Sex Worker Conference in Las Vegas- Register and/or Submit Your Proposal!

5th Desiree Alliance Conference-The Audacity of Health: Sex Work, Health, and Politics

July 14-19, 2013 Las Vegas, NV   http://desireealliance.org/conference.htm

Registration is Now Open for the 5th Desiree Alliance Conference

Please read the registration details below to begin the process. http://www.desireealliance.org/conference/Registration.htm

Submit proposals for presentations by April 1, 2013 http://www.desireealliance.org/conference/CFP.htm

The Desiree Alliance is a national social justice organization that is led by current and former sex workers in coalition with health professionals, social scientists, educators, and their supporting networks focused on building leadership, capacity-building, organizing and constructive activism for sex worker rights and autonomy.

As we prepare for our 5th national conference, our priority will be centered on health, sex work, human rights, and following-up with the XIX International AIDS Conference (July 2012) and the 9th National Harm Reduction Conference (Nov 2012).

The Desiree Alliance conference is a forum for people who have experience in sex work and sex trade and allies of sex workers.  Sex work includes working as an exotic dancer, hustler, webcam model, street-based sex worker, massage worker, escort, prostitute, tantric practitioner, sexological bodyworker, living with the support of a sugar-daddy or a sugar-mama, having sex for housing / food / clothing, drugs, or having sex to get the money needed to survive.  Our membership base is made up of current and former sex workers as well as activists that do not identify as sex workers themselves, but advocate for sex worker rights. Desiree Alliance is made up of women, men, LGBTQI persons, transgender persons, herm-identity, Other, hetero, etc., and many of our members are from (non)working class low and middle income backgrounds.

Desiree Alliance is committed to bring diversity that aims to provide safe spaces for the most marginalized to the least marginalized sex worker, providing education, networking, and alliance-building opportunities regardless of socio-economic status, color, sexuality, sexual identity, culture, class, race, religion, physical or mental capabilities, gender, gender identities, age, size, political beliefs, or immigrant status.

Based on our limited funding capacities, Desiree Alliance provides a number of scholarships to people from groups that have often been marginalized from organizing for sex worker rights. We invite diverse sex workers to apply including people of color, immigrants, gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans-people, differently- abled/disabled people, senior citizens and others to apply. Visit http://www.desireealliance.org/conference/logistics.htm#scholar

Call for Proposals for individual tracks for the conference are available  at: http://www.desireealliance.org/conference/CFP.htm
Please begin the registration process for the Conference ASAP!

Deadlines
Early Registration Deadline: Nov. 15th thru February 15th, 2013    $150.00
Regular Registration Deadline: February 15th thru April 15th, 2013  $200.00
Late Registration Deadline: April 15th thru July 7th, 2013     $250.00
Please see additional information at:
http://www.desireealliance.org/conference/Registration.htm

Registration Instructions
Please send an introductory email to desiree2013@desireealliance.org with “Introduction for Registration” as the subject and include the following:

Name:
You may use any name or pronoun that you identify with when applying for the conference and while attending. (However, if you receive a scholarship we will ask for the name that is on your ID if we need to book transportation)

Email:

Contact phone number (including best time to call):

How you found out about the conference:

Why you would like to come:

If you are a student (this will enable you to register as a student to get a student discount. If you say you are a student, you must attach a scanned copy of your current student ID with your email to get the discount code):

If you plan to present:

Registration fees for the conference include: Attendance at any or all of the workshops, presentations and sessions; name badge and registration packet;  one continental breakfast or snack daily. (Please note that the conference location will not be disclosed until registration is complete – please make your hotel reservation ASAP as rooms will go fast!)

Registration fees do not include: Transportation (however the hotel provides complimentary airport shuttle); lodging; lunches or dinners; Fundraiser After Party (you will have the option of purchasing a ticket during registration); dinners, souvenirs, extra-curricular activities or personal expenses.

Contacts:

General Inquiries: desiree2013@desireealliance.org

Program Advertising / Tabling / Vending:
http://www.desireealliance.org/conference/tabling.htm#Program_Advertising

Media Team:
http://www.desireealliance.org/conference/mediateamapplication.htm

Volunteer: email volunteer@desireealliance.org for information and to sign up to assist with Pre-conference or conference needs.

Sincerely,

Cris Sardina and Sharmus Outlaw
director@desireealliance.org

Sex Work Policy, the blog

by Cheryl Overs.

Over the last few months I have been reading and writing about sex work and law. I have had the chance to comment on several excellent papers as they are being written and had some wonderful opportunities to work with skilled and knowledgeable activists in human rights, the women’s movement, HIV and sexual and reproductive health.  I have also had some great opportunities to learn from sex workers and hear the conversations that are taking place within the movement.

Of course there is plenty to say about so many aspects of sex work and law globally.  Much of it is being said by far more articulate people than me andthe PLRI website is dedicated to making that information accessible.  http://www.plri.org. Here I want to mention two issues that strike me as high priorities.

1.      A BIG MESS  : Sex workers have almost no say in research  and…

View original post 803 more words

Prop 35, Youth, Sex Trade and Sex Trafficking-Interview with Alexandra Lutnick, Researcher

Visit Prop 35, Youth, Sex Trade and Sex Trafficking-Interview with Alexandra Lutnick, Researcher  at Indybay to read this interview written in conjunction with SWOP/Bay Area. It’s important to get the word out about Prop 35! Please share the info on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Thanks SWOP, for your support and work to let people know about this dangerous initiative!

Join Us in Washington DC-July 24th March to End AIDS (and support sex worker rights!); July 21st-27th International AIDS Conference

Sex Workers at IAC 2012

July 2012, Washington DC* (Read below US border laws prohibiting entry of sex workers and drug users!) Read and sign the: Call To Action, a joint declaration, demanding the end to criminalization of commercial sex, and demanding that the U.S. enable sex workers to access safe and healthy working environments and non-judgmental services. Join the March We Can End AIDS on July 24th, Tuesday at Noon in DC! See calendar of week’s events here IAC 2012 – Kolkata: Sex Worker Freedom Festival Below are some of the crucial issues that confront us regarding sex workers and others in the context of HIV. Please read these and understand how imperialistic U.S. policies are adversely impacting people around the world. *Denied visa by US, sex workers to hold parallel meet at Kolkata *2012 AIDS Conference: Criminalized Groups Need Not Apply PEPFAR’s Violations of the Right to Health of Sex Workers Medication Costs-Survival Only for The Wealthy-Obama’s Global Health Policy Undercuts Reform At Home July 9, 2012-Groundbreaking report released by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law specifically recommends the decriminalization of sex work (download pdf).

Call for Healers: San Francisco Sex Workers Film and Arts Festival Whore’s Bath

Whores Bath (urban dictionary definition): The gentle dampening of a rag when one must cleanse oneself to use on vaginal area, usually between fuckin’s.

Whores Bath (21st century definition): A day of self-care, spa treatments, and magical healing  for current and former sex workers.

The San Francisco Sex Workers Film and Arts Festival was established in 1998 to provide a forum for the accomplishments of sex worker film, art, performance and video makers, and to screen works about sex workers and the sex industries from around the world. The Sex Worker Festival provides an opportunity to recognize and honor prostitutes, dancers, porn performers and other sex workers, who have historically been a dynamic part of arts communities.

For the first time, our closing event will be a sex worker healing salon on Sunday, May 29th, 2011. We will be renting a three-story house with a hot tub, and will be turning the five different bedrooms into different healing modality spaces.

We are currently looking for sex workers as healers, participants and recipients. We are seeking  healers who would be interested in offering their services in this space; massage, aestheticians, cosmetologists (still really need a few people to do mani-pedi’s), beauticians, reiki, cranial sacral, yoga, art therapy, acupuncture, herbs, healing foods, and more. We will be offering a small stipend as well as free entry to the event. We will be asking people to work two hours for entrance to the event.

 

Please call 503-348-7666 or email sexworkerfest(at)gmail.com if you are interested in being part of this community building event.

Call for Performers: San Francisco Sex Workers Film and Arts Festival Cabaret

During every Sex Worker Festival we have a cabaret variety show at SOMArts Gallery to showcase sex workers’ live performance. We prioritize a variety of media and encourage diverse participation and especially encourage street-based workers, trans, queer and sex workers of color.

We have a small stipend to pay performers, and are especially interested in showcasing performance artists who have not traditionally performed in the festival or other sex worker arts festivals in the past.

Each act will have a maximum 10 minutes, and performers are required to attend a dress rehearsal two weeks before opening night.

To submit your work, please send us the following:

-A short description of your performance

-Any videos, recordings, or photographs of your act (not required, but if you have any, that would help!)
-A brief explanation why you think your performance is suitable for the Sex Worker Film & Arts Festival

-Any tech, space, or equipment needs you have
Please send your info before May 1, 2011 (especially for promotional deadlines).

If interested in performing, please call 503-348-7666 or email sexworkerfest(at)gmail.com.

Call for Presenters: Workshops at the San Francisco Sex Workers Festival

Call for Presenters: Workshops at the San Francisco Sex Workers Festival

The San Francisco Sex Workers Festival was established in 1998 to provide a forum for the accomplishments of sex worker film and video makers and to screen works about sex workers and the sex industries from around the world. The Sex Worker Festival provides an opportunity to recognize and honor prostitutes, dancers, porn performers and other sex workers, who have historically been a dynamic part of arts communities.

This year, the San Francisco Sex Workers Festival will include a day of workshops, on Friday, May 27th, sponsored by SWAAY (Sex Work Activists, Allies, and You). The general theme will be sex workers learning from each other on topics focused on their personal lives, self-care, skills that apply to all areas of sex work, and activism at the individual level.

Since most of the festival centers on the arts, we are prioritizing non-art submissions for these workshops. The length of this day’s event, as well as the session length, are yet to be determined, and will be finalized after submissions are selected. However, session lengths will likely be either 60 or 45 minutes, depending on the number of accepted proposals, so please keep that limit in mind with the scope of your session idea.

This event takes place in San Francisco, and you must have your own means to travel to the event, as there is not a budget to pay for speakers. However, if you are coming from outside the area, you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck with being able to attend the week- long festival and network with other sex workers.

Your proposal should include:
* A title.
* Your name, affiliation, and a little bit about your background or interest in sex work.
* The style of your proposed session: lecture, group discussion, panel, etc.
* Have you presented on this topic previously? When and where?
* A more detailed abstract of what you would like to cover, less than 500 words.

The deadline for these proposals is April 1st, 2011. You will be notified whether or not your proposal was accepted by April 5th, 2011. There will also be time for short, 5-10 minute lightning talks during the lunch hour. (Lightning talks are brief lecture-format presentations for people who don’t need a full session to cover their material, but would like to quickly get it out there to the audience.) These slots are on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you know you want to do a lightning talk and have a topic in mind, please submit a proposal so we can try to guarantee you a spot. It may also be possible to sign up for a lightning talk shortly before the event or on the spot.

Send your proposals to furrygirl (at) furrygirl.com with the subject line “Workshop proposal for the Sex Workers Festival”

Bad Rehab- APNSW Karaoke

This is a brilliant new video from Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers:
http://blip.tv/file/4138226




Click to play

A simple petition, plese sign and pass around

Dear Friends,

Our friend and ally in San Francisco, Hillary McQuie, harm reduction advocate, made this petition to support sex workers rights efforts and to address the scapegoating of craigslist. I hope you can sign it and pass it around.

http://humantrafficking.change.org/petitions/view/end_human_trafficking-_support_sexworker_self-efficacy_2?share_source=invite-page_em&ue=sei

Interview with Deevi Danes on The Thom Hartmann Show

This interview was on December 18th on our way up to Phoenix for the demonstration about the death of Marcia Powell!
Visit below to hear our friend, Deevi Danes

Mariko Passion sings “Decriminalize Me” in PSA for Sex Worker Fest

It plays when you come to the site, http://www.sexworkerfest.com/

You can download it here! http://www.sexworkerfest.com/PSASexWorkerFest2009.mp3

Update Prop K – 91,017 votes and counting

We very proud that 91,017 people (counted so far) voted for us and K secured over 42% of the votes!

The tally as of Wednesday afternoon, Nov 5, is:
Yes 91,017 42.43 %
No 123,508 57.56 %

In a crucial way we are winning, because we clearly demonstrate that sex workers are in the forefront of the political process. The coalition and alliances have been very strong!

In 2004 Measure Q in Berkeley secured 36% of the vote, so as you see we are ascending. It is clear that in the long run sex workers rights and participation is rising. Decriminalization is happening!

There was an amazing response from sex workers, sex worker groups and many allies including labor, health and human rights advocates around the country (and some from around the world!), contributing, emailing, fund raising, phone calls, and rooting for us! We had wonderful volunteers from all quarters, and we made many new friends who will be supporting us in the long run.

Thank you to all our donors and supporters. This meant so much to all of us! You kept our spirits up and allowed us to mount this campaign!

The elections for Board of Supervisors went in a liberal direction so that portends good support for new plans!

Carol Leigh
YesOnPropK.org

Sex Workers Group Wins HIV and Rights Award: Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers Honored at AIDS Conference

Mexico City, August 6, 2008

– The Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers
(APNSW) is the recipient of the 2008 international Award for Action on
HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human
Rights Watch announced today. The award, which recognizes outstanding
individuals and organizations that protect the rights and dignity of
people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, was presented in Mexico City
on August 6, 2008, at the XVII International AIDS Conference.

“Sex workers routinely face human rights abuses, including the
discriminatory denial of health services, arbitrary detention by police,
harassment, and sexual and physical violence,” said Richard Elliott,
executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
(www.aidslaw.ca <http://www.aidslaw.ca/&gt; ). “This award recognizes the
extraordinary contribution of the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers in
the struggle for sex workers’ rights.”

Since 1994, APNSW has represented sex workers in various policy and
educational forums, promoting the participation of sex workers in
HIV/AIDS programs and supporting dialogue between nongovernmental
organizations, governments, and activists. The group has challenged the
increasing criminalization of all forms of sex work and unethical drug
trials with sex workers as subjects.

APNSW has shaped policy at the global and regional levels, and built the
capacity of local grassroots sex worker organizations, including by
creating a network of transgender activists. Throughout Asia, the
network has been challenging gender-based violence, promoting access to
health care for sex workers, and advocating for the decriminalization of
sex work.

“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the Asia Pacific Network
for Sex Workers,” said Andrew Hunter, the network’s policy director.
“International recognition of sex workers’ human rights is vital to curb
the HIV pandemic. Governments and UN agencies need to promote
sustainable, comprehensive HIV prevention and care initiatives for sex
workers that are community-led and protect their human rights.”

The stigmatization, social exclusion, and legal marginalization of sex
workers contribute to human rights violations, and can exacerbate their
risk of HIV infection. Increasingly, according to APNSW,
anti-trafficking efforts and laws criminalizing transactional sex have
resulted in violence and human rights abuses against sex workers at the
hands of police. The organization pointed to new anti-trafficking
legislation in Cambodia, where sex workers have been sent to
“rehabilitation” centers and subjected to sexual violence and beatings,
and had little access to health care or food.

“Being a part of APNSW – working in solidarity with tens of thousands of
sex workers in the region – has allowed us to challenge the way the
authorities have applied this law in Cambodia, and to gain strength to
bring this issue to international attention,” said Kao Tha of the
Women’s Network for Unity, a sex worker rights organization in Cambodia.

“The International AIDS Conference presents a forum to focus worldwide
attention on the epidemic and our global response,” said Joe Amon,
director of the HIV/AIDS program at Human Rights Watch
(www.hrw.org/hivaids). “Unfortunately, too often that response has been
tainted by prejudice and misinformation. Only by ensuring the health and
human rights of sex workers will governments, UN agencies, donors and
nongovernmental groups be effective at reducing the vulnerability of sex
workers to HIV infection. The Asia Pacific Network’s work epitomizes this.”

The Awards for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights were established in
2002 by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch.
An award is presented annually to one Canadian and one international
recipient.
This year’s Canadian recipient was Peter Collins, a prisoner and health
activist in Ontario, Canada.

To learn more about the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers, please visit:

* APNSW website: http://apnsw.org/apnsw.htm
* APNSW video on HIV/AIDS and sex workers’ human rights:
http://sexworkerspresent.blip.tv/#9772333

To see past recipients of the Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human
Rights, please visit:

* Human Rights Watch website:
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/hivaids/Awards_for_Action/past_recipients.htm
* Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network website: http://www.aidslaw.ca/awards

ON THE ISSUES MAGAZINE featuring Juhu Thukral, Ann Jordan, Carol Leigh, Erin Whitfield, Rita Brock and others

Their press release..

ON THE ISSUES: The Progressive Woman’s Magazine

Works Hard For Her Money: Feminists and Prostitutes

http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com/july08/index.php

A print publication from 1983-1999, ON THE ISSUES MAGAZINE ONLINE
offers full archives and all content for free as a committed public
service to upgrade the level of feminist conversation. Visit
http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com

“NEW YORK: Prostitution penetrated the news in a major way in recent
months — from ex-governor Eliot Spitzer of New York and his paid
binges with women to the suicide of DC madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey
and the Showtime fluff of “Secret Diary of A Call Girl”

But the media, politicians and feminists have not grappled with the
real complexities of prostitution. In its new Online edition, “Works
Hard for Her Money: Feminists and Prostitutes” ON THE ISSUES
MAGAZINE releases compelling original content — diverse articles,
art and poetry that challenge current notions and urge new thinking.

“The issue of prostitution has divided feminists for years,” writes
publisher and editor-in-chief Merle Hoffman in “Divide, Conquer and
Sell”

“Is the prostitute herself a victim of an oppressive patriarchal
system, or a free agent choosing sex work as a rational career
choice in difficult circumstances?” Since sex is “a continually
renewable resource — unlike other body resources (sales of
kidneys), it does not self-exhaust; it can just keep giving ∑. We
ask who owns that resource, who has the power to use, abuse, buy and
sell it,” writes Hoffman.

Angela Bonavoglia’s “Of Victims and Vixens” describes the feminist
abolitionists who link prostitution to violence against women and
their clash in worldview with women who run sex-for-pay services and
see it as empowering. Juhu Thukral explains how differing
interpretations of human rights by feminists has become a flashpoint
in new anti-trafficking legislation in “Feminist Divisions Cause
Real-World Repercussions”

Major thinkers and artists offer other perspectives. In “Pimping:
The World’s Oldest Profession” Kathleen Barry frames in vivid terms
why some feminists see prostitution as bondage. Carol Leigh,
aka “The Scarlot Harlot,” describes the frustration of erotic
laborers who are denied basic rights. Artist Suzanne Lacy, featured
by art editor Linda Stein, narrates a display of her travels with a
prostitute.

To these provocative topics, Shere Hite, known for her work on
female sexuality, calls for a redefinition of women’s pleasure
in “Female Orgasm Today”

The range of the voices on the topic also includes Alexis Greene on
a gripping play by Lynn Nottage about war, rape and prostitution in
Africa; Sonia Ossorio of NYC-NOW on stricter anti-trafficking laws;
Ann Jordan on hardships caused by brothel crackdowns in Cambodia;
poets Minne Bruce Pratt and Erin Whitfield with two views on the
aftereffects of prostitution. Other works are by: Bernadette Barton,
Rita Nakashima Brock, Ariel Dougherty, Mahin Hassibi, Norma Ramos,
Jane Roberts, Nicole Witte Solomon and artists Audrey Anastasi and
Tiana Markova-Gold. Several videos are mounted, including “Turning
The Corner” by BeyondMedia.

Carol Leigh on Fox, O’Reilly re: SF Decrim Initiative

http://sanfranciscodecrim.blip.tv/#1117401

Newly Appointed UN Special Rapporteur Brings Hope: Human Rights for Sex Workers and Migrants

The information below was posted on the website from the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women. The appointment of Ms. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo Emekekwue of Nigeria is a very positive step . The former UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Sigma Huda, was clearly at odds with a human rights agenda. Quoting below, you see she was “criticized by human rights and anti-trafficking groups for not being based on the core human rights conventions or on a verifiable evidence base, and for being biased and ideologically driven in their approach to trafficking.” Sigma Huda, who worked in conjunction with CATW (Coalition Against Trafficking in Women), is now in prison.

We can hope that this appointment might have a substantial effect on international responses to trafficking.

For more information about Sigma Huda:
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=1694

Carol Leigh,
http://www.bayswan.org/traffick/

Good News from the Secretariat OF GAATW

from The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) http://www.gaatw.net/

We are writing to share the wonderful news that Ms. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo Emekekwue of Nigeria has been selected as the new Special Rapporteur on Trafficking.

This decision still has to be approved and confirmed by the Human Rights Council on Wednesday 18 June, so it is not official until that date. However, we still wanted to share the news and send our many thanks to you for your rapid support for Joy. Our letter of endorsement was supported by 82 signatories from around the world! Thank you for all your support.

In solidarity,
GAATW International Secretariat
http://www.gaatw.net/

The information below was included in the GAATW recommendation for this candidate.

“The Special Rapporteur has the power to play a valuable role in identifying the human rights violations that make certain people, often women and children, vulnerable to trafficking, as well as the violations that occur during and after the trafficking process. In addition, the Special Rapporteur can also advise states about how to centre the rights of trafficked persons in anti-trafficking strategies. An enormous amount of work remains to be done in this area.”

“To date, however, the Special Procedure on trafficking has been profoundly disappointing and even detrimental to the situation of trafficked persons. For the past one year, the mandate-holder has been in prison on charges of corruption, leaving the mandate effectively inactive. Furthermore, the thematic reports produced in the first two years of her mandate, when she was still in office, were criticized by human rights and anti-trafficking groups for not being based on the core human rights conventions or on a verifiable evidence base, and for being biased and ideologically driven in their approach to trafficking.”

“…we support the candidature of Joy Ngozi Ezeilo Emekekwue. She has a strong human rights academic and advocacy background and a record of grassroots research and advocacy. She has experience in working with governments, as per her appointment as the Honorable Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and Social Development in Enugu State, Nigeria, as well as excellent experience in writing, research and analysis on women’s human rights issues throughout her academic career.”

“Her human rights experience in Nigeria, a significant origin country for women trafficked to Europe, and a destination country for men, women and children trafficked from around West Africa, places her in a unique position of understanding both of the imperatives that drive people into trafficking situations, and the need for better protections in destination countries.”

EMPOWER FOUNDATION SELECTED AS WINNER OF RED RIBBON AWARD 2008

Congratulations to the Empower Foundation from Thailand for being selected as a winner of the Red Ribbon Award 2008! This initiative is a partnership between the UNAIDS family and the Leadership and Community Program Committees of the XVII International AIDS Conference. The award honors exceptional grassroots leadership in responding to the AIDS epidemic, and will be presented at the AIDS Conference in Mexico City in August 2008.  Empower was selected from a pool of over 560 applicants.

Empower writes:

We are workers who use our brain and our skills to earn an income. We are proud to support ourselves and our extended families. We look after each other at work; we fight for safe and fair standards in our industry and equal rights within society. We are a major part of the Thai economy, bringing in lots of tourist dollars.  We are active citizens on every issue…politics, economics, environment, laws, rights, etc. We try and find the space in society to stand up and be heard. Some see us as problem makers but actually we are part of the solution. We are sex workers; we are Empower.

Visit Empower at http://www.empowerfoundation.org/

New Zealand Decrim: Act helps health and safety of sex workers, report says

Hon Lianne Dalziel
Minister of Commerce, Minister for Food Safety,
Associate Minister of Justice, MP for Christchurch East

23 May 2008
Media Statement

Act helps health and safety of sex workers, report says

Associate Justice Minister Lianne Dalziel today welcomed a report which shows the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) 2003 has had a positive effect on the health and safety of sex workers and has not led to a predicted increase in their numbers.

The Prostitution Law Reform Committee, chaired by former Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Fitzharris, was asked to report within five years of the decriminalisation of prostitution to assess the impact of the law change on the human rights, welfare, and occupational health and safety of sex workers, and the ban on the use of young people in prostitution.

Lianne Dalziel thanked the Committee for its work and said the report was valuable in putting balance and evidence into the debate around the decriminalisation of prostitution.

“The report indicates that the numbers have remained more or less the same since the Act came into force and that most sex workers are better off under the PRA than they were previously, which was the intention of the Act.

“There’s no evidence of increased numbers of people being used in underage prostitution. In fact, the PRA has raised awareness of the problem,” Lianne Dalziel said.

“The PRA has had a marked effect in safeguarding the rights of sex workers. Removing the taint of illegality has empowered sex workers by reducing the opportunity for coercion and exploitation.”

The report says many of the perceptions held about the sex industry are based on stereotypes and a lack of information.

Lianne Dalziel said the report shatters several myths with the following findings:
* Coercion is not widespread.
* Sex workers are more likely to be the victims of crime, rather than offenders.
* The links between crime and prostitution are tenuous and the report found no evidence of a specific link between them. The link between under-aged prostitutes and youth gangs is often a case of underage people hanging around with friends who happen to be in youth gangs.
* The reasons people joined and stayed in the sex industry are complex, however money was the main reason.
* Fewer than 17 per cent said they are working to support drug or alcohol use, although when broken down by sector street-based sex workers are more likely to report needing to pay for drugs or alcohol (45 per cent).
* The perceived scale of a ‘problem’ in a community can be directly linked to the amount and tone of media coverage it gets.
* Much of the reporting on the numbers of sex workers and underage involvement in prostitution has been exaggerated.
* There is no link in New Zealand between the sex industry and human trafficking.

Lianne Dalziel said the government would consider the report’s recommendations. The Committee doesn’t think any further review of the operation of the PRA is necessary until 2018, 15 years after its enactment.

The other committee members are: Catherine Hannan, a Sister of Compassion; Debbie Baker of Streetreach, a confidential support service for those involved in prostitution; Matt Soeberg who has a background in public health policy; Sue Piper, a former Wellington City Councillor and chair of the Local Government Commission; Karen Ritchie, of the New Zealand Aids Foundation; Mary Brennan, a sexuality consultant and former brothel manager; Dr Sue Crengle, a specialist in General Practice and in Public Health Medicine; Catherine Healy, the National Coordinator of the New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective; Lisa Waimarie, representing the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective; Dr Jan Jordan, a senior lecturer in Criminology at Victoria University of Wellington; and two former members: Alan Bell and Susan Martin, both who represented ECPAT NZ, a community organisation that works to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

The report is available on the Ministry of Justice website: http://www.justice.govt.nz

Media Contacts:
Elspeth McIntyre, Press Secretary, ph 04 471 9397 cell 021 227 9397
All Lianne Dalziel’s media statements and speeches are at http://www.beehive.govt.nz/lianne+dalziel

Paul Fitzharris, Chair of the PRLC, ph 03 573 6863 cell 0274 718 470

Critiques of Swedish Prostitution Model

Some anti-prostitution advocates here have suggested that the Swedish system of criminalizing purchasers of sexual services is a beneficial solution and that there has been some sort of ‘proof’ as to the success of this system. Indeed, this ‘proof’ has been seriously contested from a number of quarters.

Did you hear General Betray-Us this week? He had lots of ‘proof’ that the Iraq occupation (they call it a war) is very successful now. This is widely critiqued as US propaganda. On this website you can see that Swedes also challenge their county’s ‘proof’ and propaganda. Of course Farley’s has been widely challenged.

Please visit the site below for the other side of the Swedish Prostitution debate.

http://www.bayswan.org/swed/swed_index.html

Farley Promoting US Imperialism in Anti Prostitution Agenda

I would like to invite people to view a video which interviews sex workers and advocates around the world about the results of the policies Farley promotes. The US has a policy, an ‘anti-prostitution loyalty oath,’ which prohibits organizations from receiving funds from the US government unless they explicitly sign a statement that they oppose prostitution. Although real progressive organizations around the world (about 200 of them) have protested this, and Soros sued the government over this policy, Farley wrote an amicus brief IN SUPPORT of the Bush administration policies. Now with her close relationship with ‘Ambassador’ John Miller, darling of Bush’s religious right wing constituency, and with her federal funding, she has found her niche. Human rights advocates are quite aware of the harms of this type of zealotry, but this Bush administration tactic of focusing on knee jerk and simplistic moralism masks the true damage of US imperialism. Farley is yet another ‘Ambassador’ of this moralism in the guise of feminist concerns, while promoting xenophobia. Watch the video.

The video:
http://sexworkerspresent.blip.tv/file/181155/

This link discusses the issue:
http://www.genderhealth.org/loyaltyoath.php?TOPIC=PRG

Another video made by sex workers in Thailand challenges the type of imperialism that Farley promotes in her support for the Bush admin. policies:

http://sexworkerspresent.blip.tv/file/310429/