The laws that sex workers really want
-
0:01 - 0:03I want to talk about sex for money.
-
0:03 - 0:06I'm not like most of the people
you'll have heard speaking -
0:06 - 0:08about prostitution before.
-
0:08 - 0:11I'm not a police officer
or a social worker. -
0:11 - 0:14I'm not an academic,
a journalist or a politician. -
0:14 - 0:17And as you'll probably have
picked up from Maryam's blurb, -
0:17 - 0:18I'm not a nun, either.
-
0:18 - 0:19(Laughter)
-
0:19 - 0:23Most of those people would tell you
that selling sex is degrading; -
0:23 - 0:26that no one would ever choose to do it;
-
0:26 - 0:28that it's dangerous;
women get abused and killed. -
0:29 - 0:31In fact, most of those people would say,
-
0:31 - 0:33"There should be a law against it!"
-
0:33 - 0:35Maybe that sounds reasonable to you.
-
0:36 - 0:40It sounded reasonable to me
until the closing months of 2009, -
0:40 - 0:43when I was working two dead-end,
minimum-wage jobs. -
0:44 - 0:47Every month my wages would just
replenish my overdraft. -
0:47 - 0:50I was exhausted and my life
was going nowhere. -
0:50 - 0:52Like many others before me,
-
0:52 - 0:54I decided sex for money
was a better option. -
0:55 - 0:56Now don't get me wrong --
-
0:56 - 0:59I would have loved
to have won the lottery instead. -
0:59 - 1:01But it wasn't going
to happen anytime soon, -
1:01 - 1:02and my rent needed paying.
-
1:03 - 1:05So I signed up for my first
shift in a brothel. -
1:06 - 1:08In the years that have passed,
-
1:08 - 1:10I've had a lot of time to think.
-
1:10 - 1:14I've reconsidered the ideas
I once had about prostitution. -
1:14 - 1:16I've given a lot of thought to consent
-
1:16 - 1:18and the nature of work under capitalism.
-
1:19 - 1:20I've thought about gender inequality
-
1:20 - 1:23and the sexual and reproductive
labor of women. -
1:23 - 1:27I've experienced exploitation
and violence at work. -
1:27 - 1:29I've thought about what's needed
-
1:29 - 1:31to protect other sex workers
from these things. -
1:31 - 1:33Maybe you've thought about them, too.
-
1:33 - 1:34In this talk,
-
1:34 - 1:37I'll take you through
the four main legal approaches -
1:37 - 1:39applied to sex work throughout the world,
-
1:39 - 1:40and explain why they don't work;
-
1:40 - 1:44why prohibiting the sex industry
actually exacerbates every harm -
1:44 - 1:45that sex workers are vulnerable to.
-
1:46 - 1:50Then I'm going tell you about what we,
as sex workers, actually want. -
1:52 - 1:55The first approach
is full criminalization. -
1:55 - 1:56Half the world,
-
1:56 - 1:59including Russia, South Africa
and most of the US, -
1:59 - 2:02regulates sex work by criminalizing
everyone involved. -
2:02 - 2:05So that's seller, buyer and third parties.
-
2:05 - 2:07Lawmakers in these countries
apparently hope -
2:07 - 2:11that the fear of getting arrested
will deter people from selling sex. -
2:11 - 2:13But if you're forced to choose
between obeying the law -
2:13 - 2:15and feeding yourself or your family,
-
2:15 - 2:17you're going to do the work anyway,
-
2:17 - 2:19and take the risk.
-
2:19 - 2:20Criminalization is a trap.
-
2:21 - 2:25It's hard to get a conventional job
when you have a criminal record. -
2:25 - 2:27Potential employers won't hire you.
-
2:27 - 2:28Assuming you still need money,
-
2:28 - 2:31you'll stay in the more flexible,
informal economy. -
2:31 - 2:34The law forces you to keep selling sex,
-
2:34 - 2:37which is the exact opposite
of its intended effect. -
2:37 - 2:42Being criminalized leaves you exposed
to mistreatment by the state itself. -
2:42 - 2:44In many places you may be coerced
into paying a bribe -
2:44 - 2:47or even into having sex
with a police officer -
2:47 - 2:48to avoid arrest.
-
2:48 - 2:51Police and prison guards
in Cambodia, for example, -
2:51 - 2:53have been documented
subjecting sex workers -
2:53 - 2:56to what can only be described as torture:
-
2:56 - 2:57threats at gunpoint,
-
2:57 - 3:00beatings, electric shocks, rape
-
3:00 - 3:01and denial of food.
-
3:02 - 3:03Another worrying thing:
-
3:03 - 3:08if you're selling sex in places
like Kenya, South Africa or New York, -
3:08 - 3:11a police officer can arrest you
if you're caught carrying condoms, -
3:11 - 3:15because condoms can legally be used
as evidence that you're selling sex. -
3:16 - 3:18Obviously, this increases HIV risk.
-
3:18 - 3:20Imagine knowing if you're busted
carrying condoms, -
3:20 - 3:22it'll be used against you.
-
3:22 - 3:25It's a pretty strong incentive
to leave them at home, right? -
3:25 - 3:29Sex workers working in these places
are forced to make a tough choice -
3:29 - 3:31between risking arrest
or having risky sex. -
3:32 - 3:33What would you choose?
-
3:34 - 3:36Would you pack condoms to go to work?
-
3:36 - 3:38How about if you're worried
-
3:38 - 3:41the police officer would rape you
when he got you in the van? -
3:41 - 3:45The second approach to regulating
sex work seen in these countries -
3:45 - 3:46is partial criminalization,
-
3:46 - 3:49where the buying and selling
of sex are legal, -
3:49 - 3:50but surrounding activities,
-
3:50 - 3:53like brothel-keeping or soliciting
on the street, are banned. -
3:54 - 3:55Laws like these --
-
3:55 - 3:57we have them in the UK and in France --
-
3:57 - 3:59essentially say to us sex workers,
-
3:59 - 4:00"Hey, we don't mind you selling sex,
-
4:00 - 4:03just make sure it's done
behind closed doors -
4:03 - 4:04and all alone."
-
4:04 - 4:06And brothel-keeping, by the way,
-
4:06 - 4:09is defined as just two or more
sex workers working together. -
4:09 - 4:12Making that illegal means
that many of us work alone, -
4:12 - 4:15which obviously makes us
vulnerable to violent offenders. -
4:15 - 4:16But we're also vulnerable
-
4:16 - 4:19if we choose to break the law
by working together. -
4:19 - 4:21A couple of years ago,
-
4:21 - 4:23a friend of mine was nervous
after she was attacked at work, -
4:23 - 4:27so I said that she could see her clients
from my place for a while. -
4:27 - 4:28During that time,
-
4:28 - 4:30we had another guy turn nasty.
-
4:30 - 4:33I told the guy to leave
or I'd call the police. -
4:33 - 4:36And he looked at the two of us and said,
-
4:36 - 4:38"You girls can't call the cops.
-
4:38 - 4:41You're working together,
this place is illegal." -
4:41 - 4:42He was right.
-
4:42 - 4:44He eventually left
without getting physically violent, -
4:44 - 4:47but the knowledge
that we were breaking the law -
4:47 - 4:48empowered that man to threaten us.
-
4:48 - 4:50He felt confident he'd get away with it.
-
4:51 - 4:54The prohibition of street prostitution
also causes more harm -
4:54 - 4:55than it prevents.
-
4:55 - 4:57Firstly, to avoid getting arrested,
-
4:57 - 4:59street workers take risks
to avoid detection, -
4:59 - 5:01and that means working alone
-
5:01 - 5:03or in isolated locations like dark forests
-
5:03 - 5:05where they're vulnerable to attack.
-
5:05 - 5:07If you're caught selling sex outdoors,
-
5:07 - 5:08you pay a fine.
-
5:08 - 5:11How do you pay that fine
without going back to the streets? -
5:11 - 5:14It was the need for money
that saw you in the streets -
5:14 - 5:15in the first place.
-
5:15 - 5:16And so the fines stack up,
-
5:16 - 5:18and you're caught in a vicious cycle
-
5:18 - 5:22of selling sex to pay the fines
you got for selling sex. -
5:22 - 5:26Let me tell you about Mariana Popa
who worked in Redbridge, East London. -
5:26 - 5:29The street workers on her patch
would normally wait for clients in groups -
5:29 - 5:31for safety in numbers
-
5:31 - 5:34and to warn each other about how
to avoid dangerous guys. -
5:34 - 5:38But during a police crackdown
on sex workers and their clients, -
5:38 - 5:41she was forced to work alone
to avoid being arrested. -
5:41 - 5:45She was stabbed to death
in the early hours of October 29, 2013. -
5:46 - 5:48She had been working later than usual
-
5:48 - 5:51to try to pay off a fine
she had received for soliciting. -
5:52 - 5:55So if criminalizing
sex workers hurts them, -
5:55 - 5:58why not just criminalize
the people who buy sex? -
5:58 - 6:00This is the aim of the third approach
-
6:00 - 6:01I want to talk about --
-
6:01 - 6:03the Swedish or Nordic
model of sex-work law. -
6:03 - 6:04The idea behind this law
-
6:04 - 6:07is that selling sex
is intrinsically harmful -
6:07 - 6:10and so you're, in fact, helping
sex workers by removing the option. -
6:11 - 6:12Despite growing support
-
6:12 - 6:15for what's often described
as the "end demand" approach, -
6:15 - 6:16there's no evidence that it works.
-
6:16 - 6:20There's just as much prostitution
in Sweden as there was before. -
6:20 - 6:21Why might that be?
-
6:22 - 6:24It's because people selling sex
-
6:24 - 6:26often don't have other options for income.
-
6:26 - 6:27If you need that money,
-
6:27 - 6:29the only effect that a drop
in business is going have -
6:29 - 6:31is to force you to lower your prices
-
6:31 - 6:34or offer more risky sexual services.
-
6:34 - 6:35If you need to find more clients,
-
6:35 - 6:37you might seek the help of a manager.
-
6:37 - 6:39So you see, rather than putting a stop
-
6:39 - 6:41to what's often descried as pimping,
-
6:41 - 6:43a law like this actually gives oxygen
-
6:43 - 6:45to potentially abusive third parties.
-
6:46 - 6:47To keep safe in my work,
-
6:47 - 6:49I try not to take bookings from someone
-
6:49 - 6:51who calls me from a withheld number.
-
6:51 - 6:53If it's a home or a hotel visit,
-
6:53 - 6:55I try to get a full name and details.
-
6:56 - 6:58If I worked under the Swedish model,
-
6:58 - 7:01a client would be too scared
to give me that information. -
7:01 - 7:02I might have no other choice
-
7:02 - 7:05but to accept a booking
from a man who is untraceable -
7:05 - 7:07if he later turns out to be violent.
-
7:08 - 7:09If you need their money,
-
7:09 - 7:11you need to protect
your clients from the police. -
7:11 - 7:13If you work outdoors,
-
7:13 - 7:15that means working alone
or in isolated locations, -
7:15 - 7:17just as if you were criminalized yourself.
-
7:17 - 7:20It might mean getting into cars quicker,
-
7:20 - 7:23less negotiating time
means snap decisions. -
7:23 - 7:26Is this guy dangerous or just nervous?
-
7:26 - 7:28Can you afford to take the risk?
-
7:28 - 7:30Can you afford not to?
-
7:32 - 7:33Something I'm often hearing is,
-
7:33 - 7:34"Prostitution would be fine
-
7:34 - 7:37if we made it legal and regulated it."
-
7:37 - 7:39We call that approach legalization,
-
7:39 - 7:41and it's used by countries
like the Netherlands, Germany -
7:41 - 7:43and Nevada in the US.
-
7:44 - 7:46But it's not a great
model for human rights. -
7:46 - 7:48And in state-controlled prostitution,
-
7:48 - 7:49commercial sex can only happen
-
7:49 - 7:51in certain legally-designated
areas or venues, -
7:52 - 7:55and sex workers are made to comply
with special restrictions, -
7:55 - 7:57like registration
and forced health checks. -
7:58 - 8:00Regulation sounds great on paper,
-
8:00 - 8:03but politicians deliberately make
regulation around the sex industry -
8:03 - 8:06expensive and difficult to comply with.
-
8:06 - 8:11It creates a two-tiered system:
legal and illegal work. -
8:11 - 8:14We sometimes call it
"backdoor criminalization." -
8:14 - 8:17Rich, well-connected brothel owners
can comply with the regulations, -
8:17 - 8:19but more marginalized people
find those hoops -
8:19 - 8:21impossible to jump through.
-
8:21 - 8:23And even if it's possible in principle,
-
8:23 - 8:26getting a license or proper venue
takes time and costs money. -
8:26 - 8:28It's not going to be an option
-
8:28 - 8:30for someone who's desperate
and needs money tonight. -
8:30 - 8:33They might be a refugee
or fleeing domestic abuse. -
8:33 - 8:35In this two-tiered system,
-
8:35 - 8:38the most vulnerable people
are forced to work illegally, -
8:38 - 8:41so they're still exposed to all
the dangers of criminalization -
8:41 - 8:43I mentioned earlier.
-
8:43 - 8:44So.
-
8:44 - 8:46It's looking like all attempts to control
-
8:46 - 8:48or prevent sex work from happening
-
8:48 - 8:50makes things more dangerous
for people selling sex. -
8:51 - 8:54Fear of law enforcement makes them
work alone in isolated locations, -
8:54 - 8:56and allows clients and even cops
-
8:56 - 8:59to get abusive in the knowledge
they'll get away with it. -
8:59 - 9:02Fines and criminal records force
people to keep selling sex, -
9:02 - 9:04rather than enabling them to stop.
-
9:04 - 9:07Crackdowns on buyers drive sellers
to take dangerous risks -
9:07 - 9:09and into the arms
of potentially abusive managers. -
9:09 - 9:13These laws also reinforce stigma
and hatred against sex workers. -
9:13 - 9:17When France temporarily brought in
the Swedish model two years ago, -
9:17 - 9:19ordinary citizens took it as a cue
-
9:19 - 9:21to start carrying out vigilante attacks
-
9:21 - 9:23against people working on the street.
-
9:23 - 9:25In Sweden, opinion surveys show
-
9:25 - 9:29that significantly more people want
sex workers to be arrested now -
9:29 - 9:31than before the law was brought in.
-
9:32 - 9:34If prohibition is this harmful,
-
9:34 - 9:36you might ask, why it so popular?
-
9:37 - 9:40Firstly, sex work is and always
has been a survival strategy -
9:40 - 9:43for all kinds of unpopular
minority groups: -
9:43 - 9:44people of color,
-
9:44 - 9:45migrants,
-
9:45 - 9:46people with disabilities,
-
9:46 - 9:48LGBTQ people,
-
9:48 - 9:49particularly trans women.
-
9:50 - 9:52These are the groups most heavily profiled
-
9:52 - 9:54and punished through prohibitionist law.
-
9:54 - 9:56I don't think this is an accident.
-
9:56 - 9:58These laws have political support
-
9:58 - 10:01precisely because they target people
-
10:01 - 10:04that voters don't want
to see or know about. -
10:05 - 10:07Why else might people support prohibition?
-
10:07 - 10:11Well, lots of people have
understandable fears about trafficking. -
10:12 - 10:16Folks think that foreign women
kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery -
10:16 - 10:18can be saved by shutting
a whole industry down. -
10:19 - 10:20So let's talk about trafficking.
-
10:21 - 10:25Forced labor does occur
in many industries, -
10:25 - 10:28especially those where the workers
are migrants or otherwise vulnerable, -
10:28 - 10:30and this needs to be addressed.
-
10:31 - 10:35But it's best addressed with legislation
targeting those specific abuses, -
10:35 - 10:36not an entire industry.
-
10:37 - 10:39When 23 undocumented Chinese migrants
-
10:39 - 10:42drowned while picking cockles
in Morecambe Bay in 2004, -
10:42 - 10:45there were no calls to outlaw
the entire seafood industry -
10:45 - 10:47to save trafficking victims.
-
10:47 - 10:51The solution is clearly to give
workers more legal protections, -
10:51 - 10:52allowing them to resist abuse
-
10:52 - 10:55and report it to authorities
without fear of arrest. -
10:55 - 10:58The way the term trafficking
is thrown around -
10:58 - 11:02implies that all undocumented
migration into prostitution is forced. -
11:02 - 11:05In fact, many migrants
have made a decision, -
11:05 - 11:07out of economic need,
-
11:07 - 11:10to place themselves into the hands
of people smugglers. -
11:10 - 11:11Many do this with the full knowledge
-
11:11 - 11:15that they'll be selling sex
when they reach their destination. -
11:15 - 11:16And yes, it can often be the case
-
11:16 - 11:20that these people smugglers
demand exorbitant fees, -
11:20 - 11:23coerce migrants into work
they don't want to do -
11:23 - 11:24and abuse them when they're vulnerable.
-
11:24 - 11:26That's true of prostitution,
-
11:26 - 11:28but it's also true of agricultural work,
-
11:28 - 11:30hospitality work and domestic work.
-
11:31 - 11:34Ultimately, nobody wants
to be forced to do any kind of work, -
11:34 - 11:37but that's a risk many migrants
are willing to take, -
11:37 - 11:38because of what they're leaving behind.
-
11:38 - 11:40If people were allowed to migrate legally
-
11:40 - 11:44they wouldn't have to place their lives
into the hands of people smugglers. -
11:44 - 11:45The problems arise
-
11:45 - 11:47from the criminalization of migration,
-
11:47 - 11:49just as they do from the criminalization
-
11:49 - 11:50of sex work itself.
-
11:50 - 11:52This is a lesson of history.
-
11:52 - 11:55If you try to prohibit something
that people want or need to do, -
11:55 - 11:59whether that's drinking alcohol
or crossing borders -
11:59 - 12:00or getting an abortion
-
12:00 - 12:02or selling sex,
-
12:02 - 12:04you create more problems than you solve.
-
12:04 - 12:06Prohibition barely makes a difference
-
12:06 - 12:09to the amount of people
actually doing those things. -
12:09 - 12:10But it makes a huge difference
-
12:10 - 12:13as to whether or not
they're safe when they do them. -
12:14 - 12:16Why else might people support prohibition?
-
12:17 - 12:20As a feminist, I know
that the sex industry is a site -
12:20 - 12:23of deeply entrenched social inequality.
-
12:23 - 12:26It's a fact that most buyers of sex
are men with money, -
12:26 - 12:28and most sellers are women without.
-
12:28 - 12:31You can agree with all that -- I do --
-
12:31 - 12:34and still think prohibition
is a terrible policy. -
12:35 - 12:37In a better, more equal world,
-
12:37 - 12:41maybe there would be far fewer
people selling sex to survive, -
12:41 - 12:44but you can't simply legislate
a better world into existence. -
12:44 - 12:47If someone needs to sell sex
because they're poor -
12:47 - 12:48or because they're homeless
-
12:48 - 12:51or because they're undocumented
and they can't find legal work, -
12:51 - 12:55taking away that option
doesn't make them any less poor -
12:55 - 12:57or house them
-
12:57 - 12:59or change their immigration status.
-
12:59 - 13:01People worry that selling
sex is degrading. -
13:02 - 13:04Ask yourself: is it more degrading
than going hungry -
13:05 - 13:07or seeing your children go hungry?
-
13:07 - 13:10There's no call to ban rich people
from hiring nannies -
13:10 - 13:12or getting manicures,
-
13:12 - 13:15even though most of the people
doing that labor are poor, migrant women. -
13:15 - 13:19It's the fact of poor migrant women
selling sex specifically -
13:19 - 13:22that has some feminists uncomfortable.
-
13:22 - 13:24And I can understand
-
13:24 - 13:26why the sex industry provokes
strong feelings. -
13:26 - 13:29People have all kinds
of complicated feelings -
13:29 - 13:31when it comes to sex.
-
13:32 - 13:35But we can't make policy
on the basis of mere feelings, -
13:35 - 13:37especially not over
the heads of the people -
13:37 - 13:39actually effected by those policies.
-
13:39 - 13:41If we get fixated on
the abolition of sex work, -
13:41 - 13:44we end up worrying more
about a particular manifestation -
13:44 - 13:45of gender inequality,
-
13:45 - 13:48rather than about the underlying causes.
-
13:48 - 13:51People get really hung up on the question,
-
13:51 - 13:53"Well, would you want
your daughter doing it?" -
13:53 - 13:55That's the wrong question.
-
13:55 - 13:58Instead, imagine she is doing it.
-
13:59 - 14:00How safe is she at work tonight?
-
14:01 - 14:03Why isn't she safer?
-
14:04 - 14:07So we've looked at full criminalization,
-
14:07 - 14:10partial criminalization,
the Swedish or Nordic Model -
14:10 - 14:12and legalization,
-
14:12 - 14:13and how they all cause harm.
-
14:13 - 14:16Something I never hear asked is:
-
14:17 - 14:19"What do sex workers want?"
-
14:20 - 14:22After all, we're the ones
most affected by these laws. -
14:23 - 14:26New Zealand decriminalized
sex work in 2003. -
14:27 - 14:28It's crucial to remember
-
14:28 - 14:32that decriminalization and legalization
are not the same thing. -
14:32 - 14:35Decriminalization means
the removal of laws -
14:35 - 14:37that punitively target the sex industry,
-
14:37 - 14:40instead treating sex work
much like any other kind of work. -
14:40 - 14:43In New Zealand, people
can work together for safety, -
14:43 - 14:46and employers of sex workers
are accountable to the state. -
14:46 - 14:49A sex worker can refuse
to see a client at any time, -
14:49 - 14:50for any reason,
-
14:50 - 14:53and 96 percent of street workers
-
14:53 - 14:56report that they feel the law
protects their rights. -
14:56 - 14:58New Zealand hasn't actually
seen an increase -
14:58 - 15:00in the amount of people doing sex work,
-
15:00 - 15:03but decriminalizing it
has made it a lot safer. -
15:03 - 15:05But the lesson from New Zealand
-
15:05 - 15:07isn't just that its particular
legislation is good, -
15:07 - 15:08but that crucially,
-
15:08 - 15:11it was written in collaboration
with sex workers; -
15:11 - 15:13namely, the New Zealand
Prostitutes' Collective. -
15:13 - 15:15When it came to making sex work safer,
-
15:16 - 15:19they were ready to hear it straight
from sex workers themselves. -
15:19 - 15:20Here in the UK,
-
15:20 - 15:24I'm part of sex worker-led groups
like the Sex Worker Open University -
15:24 - 15:26and the English Collective of Prostitutes.
-
15:26 - 15:28And we form part of a global movement
-
15:28 - 15:31demanding decriminalization
and self-determination. -
15:32 - 15:34The universal symbol of our movement
is the red umbrella. -
15:34 - 15:38We're supported in our demands
by global bodies like UNAIDS, -
15:38 - 15:39the World Health Organization
-
15:39 - 15:41and Amnesty International.
-
15:41 - 15:43But we need more allies.
-
15:43 - 15:46If you care about gender equality
-
15:46 - 15:48or poverty or migration or public health,
-
15:48 - 15:51then sex worker rights matter to you.
-
15:51 - 15:53Make space for us in your movements.
-
15:53 - 15:57That means not only listening
to sex workers when we speak -
15:57 - 15:59but amplifying our voices.
-
15:59 - 16:01Resist those who silence us,
-
16:01 - 16:05those who say that a prostitute
is either too victimized, -
16:05 - 16:07too damaged to know
what's best for herself, -
16:07 - 16:09or else too privileged
-
16:09 - 16:11and too removed from real hardship,
-
16:11 - 16:15not representative of the millions
of voiceless victims. -
16:16 - 16:21This distinction between victim
and empowered is imaginary. -
16:21 - 16:23It exists purely to discredit sex workers
-
16:23 - 16:25and make it easy to ignore us.
-
16:26 - 16:28No doubt many of you work for a living.
-
16:29 - 16:30Well, sex work is work, too.
-
16:31 - 16:32Just like you,
-
16:32 - 16:34some of us like our jobs,
-
16:34 - 16:35some of us hate them.
-
16:36 - 16:38Ultimately, most of us
have mixed feelings. -
16:39 - 16:42But how we feel about our work
-
16:43 - 16:44isn't the point.
-
16:44 - 16:48And how others feel
about our work certainly isn't. -
16:48 - 16:51What's important is that we have
the right to work safely -
16:51 - 16:52and on our own terms.
-
16:52 - 16:54Sex workers are real people.
-
16:55 - 16:57We've had complicated experiences
-
16:58 - 17:01and complicated responses
to those experiences. -
17:02 - 17:04But our demands are not complicated.
-
17:04 - 17:07You can ask expensive
escorts in New York City, -
17:07 - 17:10brothel workers in Cambodia,
street workers in South Africa -
17:10 - 17:13and every girl on the roster
at my old job in Soho, -
17:13 - 17:16and they will all tell you the same thing.
-
17:16 - 17:18You can speak to millions of sex workers
-
17:18 - 17:20and countless sex work-led organizations.
-
17:20 - 17:24We want full decriminalization
and labor rights as workers. -
17:25 - 17:27I'm just one sex worker
on the stage today, -
17:27 - 17:30but I'm bringing a message
from all over the world. -
17:30 - 17:31Thank you.
-
17:31 - 17:37(Applause)
- Title:
- The laws that sex workers really want
- Speaker:
- Juno Mac
- Description:
-
Everyone has an opinion about how to legislate sex work (whether to legalize it, ban it or even tax it) ... but what do workers themselves think would work best? Activist Toni Mac explains four legal models that are being used around the world and shows us the model that she believes will work best to keep sex workers safe and offer greater self-determination. "If you care about gender equality or poverty or migration or public health, then sex worker rights matter to you," she says. "Make space for us in your movements." (Adult themes)
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 17:50
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The laws that sex workers really want | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The laws that sex workers really want | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The laws that sex workers really want | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for The laws that sex workers really want | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The laws that sex workers really want | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The laws that sex workers really want | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The laws that sex workers really want | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for The laws that sex workers really want |