and out call, but who never show up, or, who/and, send sex workers to the wrong address deliberately).
These schemes work very well on a local basis and in theory should work nationally. There are however flaws in this system which are being ignored in the enthusiasm to welcome it.

The scheme relies on local projects. Local projects are social work groups who provide out reach to sex workers. The effectiveness and the usefulness of these projects is a post code lottery. Most work only with women, usually, street workers or sex workers who are socially disadvantaged. Most projects have little or no contact with the vast majority of sex workers who work indoor, ie in brothels, through agencies or who work independently. Often, not only are projects selective in terms of whom they support, ie, only street women, but they often have age restrictions, especially gay projects, who only work with so called “rent boys” or very young boys, men. Effectively, most sex workers never, or rarely, have any contact with any outreach project.

The scheme also relies heavily upon the co operation of the police. Sex workers do not trust the police, with very good reason. The police, as sex workers know to their cost, are more interested in persecuting sex workers than in caring for the safety of sex workers. Brothels and agencies, representing consenting adults, are still being raided across the UK and sex workers prosecuted and their assets seized. This is one recent “example”.

Before any national scheme can be truly called successful the relationship between the police and sex workers must improve. Although the new national Ugly mug scheme promises that sex workers can report crimes anonymously through their local project, the real advancement would be if sex workers were able to report crimes against them, just like every one else, to the police directly, with out fear of arrest or harassment. One is tempted to suggest that the first ugly mug listed on the scheme should be the police themselves, or perhaps the government, who empower and encourage the police to target sex workers. This important point aside, the ability to report crimes to projects, depends therefore, largely upon the relationship, if any, that exists between any projects and the sex workers, and often, as I have explained, there is no such relationship.

The NUM (national ugly mug) scheme also promises sex workers and agencies etc the ability to share and access telephone numbers. The problem is that the law prevents the sharing of full phone numbers. So sex workers, if wanting to check a client, will only be able to access part of a phone number. Better than nothing one may think, but hardly fool proof and unlikely to replace or improve on existing, local, sex worker run, ugly mug schemes. It is of course these very important local schemes, already established within sex worker communities, that are so often destroyed by the police, our new protectors, when they raid brothels and agencies (yes I am being ironic). The same also goes for car registrations and names. If the police were truly interested in creating and maintaining a comprehensive list of ugly mugs then they already have a valuable source to tap into. Sadly the lure of easy convictions and lucrative proceeds of crime confiscations are currently however, more important than the safety of sex workers.

Sex workers have told me personally, when discussing this scheme, that the sharing of incomplete phone numbers is pointless. Mobile phones do not pick up ugly mugs by imputing incomplete numbers and sex workers, often in a hurry to organise and confirm appointments; do not have the time to troll through hundreds, if not thousands of phone numbers or car registrations. The reality is that this is a pointless exercise for most sex workers. It is an exercise for the police and for projects. As one sex worker said, “It makes them look like they are doing something”.

So we sex workers have to ask if this is a good idea, will it be helpful to us in our work?

My answer, as a sex worker, is that it probably is a good idea, although, its real worth is not to sex workers as a practical tool in their work, but rather it is an aid to projects and the police, who hopefully, will now more easily coordinate the sharing of information about ugly mugs, especially those who target street workers.

If I were to be cynical I would also argue that it will also certainly provide monies and opportunities for projects regionally, and probably, will also be helpful in creating a whole new tier of administrators. If this is the case, it will be nothing new. Sex workers have always provided lucrative opportunities for saviours on both sides of the debate, those who persecute us and those who live off us by, erm, helping us.

There is however, a danger, not yet mentioned, that the scheme may, at some point, also be used against sex workers. Any future anti sex worker government, like the last labour government, for example, may use the information gathered in a national ugly mugs scheme, to justify further persecution of the sex industry. The information, they may claim, of hundreds, possibly thousands, of ugly mugs, wanting to rape and murder, poor, abused, sex workers, could, if wrongly interpreted by moralists, (of any governing party) be used, to justify for example, the criminalising of all clients, which is what the Labour party, when last in government desperately wanted to do. Information is dangerous in the wrong hands.

In conclusion, as an ordinary sex worker, I give this nation wide ugly mug scheme a tepid welcome and wait to see how it develops. It is up to sex workers to comment and inform projects and the authorities in general, what we, British sex workers, really need. What we really need is a discussion about decriminalisation and a trusting relationship with the police. I don’t think that this is it. I may be wrong.

It will be interesting to read comments from other sex workers and also from projects.

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Back to Brothels

Posted in Campaigns and Groups, Government Reviews and Change, Human Rights, Law, sex worker politics, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on 25 June, 2012 | 5 Comments »

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On Tuesday the 19th, every sex worker’s rights activist in Scotland was either at Holyrood or on the phone monitoring the progress of the Justice Committee’s decision re Rhoda Grant’s proposed changes to the legislation around paid sex, which would criminalise our clients. With baited breath we waited until the news came in that she had failed in her attempt and there was much jubilation, short lived though that was. We cheered and allowed ourselves our first deep breath in several days, but we know it’s only a matter of time before she is back with a new consultation.

Having prepared ourselves for the worst, we all had a full diary of appointments lined up, meetings with MSP’s, interviews and meetings with sex workers too, most importantly. I very much enjoyed Holyrood, what I found most interesting was the “contemplation seat” that MSP’s have at the back of their office, it’s a space by a window to allow them to mull things over. Those visitors who have to be accompanied by an assistant at all times are given a badge with an enormous “V”, you seriously don’t want to know my thought processes around that.

Mulling things over was not a luxury available to myself and my colleague N, we hit the campaign trail with gusto on Thursday and Friday and visited many saunas in Edinburgh, to talk to the ladies therein and inform them of what is going on. I loved every minute of it, it was like a trip down memory lane for me because I began my career in the biggest sauna in Dublin, run by a huge Irish country man (to be polite) who wasn’t the brightest star in the sky. I still remember with great fondness the day he announced loudly to the masses that in order to cut back on his costs he had decided to wash and dry the towels on site and that very day we could expect delivery of his proudest investment, a “tubular dryer”. (I damn near wet my thong at that, in fact if memory serves me correctly that was the day I got the sack for the third time.)

Although I had my own experience of working in saunas many years ago, I was very nervous about visiting the contemporary equivalents, I really didn’t know what to expect. Well, all I can say is that I left every single one of them beaming and more determined than ever before to work with our team and protect those wonderful women I met. To be perfectly honest, there was a moment when I walked through the door of each one when the women threw me a distrustful eye, and who can blame them ? Right now they feel as if everyone is against them, politicians who are determined to take away their livelihood, feminists and abolitionist campaigners who are determined to “rescue” them, not to mention various members of the public in their commentaries who have suddenly become experts on what it is to work in the sex industry and the psychology behind it all too, it’s almost impressive.

As soon as I let it be known that I am on their side, the change in their body language was quite remarkable. Arms were unfolded and they leaned forward and listened. In fact, in most of the places we went to, N and I had a really good laugh. As I deal in truth and not fiction, I can tell you that there was not one lady who appeared to be trafficked, every lady I met was perfectly happy to be working there and in fact they were enraged when I explained to them the full ramifications of the proposed changes to the legislation. Having explained why they enjoyed working as they do, their next question was simply – “What can I do to stop this?”

Continuing in the vein of honesty, I can tell you that out of all of the women I met, there was ONE woman who was very clearly on drugs, the rest were perfectly ordinary women, busying themselves with hair straighteners and make-up. That was my experience of the “horrors” of the Edinburgh sauna scene and I’ve no doubt that when we begin visiting flats we will find pretty much the same scenario.

The trouble with the debate that’s raging at the moment around the scene in Scotland is that the anti’s are relying heavily on the street scene to back up their arguments, when they speak of drug use, beatings, arrests, pimps etc. Now, I’m not going to pretend for one moment that any drug addicted woman happily applies her make-up and goes out on the street night after night to earn enough money to feed her own addiction and quite possibly that of her boyfriend too, of course not. I will say, that there are some women who choose to work “the beat” because it’s just what they’ve always done, like the woman two doors down does in the run up to Christmas too. The problem with some of those women is not prostitution, it’s POVERTY, and it’s drug addiction. If that’s the case, why don’t we ban drugs ? Oh wait, we have, that didn’t work either. If those women cannot get their drugs from the proceeds of paid sex, no matter how dangerous that is, then they will source the money any other way they can, spot of shop lifting anyone ? Of course, that alternative course of earning might get them arrested, they might even end up in “The Vale”, where they really will meet the creme de la creme of Scottish society, but that’s OK, because they are morally superior to prostitutes.

Is not the answer to support these women rather than criminalise them ? If they want to get clean and get off the streets, HELP THEM, if they want to continue to work on the streets but do so in safety, HELP THEM. Looking at the Merseyside model gives us all some scope for hope, in that case the police have been treating sex workers as the victim of hate crimes where they have been assaulted or harmed in any way and the result of that is, the human rights and the safety of the women have become paramount, not futile arrests and harassment.

I don’t claim to be an academic, (far from it, although I am working on it) but I do know the sex industry, because I have been working in it for quite a while and therein lies the reason why I do what I do under my “real” working name, I cannot be debunked. Oh sure, I can be discredited, jeered, all the usual fun stuff, (you know, if the best a purportedly educated forty-something woman can come up with is ‘fat bitch’ then I fear for the educational future of us all) but no-one can claim I am a pimp, a client, or just some (ahem) alternative person who gets their kicks out of writing as an escort, (they exist, believe me).

Nope I’m just me, a common garden variety escort, and a rather content one at that.

Laura

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“Are they bad girls or brilliant?”A Harlots review of a brilliant book by Aphrodite Phoenix.

Posted in Escorting Lives, Feminism, Government Brutality, Human Rights, In the Media, Law, Organisations Comment, Religion, Safety, sex worker politics, Uncategorized on 10 May, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

I was delighted to be congratulated by Aphrodite Phoenix on a paper that I recently presented at the Brunel university sexual cultures conference.

Aphrodite asked me if I would be interested in reading and possible reviewing her book “Are they bad girls or brilliant?” I was delighted to be asked and agreed at once.

The book is actually two books in one. The first is entitled “A personal journey” and book two is called “18 audacious essays”.

The first book primarily details her experiences working as an escort in the USA. Aphrodite tells us about her reasons for joining the business, her family life, illness and tragedies and joys and also about her intellectual journey and her spiritual awakening through her work as an escort. In book two Aphrodite gives us her thoughts about feminism and sex worker activism through a series of essays. She includes an idealised manifesto for a sex worker future where sex work is once again revered and understood as a positive force within society.

I found myself agreeing with so much in this book which reaches out both to the public and academics. It is an easy and enjoyable read that is also insightful and positive.

Aphrodite’s experiences as an escort in many ways resembled my own experiences. Her thoughts about her work, her views on activism and about feminism also mirrored in many instances my own thoughts.

Her book intriguingly is titled “Are they bad girls or brilliant?”. She used the question mark because she wants her book to answer the questions that an outsider to the sex industry may want to ask in order to understand why someone like her would enter the sex trade. She leaves the answer to the question posed in the title however, to the reader.

This is a journey that we can all empathise with in so many ways. Aphrodite, for example, describes in an early chapter; entitled, “Just an afternoon of terror and joy”, the mixture of excitement and terror that escorts in the USA, where prostitution is a criminal offense, feel when meeting a new client. That excitement is however tinged with a real sense of danger. The fear is not that the client may be dangerous but rather that the meeting may be a police sting. The danger, the fear felt by the escort is also experienced by the client who is equally fearful of a police sting on him, because in the USA the client also is criminalised. The sense of relief felt by both the escort and the client as they hug and discreetly frisk each other for hidden wires is palpable. It is a story of two people in danger, not of criminals.
At the end of that chapter Aphrodite gives an early explanation for why she is prepared to risk arrest. She writes:

“I walk back through the bustling housekeepers. We resume all those sweet wordless greetings. My heart goes out to them now. I think of all the cleanings they have to do, and how, as with me, their work is performed for strangers. They purge away dust, lint, litter, loose hairs. Used sheets, semen-streaked towels like the one I’ve just left behind, tub scum, toilet filth…I consider their low pay. I consider how awful some people think my work is. How much “worse” it must be for the maid’s.
I think of the pleasure I give. I think of the stress I relieve. I think of how I do it all-naturally. Not Toxically. Not pharmaceutically.
And I think of the money I make.
I feel so good I could shout.”

I think this just about sums up how most sex workers feel about their work when criticised for their choices. I am sure the public will also sympathise with the fear and ask; where is the crime?

I also felt a personal resonance when Aphrodite describes how sex work has had a positive effect upon both her physical health and mental well being. She understands this as part of her personal awakening to an awareness of Goddess worship. She describes (with many references) the fact that healing once was the preserve of women and that part of that healing process was sexual healing. The sacredness of sex as practiced by priestesses who were also sacred prostitutes resonates through out the book.

Aphrodite describes her life as an escort as a learning experience, a journey of discovery. It is an experience in which she learns not only about herself but also about the human condition. She writes:

“I INTUITED RIGHT FROM THE ONSET, THAT SEX WORK CAN BE HEALTHY BECAUSE SEX WORK CAN BE SPIRITUAL”.

Aphrodite goes on to say:

“I was a mother, homemaker, gardener, exerciser, healer, writer and whore. All were seamlessly, wholly, my path”.

“Are they bad girls or brilliant?” is a revelatory vision of a woman’s journey of discovery. It is the story not of a “Happy hooker”, and many will try and dismiss her as such, but of a real woman who falls in love, is arrested, brings up children, is a mother, who copes with illness and loss and does all of this while also being a sex worker.
This is a story of an intelligent and well read woman whose intellectual and emotional journey has resulted in the writing of a book that will become a classic.

This book is available exclusively as an ebook from Aphrodite’s web site “HERE”.

The book will also be available in good old fashioned print very soon. Details will be available on Aphrodite’s web site and also from Harlots Parlour.

I genuinely recommend this book….enjoy and please write and leave reviews.

Both myself and Aphrodite will be speaking on the Charlie Spice show tonight at 8pm UK time. We will be discussing the book and coming out as a sex worker activist.

Please join us: “HERE”

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Scotland and the Single Police Force – A few musings…

Posted in Government Reviews and Change, Law, sex worker politics, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 23 January, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

A few days ago, the Scottish Government announced plans to create a single Police force for the whole country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-16583576

That set me thinking….  What could it mean for the sex industry in Scotland ?  Would the change be for the better, or for the worse ?

I have yet to be able to set aside some quality time to read through the proposals in detail, but did have a few first thoughts which I’d like to share.

The new Scottish Police force will have a single Chief Constable, and whilst the service would be “independent” would be “subject to parliamentary scrutiny”.  Well, a single Chief Constable who might “report” to the First Minister. Is there a chance that political views would be communicated in a forceful and robust manner to this single person, who would then be dictating the strategy for the whole of Scotland ?

I wonder who will appoint the new Chief Constable ? and how much political interference will there be in the process ?

It is said that there will be a “Designated local policing commander and senior fire officer for each local authority area”, but, while at the moment the local chiefs in the area get to dictate policy to a great extent, for example, over how the sex industry is regulated – you only need to look at how the main cities, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen are treated to see there is a huge difference in that regard – which can be driven by local issues, I fear that a degree of that flexibility may well be lost, and that over things like the sex industry, there could be a drive for a “one size fits no-one” approach.

What does that matter ?  Well, consider who will be trying to drive the agenda ?  Those in the “rescue” industry and those politicians and activists who want to see the whole thing criminalised will now only have one Chief Constable to try and influence.  Get that one person on board and the whole country could have a set of new guidelines, maybe even have a single group of officers to co-ordinate things.

And if they get to influence those that will appoint the Chief Constable in the first place…… the outlook could be pretty grim. We could end up with some of the nastier aspects of recently dumped legislation getting in by the back door, with no legislation, just informal “guidance” used by all.

Food for thought as they say…….

Must find time to read some more.  The devil as they say, is always in the detail.

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