Sex Workers’ Rights Emergency Protest July 4th

The self-styled “All Party Parliamentary Group on Prostituion” (which is actually a bunch of anti-sex work puritanically-minded MPs) have called for a Westminster Hall Debate on the 4th of July at 2:30pm to try to outlaw websites which “encourage exploitation and trafficking”.

See https://www.facebook.com/events/604646959904003/

What this will actually do is to make life MORE dangerous for sex workers, just as the American SESTA and FOSTA laws have already done.

We do not need this sort of thing in the UK, so here is a letter I’ve written to my MP and if you want to copy it (modifying it a bit, so it doesn’t look just like a cut-and-paste job) and send it to your MP via http://www.theyworkforyou.com that would be appreciated by all sex workers in this country

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Dear Stephen Morgan MP,

On July the 4th between 2.30pm and 4pm, Sarah Champion MP has called a Westminster Hall debate entitled ‘Tackling demand for commercial sexual exploitation’.

Whilst this may sound like a good cause to support, regrettably, Sarah Champion is one of a self-selected group calling themselves the “All Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution” which is actually made up of a group of MPs all of whom have strong anti-sex work attitudes, yet purport to represent “all parties”.

Their aim is to “try to force the Government to bring in legislation to prevent commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls”, however their intent is to outlaw any websites that “encourage exploitation and trafficking” taking as their model the American “SESTA” and “FOSTA” acts.

Sex workers in the USA have reported that when the SESTA-FOSTA laws passed, they were immediately inundated with calls and texts from men offering to find them clients – in return for a cut of the profits. One sex worker commented, “There’s always something in the message alluding to these bills that have just passed. ‘Now you need me.’ It’s really creepy, because that exact thing is what the people who passed the bill thought they were fighting, and they’ve brought it into my life” (CityPages, May 2018).

The real way to protect sex workers is to Decriminalise this work, based on the New Zealand Model (see https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/sex-workers-decriminalisation-of-prostitution-new-zealand-new-law-works-research-proves-sex-workers-a7761426.html )

Regrettably, during their deliberations, they were offered, but ignored, much evidence in favour of Decriminalisation from UK Sex Worker organisations (see https://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2018-archive/january/largest-study-of-uk-online-sex-work-highlights-findings-and-recommendations ), plus they could call upon the report from the 2016 Home Affairs Select Committee (see https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2015/prostitution-report-published-16-17/ ) and Amnesty International (see https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/05/amnesty-international-publishes-policy-and-research-on-protection-of-sex-workers-rights/ )

Instead they wish to emulate the USA and pass an act which will lead to a decrease in sex workers’ safety because it will outlaw sites like National Ugly Mugs (which lets sex workers consult a database of dangerous or abusive clients before they see them), will force sex workers into the clutches of exploitative managers and push them into dangerous street work, because they would no longer be able to advertise to clients online.

Even if advertising platforms are taken down, people who sell sex still need to make money. Now whilst some may be able to get minimum wage jobs stacking shelves or cleaning toilets, there are a significant proportion of sex workers who have health problems or suffer from depression which make such jobs unfeasible for them and you are, I am sure, well aware of the problems that people are having claiming benefits at all due to the actions of the Conservative Government.

This debate is being pushed by people who wish to impose the so-called Nordic Model which is intended to protect sex workers by criminalising clients, however the recent introduction of this model into Northern Ireland has seen an almost 50% INCREASE in acts of violence against them (see https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2018/03/does-nordic-model-work-what-happened-when-ireland-criminalised-buying-sex ), it is clear that those proposing this are more interested in pushing an agenda than actually ensuring the safety of people who CHOOSE to work in this business.

Rather than making life more difficult for people who are selling sex, politicians should focus on giving marginalised people more options. People are pushed into exploitative and harmful situations because they are denied to get the resources they need and this law will do the same thing.

The best way to tackle this exploitation is to ensure that no one is homeless and single mothers do not have to struggle with poverty but, until that happens, decriminalising sex work will go some way to help them support themselves instead of them being penalised and stigmatised by “Nanny knows best” authoritarians.

I would be most grateful if you could take the time to attend this debate on Wednesday afternoon and raise these points if you are concerned about actually protecting sex workers instead of allowing a small, narrow-minded group to force through a dangerous and unneeded law based on ideology instead of facts.