Untitled May 26, 2008

Male prostitutes: where are they in the equation? May 26, 2008

Are they considered in the various legislations? According to a study by the University of Exeter, male prostitutes are often discriminated in the law, even in countries where prostitution is legal. Much less data is available and collected on male prostitutes than on female. Health services and clinics made available for prostitutes offer female-oriented assistance. This approach has made this category particularly vulnerable. Men are no less vulnerbale to exploitation and abuse. 

The organisation SW5 works mostly with male and transgendered sex workers.

The Abolitionist Argument May 23, 2008

In 2003, the Scottish government enlisted the University of London to do a comprehensive analysis of outcomes of prostitution policies in other countries. The researchers chose Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands to represent various strategies of legalizing and/or regulating prostitution. The outcomes in the states under review that had legalized or regulated prostitution were found to be just as discouraging or even more discouraging than the traditional all round criminalization.

Legalization and/or regulation of prostitution, according to the study, led to:

• A dramatic increase in all facets of the sex industry,
• A dramatic increase in the involvement of organized crime in the sex industry,
• A dramatic increase in child prostitution,
• An explosion in the number of foreign women and girls trafficked into the region, and
• Indications of an increase in violence against women.

A survey of legal prostitutes under the showcase Netherlands legalization policy finds that 79% say they want to get out of the sex business.

See stats

Students resort to prostitution to pay fees in the UK May 20, 2008

In the past two years there have been frequent reports [1] [2] [3] of female students resorting to prostitution to pay for the rising tuition fees. The research, conducted by Kingston University has found that in the past 6 years there has been a 50% rise. As 130 students were asked whether they had any friends involved in the sex trade, one in ten responded positively.

The issue of Human Trafficking May 20, 2008

The United Nations had found human trafficking to be the most profitable criminal enterprise in the world, after weapons and narcotics.

This is not surprising considering that “For those who stand to benefit from this crime, human trafficking remains almost the perfect business. Supply is constant, with large numbers of people crossing countries and borders in search of better opportunities, and intermediaries along the way willing to deliver them to factories, brothels, fishing boats and private homes, or onto the streets to beg. Costs are low, and mostly include an initial one-off investment to ‘buy’ the victim, or a loan to pay back the debt they have incurred in transit, to be recovered at extortionist rates – plus perhaps a small, regular ‘tax’ to law enforcement authorities.” Furthermore, unlike drug trafficking or human smuggling, revenues are ongoing and potentially long-term, as the benefits of another person’s ‘labour’ are appropriated indefinitely. (source: UNIAP). 

This trade flourishes in poor countries where government corruption is pervasive. Interesting article in the New Yorker

What’s this got to do with the sex trade? According to many, if prostitution were to be legalised the demand for human trafficking would increase. Others would say that the difference between sex trafficking and prostitution is the same as that between forced labour and black-market labour. 

Sweden’s attempts at abolishing the oldest profession in the world May 20, 2008

Since 1999, prostitution in Sweden is considered a crime and a violence against women. The Swedish Parliament was then composed of nearly 50% women. 

What about male prostitutes?

In five years the number of women sex workers in Sweden has dramatically decreased. According to the Women’s Justice Center, the number of women in street prostitution has been reduced by two-thirds, whereas the number of johns has been reduced by 80%. “Gone too”, the Justice Center successfully claims, “are the renowned Swedish brothels and massage parlours which proliferated during the last three decades of the twentieth century when prostitution in Sweden was legal”. The list seems to be all ticked off: “The number of foreign women being trafficked in Sweden for sex is nil”.

Is everything really so rosy?

The New Zealand’s success story May 18, 2008

On June 23, 2005 the Prostitution Reform Act made prostitution, pimping and the owning of brothels legal. This reform act was designed to safeguard the human rights of sex workers and protect them from exploitation. The Act was conducive to public health. For example, among its health and safety requirements there is the compulsory use of condoms. Most importantly, it made an offence for sex workers to be under the age of 18.

According to the just published report of the Prostitution Law Review Committee, the number of sex workers in New Zealand has not increased. A 2007 estimate in five centres – Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hawkes Bay and Nelson- found a total of 2332 sex workers.

• 93% of them cited money as the reason for getting into and staying in the sex trade.
• Fewer than 17 per cent said they are working to support drug or alcohol use
• More than 60% felt that they were more able to refuse to provide commercial sexual services to a particular client since the enactment of the law.
• A significant majority felt that there had been improvements in the incidences of violence occuring in their profession.
• More than 90% feel they have legal rights under the act.      
• 1.3 percent of sex workers were underage

The committee found that the most significant barriers to exiting are loss of income, reluctance to lose the flexible working hours and the “camraderie and sense of belonging of their profession”.

Overall the committee has found that in the five years since the Act has come into force there have been some improvements. The Associate Justice Minister Lianne Dalziel has said that the act has had tangible positive effects.

See this blog post: “Good news on the effects of the New Zealand Prostitution law”

Netherlands: the par excellence Red Light District May 16, 2008

“It breaks down like this-

It’s legal to buy it, it’s legal to own it. And if you’re the proprietor of a hash bar, it’s legal to sell it. Its legal to carry it, but that doesn’t really matter because – get a load of this – if you get stopped by the cops in Amsterdam, it’s illegal for them to search you”.  Pulp Fiction

In the Netherlands sex workers have access to the social security system, may join unions, have to pay income tax and are treated like any other self-employed tradesperson. Health and social services are readily available, but people who work in the sex industry are not required to register or undergo mandatory health checks. Sex workers have to be at least 18 years old. 

This system has worked well so far, but things are about to change. The widespread phenomenon of Human trafficking has led to a revision of the laws in many countries. Last week the Dutch government announced plans to criminalise the visiting of prostitutes that are not officially licensed. Furthermore, authorities will compel prostitutes to be registered in a national database. Previously, only brothels had tobe registered to obtain a license. 

Prostitution in the UK – how does it work? May 16, 2008

So what is the state of this profession in Britain? Briefly we could say prostitution in itself is legal. That is if we stick to the definition of “exchanging participation in sexual activities for money or other goods”. On the other hand, many other activities that are linked to the sex trade are outlawed.

SW5 – an organisation that supports male and transgender sex workers – describes this system as a version of the “good news, bad news joke”.  To name a few: pimping, soliciting and kerb crawling are illegal. 

For many years the UK government has announced an overhaul of the legislation surrounding the sex trade. These changes are currently under review, so the Sexual Offences Act introduced in 2003 and the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill are the legal points of reference for this profession. 

Prison sentences for soliciting were abolished in 1983. According to the Socialist Worker Online around 3,500 women each year are cautioned or convicted for soliciting (however the source of this data is not identified in this article). Anti-social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) are frequently used against sex workers. A 2002 review by the Home Office found that 5% of all Asbos dealt with prostitution (Source: All Women Count). Many campaigners have protested that these measures have been used as a “quick fix” against undesirable behaviour in the streets, without looking at the core causes.

Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, is reportedly seeking to outlaw prostitution. Many are concerned that this move would force prostitution underground and make women more vulnerable to violence. 

Currently, it is estimated that 80,000 individuals are involved in prostitution in the UK (source: CARE document on Prostitution and Human Trafficking).

The current situation poses some important questions. 

• If prostitution is legal, should the government collect taxes from sex workers?
• If prostitution is legal, what health and safety benefits should sex workers enjoy?
• If prostitution is criminalised, what penalties would guarantee a fair functioning of the justice system (avoiding gender and category discrimination), as well as deter and prevent  the existence of the oldest known profession?

Jack the ripper’s back – Providing a Context May 10, 2008

The Million Woman rise march was meant to be an occasion for women’s groups to come together and share their problem in an atmosphere of complete solidarity and understanding. I shouldn’t have been surprised that in the end, politics came in the way.

As members of the ECP voiced their outrage at Teresa McKay being hushed, questions were raised about the Coalition’s good faith.

Why was Teresa McKay stopped from speaking? Was it really a matter of organisation, or was it pure bigotry?  The ECP made sure her speech was published online for everyone interested to see.

The draft speech can be found in the All women count website (http://www.allwomencount.net/EWC%20Sex%20Workers/Teresa’sbannedspeech.htm)

A year and a half ago, 5 women were brutally killed in the area surrounding Ipswich in Suffolk, England by Steve Wright, a regular prostitute haunter.  The incident was a grotesque reminiscent of the Yorskhire murders, which also affected prostitutes. These murders received a lot of media attention and raised some issues in regards to the UK law on prostitution and the working conditions of sex workers.

Teresa MCKay wished to revisit these issues and question the government’s response through the reformed Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

·      Health and Safety

·      Representation

·      Poverty and Inequality

·      Employment rights

Two months ago the Coalition didn’t have a policy on it. I spoke to Sabrina Qureshi from the MWR coalition to find out if things had changed, following the events.  They are yet to form any policies, but consultations will start by the end of this month.  A part from the MWR coalition and the various organisations, these problems are for everyone to consider. Prostitution, as any social is, affects everyone in society and the law should not be solely put together by the parliamentary lobbies.