0:00:00.776,0:00:03.070
I want to talk about sex for money.

0:00:03.413,0:00:06.183
I'm not like most of the people[br]you'll have heard speaking

0:00:06.207,0:00:07.515
about prostitution before.

0:00:07.539,0:00:10.599
I'm not a police officer[br]or a social worker.

0:00:11.110,0:00:13.837
I'm not an academic,[br]a journalist or a politician.

0:00:14.329,0:00:17.077
And as you'll probably have[br]picked up from Maryam's blurb,

0:00:17.101,0:00:18.302
I'm not a nun, either.

0:00:18.326,0:00:19.415
(Laughter)

0:00:19.439,0:00:23.407
Most of those people would tell you[br]that selling sex is degrading;

0:00:23.431,0:00:25.566
that no one would ever choose to do it;

0:00:25.590,0:00:28.444
that it's dangerous;[br]women get abused and killed.

0:00:29.039,0:00:30.966
In fact, most of those people would say,

0:00:30.990,0:00:32.778
"There should be a law against it!"

0:00:32.802,0:00:34.965
Maybe that sounds reasonable to you.

0:00:35.896,0:00:39.808
It sounded reasonable to me[br]until the closing months of 2009,

0:00:39.832,0:00:43.013
when I was working two dead-end,[br]minimum-wage jobs.

0:00:43.789,0:00:47.048
Every month my wages would just[br]replenish my overdraft.

0:00:47.072,0:00:49.627
I was exhausted and my life[br]was going nowhere.

0:00:50.124,0:00:52.033
Like many others before me,

0:00:52.057,0:00:54.450
I decided sex for money[br]was a better option.

0:00:55.203,0:00:56.441
Now don't get me wrong --

0:00:56.465,0:00:58.872
I would have loved[br]to have won the lottery instead.

0:00:58.896,0:01:00.991
But it wasn't going[br]to happen anytime soon,

0:01:01.015,0:01:02.425
and my rent needed paying.

0:01:02.832,0:01:05.353
So I signed up for my first[br]shift in a brothel.

0:01:06.255,0:01:08.020
In the years that have passed,

0:01:08.044,0:01:09.878
I've had a lot of time to think.

0:01:10.296,0:01:13.917
I've reconsidered the ideas[br]I once had about prostitution.

0:01:13.941,0:01:15.846
I've given a lot of thought to consent

0:01:15.870,0:01:18.099
and the nature of work under capitalism.

0:01:18.552,0:01:20.338
I've thought about gender inequality

0:01:20.362,0:01:22.878
and the sexual and reproductive[br]labor of women.

0:01:23.497,0:01:26.684
I've experienced exploitation[br]and violence at work.

0:01:27.142,0:01:28.717
I've thought about what's needed

0:01:28.741,0:01:30.971
to protect other sex workers[br]from these things.

0:01:30.995,0:01:33.104
Maybe you've thought about them, too.

0:01:33.128,0:01:34.285
In this talk,

0:01:34.309,0:01:36.778
I'll take you through[br]the four main legal approaches

0:01:36.802,0:01:38.786
applied to sex work throughout the world,

0:01:38.810,0:01:40.373
and explain why they don't work;

0:01:40.397,0:01:43.555
why prohibiting the sex industry[br]actually exacerbates every harm

0:01:43.579,0:01:45.489
that sex workers are vulnerable to.

0:01:46.122,0:01:50.478
Then I'm going tell you about what we,[br]as sex workers, actually want.

0:01:51.508,0:01:54.541
The first approach[br]is full criminalization.

0:01:54.926,0:01:56.076
Half the world,

0:01:56.100,0:01:58.594
including Russia, South Africa[br]and most of the US,

0:01:58.618,0:02:01.545
regulates sex work by criminalizing[br]everyone involved.

0:02:01.569,0:02:04.697
So that's seller, buyer and third parties.

0:02:04.721,0:02:06.806
Lawmakers in these countries[br]apparently hope

0:02:06.830,0:02:10.702
that the fear of getting arrested[br]will deter people from selling sex.

0:02:10.726,0:02:13.278
But if you're forced to choose[br]between obeying the law

0:02:13.302,0:02:15.286
and feeding yourself or your family,

0:02:15.310,0:02:17.087
you're going to do the work anyway,

0:02:17.111,0:02:18.546
and take the risk.

0:02:18.570,0:02:20.487
Criminalization is a trap.

0:02:20.938,0:02:24.585
It's hard to get a conventional job[br]when you have a criminal record.

0:02:24.609,0:02:26.605
Potential employers won't hire you.

0:02:26.995,0:02:28.425
Assuming you still need money,

0:02:28.449,0:02:31.240
you'll stay in the more flexible,[br]informal economy.

0:02:31.264,0:02:33.776
The law forces you to keep selling sex,

0:02:33.800,0:02:36.751
which is the exact opposite[br]of its intended effect.

0:02:37.433,0:02:41.544
Being criminalized leaves you exposed[br]to mistreatment by the state itself.

0:02:41.568,0:02:44.333
In many places you may be coerced[br]into paying a bribe

0:02:44.357,0:02:46.712
or even into having sex[br]with a police officer

0:02:46.736,0:02:47.925
to avoid arrest.

0:02:48.432,0:02:51.360
Police and prison guards[br]in Cambodia, for example,

0:02:51.384,0:02:53.408
have been documented[br]subjecting sex workers

0:02:53.432,0:02:55.721
to what can only be described as torture:

0:02:55.745,0:02:56.896
threats at gunpoint,

0:02:56.920,0:02:59.712
beatings, electric shocks, rape

0:02:59.736,0:03:01.176
and denial of food.

0:03:01.633,0:03:03.313
Another worrying thing:

0:03:03.337,0:03:07.736
if you're selling sex in places[br]like Kenya, South Africa or New York,

0:03:07.760,0:03:11.456
a police officer can arrest you[br]if you're caught carrying condoms,

0:03:11.480,0:03:15.482
because condoms can legally be used[br]as evidence that you're selling sex.

0:03:15.506,0:03:17.948
Obviously, this increases HIV risk.

0:03:17.972,0:03:20.432
Imagine knowing if you're busted[br]carrying condoms,

0:03:20.456,0:03:22.310
it'll be used against you.

0:03:22.334,0:03:25.336
It's a pretty strong incentive[br]to leave them at home, right?

0:03:25.360,0:03:28.666
Sex workers working in these places[br]are forced to make a tough choice

0:03:28.690,0:03:31.451
between risking arrest[br]or having risky sex.

0:03:32.033,0:03:33.364
What would you choose?

0:03:33.770,0:03:35.928
Would you pack condoms to go to work?

0:03:36.447,0:03:37.749
How about if you're worried

0:03:37.773,0:03:40.738
the police officer would rape you[br]when he got you in the van?

0:03:41.285,0:03:44.808
The second approach to regulating[br]sex work seen in these countries

0:03:44.832,0:03:46.224
is partial criminalization,

0:03:46.248,0:03:48.800
where the buying and selling[br]of sex are legal,

0:03:48.824,0:03:50.119
but surrounding activities,

0:03:50.143,0:03:53.355
like brothel-keeping or soliciting[br]on the street, are banned.

0:03:53.862,0:03:55.022
Laws like these --

0:03:55.046,0:03:56.935
we have them in the UK and in France --

0:03:56.959,0:03:58.617
essentially say to us sex workers,

0:03:58.641,0:04:00.459
"Hey, we don't mind you selling sex,

0:04:00.483,0:04:02.570
just make sure it's done[br]behind closed doors

0:04:02.594,0:04:04.081
and all alone."

0:04:04.105,0:04:05.890
And brothel-keeping, by the way,

0:04:05.914,0:04:08.953
is defined as just two or more[br]sex workers working together.

0:04:08.977,0:04:11.810
Making that illegal means[br]that many of us work alone,

0:04:11.834,0:04:14.657
which obviously makes us[br]vulnerable to violent offenders.

0:04:14.681,0:04:15.911
But we're also vulnerable

0:04:15.935,0:04:18.598
if we choose to break the law[br]by working together.

0:04:19.429,0:04:20.579
A couple of years ago,

0:04:20.603,0:04:23.472
a friend of mine was nervous[br]after she was attacked at work,

0:04:23.496,0:04:27.185
so I said that she could see her clients[br]from my place for a while.

0:04:27.209,0:04:28.431
During that time,

0:04:28.455,0:04:30.387
we had another guy turn nasty.

0:04:30.411,0:04:33.139
I told the guy to leave[br]or I'd call the police.

0:04:33.163,0:04:35.754
And he looked at the two of us and said,

0:04:35.778,0:04:37.888
"You girls can't call the cops.

0:04:37.912,0:04:40.660
You're working together,[br]this place is illegal."

0:04:40.684,0:04:41.847
He was right.

0:04:41.871,0:04:44.454
He eventually left[br]without getting physically violent,

0:04:44.478,0:04:46.702
but the knowledge[br]that we were breaking the law

0:04:46.726,0:04:48.416
empowered that man to threaten us.

0:04:48.440,0:04:50.441
He felt confident he'd get away with it.

0:04:50.829,0:04:53.744
The prohibition of street prostitution[br]also causes more harm

0:04:53.768,0:04:54.920
than it prevents.

0:04:54.944,0:04:56.936
Firstly, to avoid getting arrested,

0:04:56.960,0:04:59.223
street workers take risks[br]to avoid detection,

0:04:59.247,0:05:00.610
and that means working alone

0:05:00.634,0:05:02.669
or in isolated locations like dark forests

0:05:02.693,0:05:04.745
where they're vulnerable to attack.

0:05:04.769,0:05:06.666
If you're caught selling sex outdoors,

0:05:06.690,0:05:07.908
you pay a fine.

0:05:08.353,0:05:11.152
How do you pay that fine[br]without going back to the streets?

0:05:11.176,0:05:13.723
It was the need for money[br]that saw you in the streets

0:05:13.747,0:05:14.898
in the first place.

0:05:14.922,0:05:16.445
And so the fines stack up,

0:05:16.469,0:05:18.207
and you're caught in a vicious cycle

0:05:18.231,0:05:21.591
of selling sex to pay the fines[br]you got for selling sex.

0:05:22.170,0:05:25.892
Let me tell you about Mariana Popa[br]who worked in Redbridge, East London.

0:05:25.916,0:05:29.443
The street workers on her patch[br]would normally wait for clients in groups

0:05:29.467,0:05:30.763
for safety in numbers

0:05:30.787,0:05:33.730
and to warn each other about how[br]to avoid dangerous guys.

0:05:34.142,0:05:37.810
But during a police crackdown[br]on sex workers and their clients,

0:05:37.834,0:05:40.814
she was forced to work alone[br]to avoid being arrested.

0:05:41.446,0:05:45.488
She was stabbed to death[br]in the early hours of October 29, 2013.

0:05:46.009,0:05:47.814
She had been working later than usual

0:05:47.838,0:05:50.892
to try to pay off a fine[br]she had received for soliciting.

0:05:51.994,0:05:54.729
So if criminalizing[br]sex workers hurts them,

0:05:54.753,0:05:57.539
why not just criminalize[br]the people who buy sex?

0:05:57.854,0:05:59.692
This is the aim of the third approach

0:05:59.716,0:06:00.874
I want to talk about --

0:06:00.898,0:06:02.986
the Swedish or Nordic[br]model of sex-work law.

0:06:03.010,0:06:04.237
The idea behind this law

0:06:04.261,0:06:06.724
is that selling sex[br]is intrinsically harmful

0:06:06.748,0:06:10.250
and so you're, in fact, helping[br]sex workers by removing the option.

0:06:10.839,0:06:12.002
Despite growing support

0:06:12.026,0:06:14.708
for what's often described[br]as the "end demand" approach,

0:06:14.732,0:06:16.375
there's no evidence that it works.

0:06:16.399,0:06:19.738
There's just as much prostitution[br]in Sweden as there was before.

0:06:19.762,0:06:21.178
Why might that be?

0:06:22.039,0:06:23.567
It's because people selling sex

0:06:23.591,0:06:25.707
often don't have other options for income.

0:06:25.731,0:06:26.883
If you need that money,

0:06:26.907,0:06:29.389
the only effect that a drop[br]in business is going have

0:06:29.413,0:06:31.138
is to force you to lower your prices

0:06:31.162,0:06:33.567
or offer more risky sexual services.

0:06:33.591,0:06:35.164
If you need to find more clients,

0:06:35.188,0:06:36.986
you might seek the help of a manager.

0:06:37.010,0:06:38.990
So you see, rather than putting a stop

0:06:39.014,0:06:40.847
to what's often descried as pimping,

0:06:40.871,0:06:42.891
a law like this actually gives oxygen

0:06:42.915,0:06:44.951
to potentially abusive third parties.

0:06:45.606,0:06:47.419
To keep safe in my work,

0:06:47.443,0:06:49.336
I try not to take bookings from someone

0:06:49.360,0:06:51.110
who calls me from a withheld number.

0:06:51.134,0:06:53.059
If it's a home or a hotel visit,

0:06:53.083,0:06:55.252
I try to get a full name and details.

0:06:55.703,0:06:57.830
If I worked under the Swedish model,

0:06:57.854,0:07:00.552
a client would be too scared[br]to give me that information.

0:07:00.576,0:07:02.014
I might have no other choice

0:07:02.038,0:07:04.989
but to accept a booking[br]from a man who is untraceable

0:07:05.013,0:07:06.950
if he later turns out to be violent.

0:07:07.832,0:07:09.047
If you need their money,

0:07:09.071,0:07:11.443
you need to protect[br]your clients from the police.

0:07:11.467,0:07:12.624
If you work outdoors,

0:07:12.648,0:07:15.211
that means working alone[br]or in isolated locations,

0:07:15.235,0:07:17.450
just as if you were criminalized yourself.

0:07:17.474,0:07:20.060
It might mean getting into cars quicker,

0:07:20.084,0:07:22.629
less negotiating time[br]means snap decisions.

0:07:23.015,0:07:25.643
Is this guy dangerous or just nervous?

0:07:26.142,0:07:27.828
Can you afford to take the risk?

0:07:28.492,0:07:30.138
Can you afford not to?

0:07:31.555,0:07:33.044
Something I'm often hearing is,

0:07:33.068,0:07:34.396
"Prostitution would be fine

0:07:34.420,0:07:36.801
if we made it legal and regulated it."

0:07:36.825,0:07:38.602
We call that approach legalization,

0:07:38.626,0:07:41.422
and it's used by countries[br]like the Netherlands, Germany

0:07:41.446,0:07:43.038
and Nevada in the US.

0:07:43.666,0:07:45.763
But it's not a great[br]model for human rights.

0:07:45.787,0:07:47.592
And in state-controlled prostitution,

0:07:47.616,0:07:49.179
commercial sex can only happen

0:07:49.203,0:07:51.496
in certain legally-designated[br]areas or venues,

0:07:51.520,0:07:54.510
and sex workers are made to comply[br]with special restrictions,

0:07:54.534,0:07:57.297
like registration[br]and forced health checks.

0:07:58.014,0:08:00.163
Regulation sounds great on paper,

0:08:00.187,0:08:03.467
but politicians deliberately make[br]regulation around the sex industry

0:08:03.491,0:08:06.158
expensive and difficult to comply with.

0:08:06.182,0:08:10.526
It creates a two-tiered system:[br]legal and illegal work.

0:08:10.550,0:08:13.552
We sometimes call it[br]"backdoor criminalization."

0:08:13.576,0:08:16.997
Rich, well-connected brothel owners[br]can comply with the regulations,

0:08:17.021,0:08:19.194
but more marginalized people[br]find those hoops

0:08:19.218,0:08:21.172
impossible to jump through.

0:08:21.196,0:08:23.166
And even if it's possible in principle,

0:08:23.190,0:08:26.175
getting a license or proper venue[br]takes time and costs money.

0:08:26.199,0:08:27.678
It's not going to be an option

0:08:27.702,0:08:30.156
for someone who's desperate[br]and needs money tonight.

0:08:30.180,0:08:33.222
They might be a refugee[br]or fleeing domestic abuse.

0:08:33.246,0:08:34.785
In this two-tiered system,

0:08:34.809,0:08:38.046
the most vulnerable people[br]are forced to work illegally,

0:08:38.070,0:08:41.086
so they're still exposed to all[br]the dangers of criminalization

0:08:41.110,0:08:42.546
I mentioned earlier.

0:08:42.570,0:08:43.729
So.

0:08:43.753,0:08:45.835
It's looking like all attempts to control

0:08:45.859,0:08:47.541
or prevent sex work from happening

0:08:47.565,0:08:50.296
makes things more dangerous[br]for people selling sex.

0:08:50.682,0:08:54.108
Fear of law enforcement makes them[br]work alone in isolated locations,

0:08:54.132,0:08:55.839
and allows clients and even cops

0:08:55.863,0:08:58.632
to get abusive in the knowledge[br]they'll get away with it.

0:08:58.656,0:09:01.817
Fines and criminal records force[br]people to keep selling sex,

0:09:01.841,0:09:03.819
rather than enabling them to stop.

0:09:04.325,0:09:07.102
Crackdowns on buyers drive sellers[br]to take dangerous risks

0:09:07.126,0:09:09.463
and into the arms[br]of potentially abusive managers.

0:09:09.487,0:09:13.254
These laws also reinforce stigma[br]and hatred against sex workers.

0:09:13.278,0:09:16.627
When France temporarily brought in[br]the Swedish model two years ago,

0:09:16.651,0:09:18.626
ordinary citizens took it as a cue

0:09:18.650,0:09:20.601
to start carrying out vigilante attacks

0:09:20.625,0:09:22.764
against people working on the street.

0:09:22.788,0:09:24.786
In Sweden, opinion surveys show

0:09:24.810,0:09:28.765
that significantly more people want[br]sex workers to be arrested now

0:09:28.789,0:09:30.736
than before the law was brought in.

0:09:31.625,0:09:33.747
If prohibition is this harmful,

0:09:33.771,0:09:35.953
you might ask, why it so popular?

0:09:36.832,0:09:39.775
Firstly, sex work is and always[br]has been a survival strategy

0:09:39.799,0:09:42.707
for all kinds of unpopular[br]minority groups:

0:09:42.731,0:09:43.934
people of color,

0:09:43.958,0:09:45.109
migrants,

0:09:45.133,0:09:46.357
people with disabilities,

0:09:46.381,0:09:47.576
LGBTQ people,

0:09:47.600,0:09:49.297
particularly trans women.

0:09:49.924,0:09:52.030
These are the groups most heavily profiled

0:09:52.054,0:09:54.380
and punished through prohibitionist law.

0:09:54.404,0:09:56.380
I don't think this is an accident.

0:09:56.404,0:09:58.243
These laws have political support

0:09:58.267,0:10:00.906
precisely because they target people

0:10:00.930,0:10:03.512
that voters don't want[br]to see or know about.

0:10:04.688,0:10:07.076
Why else might people support prohibition?

0:10:07.465,0:10:11.122
Well, lots of people have[br]understandable fears about trafficking.

0:10:11.664,0:10:15.511
Folks think that foreign women[br]kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery

0:10:15.535,0:10:18.153
can be saved by shutting[br]a whole industry down.

0:10:18.555,0:10:20.242
So let's talk about trafficking.

0:10:21.156,0:10:24.739
Forced labor does occur[br]in many industries,

0:10:24.763,0:10:28.342
especially those where the workers[br]are migrants or otherwise vulnerable,

0:10:28.366,0:10:30.047
and this needs to be addressed.

0:10:30.535,0:10:34.814
But it's best addressed with legislation[br]targeting those specific abuses,

0:10:34.838,0:10:36.354
not an entire industry.

0:10:36.791,0:10:39.168
When 23 undocumented Chinese migrants

0:10:39.192,0:10:42.109
drowned while picking cockles[br]in Morecambe Bay in 2004,

0:10:42.133,0:10:45.069
there were no calls to outlaw[br]the entire seafood industry

0:10:45.093,0:10:47.154
to save trafficking victims.

0:10:47.178,0:10:50.533
The solution is clearly to give[br]workers more legal protections,

0:10:50.557,0:10:52.326
allowing them to resist abuse

0:10:52.350,0:10:55.390
and report it to authorities[br]without fear of arrest.

0:10:55.414,0:10:57.714
The way the term trafficking[br]is thrown around

0:10:57.738,0:11:01.959
implies that all undocumented[br]migration into prostitution is forced.

0:11:02.423,0:11:05.429
In fact, many migrants[br]have made a decision,

0:11:05.453,0:11:06.707
out of economic need,

0:11:06.731,0:11:09.514
to place themselves into the hands[br]of people smugglers.

0:11:09.538,0:11:11.320
Many do this with the full knowledge

0:11:11.344,0:11:14.547
that they'll be selling sex[br]when they reach their destination.

0:11:14.571,0:11:16.324
And yes, it can often be the case

0:11:16.348,0:11:19.593
that these people smugglers[br]demand exorbitant fees,

0:11:19.617,0:11:22.521
coerce migrants into work[br]they don't want to do

0:11:22.545,0:11:24.432
and abuse them when they're vulnerable.

0:11:24.456,0:11:25.959
That's true of prostitution,

0:11:25.983,0:11:27.930
but it's also true of agricultural work,

0:11:27.954,0:11:30.105
hospitality work and domestic work.

0:11:30.653,0:11:34.046
Ultimately, nobody wants[br]to be forced to do any kind of work,

0:11:34.070,0:11:36.571
but that's a risk many migrants[br]are willing to take,

0:11:36.595,0:11:38.465
because of what they're leaving behind.

0:11:38.489,0:11:40.449
If people were allowed to migrate legally

0:11:40.473,0:11:44.010
they wouldn't have to place their lives[br]into the hands of people smugglers.

0:11:44.034,0:11:45.185
The problems arise

0:11:45.209,0:11:47.034
from the criminalization of migration,

0:11:47.058,0:11:49.019
just as they do from the criminalization

0:11:49.043,0:11:50.194
of sex work itself.

0:11:50.218,0:11:51.800
This is a lesson of history.

0:11:51.824,0:11:55.470
If you try to prohibit something[br]that people want or need to do,

0:11:55.494,0:11:59.069
whether that's drinking alcohol[br]or crossing borders

0:11:59.093,0:12:00.382
or getting an abortion

0:12:00.406,0:12:01.766
or selling sex,

0:12:02.371,0:12:04.371
you create more problems than you solve.

0:12:04.395,0:12:06.184
Prohibition barely makes a difference

0:12:06.208,0:12:08.638
to the amount of people[br]actually doing those things.

0:12:08.672,0:12:10.143
But it makes a huge difference

0:12:10.177,0:12:13.096
as to whether or not[br]they're safe when they do them.

0:12:13.591,0:12:15.890
Why else might people support prohibition?

0:12:16.787,0:12:20.153
As a feminist, I know[br]that the sex industry is a site

0:12:20.177,0:12:23.057
of deeply entrenched social inequality.

0:12:23.081,0:12:26.133
It's a fact that most buyers of sex[br]are men with money,

0:12:26.157,0:12:28.448
and most sellers are women without.

0:12:28.472,0:12:30.772
You can agree with all that -- I do --

0:12:31.391,0:12:34.102
and still think prohibition[br]is a terrible policy.

0:12:34.783,0:12:36.921
In a better, more equal world,

0:12:36.945,0:12:40.573
maybe there would be far fewer[br]people selling sex to survive,

0:12:40.597,0:12:44.208
but you can't simply legislate[br]a better world into existence.

0:12:44.232,0:12:46.718
If someone needs to sell sex[br]because they're poor

0:12:46.742,0:12:48.184
or because they're homeless

0:12:48.208,0:12:51.350
or because they're undocumented[br]and they can't find legal work,

0:12:51.374,0:12:54.929
taking away that option[br]doesn't make them any less poor

0:12:54.953,0:12:56.576
or house them

0:12:56.600,0:12:58.553
or change their immigration status.

0:12:58.577,0:13:01.108
People worry that selling[br]sex is degrading.

0:13:01.634,0:13:04.313
Ask yourself: is it more degrading[br]than going hungry

0:13:04.926,0:13:06.853
or seeing your children go hungry?

0:13:07.366,0:13:10.370
There's no call to ban rich people[br]from hiring nannies

0:13:10.394,0:13:11.647
or getting manicures,

0:13:11.671,0:13:15.297
even though most of the people[br]doing that labor are poor, migrant women.

0:13:15.321,0:13:19.465
It's the fact of poor migrant women[br]selling sex specifically

0:13:19.489,0:13:21.794
that has some feminists uncomfortable.

0:13:22.481,0:13:23.634
And I can understand

0:13:23.658,0:13:26.383
why the sex industry provokes[br]strong feelings.

0:13:26.407,0:13:29.430
People have all kinds[br]of complicated feelings

0:13:29.454,0:13:30.913
when it comes to sex.

0:13:31.546,0:13:34.791
But we can't make policy[br]on the basis of mere feelings,

0:13:34.815,0:13:36.877
especially not over[br]the heads of the people

0:13:36.901,0:13:38.639
actually effected by those policies.

0:13:38.663,0:13:41.282
If we get fixated on[br]the abolition of sex work,

0:13:41.306,0:13:43.970
we end up worrying more[br]about a particular manifestation

0:13:43.994,0:13:45.407
of gender inequality,

0:13:45.431,0:13:47.753
rather than about the underlying causes.

0:13:48.333,0:13:50.764
People get really hung up on the question,

0:13:50.788,0:13:53.256
"Well, would you want[br]your daughter doing it?"

0:13:53.280,0:13:54.790
That's the wrong question.

0:13:55.217,0:13:57.885
Instead, imagine she is doing it.

0:13:58.542,0:14:00.406
How safe is she at work tonight?

0:14:01.155,0:14:02.684
Why isn't she safer?

0:14:04.497,0:14:07.418
So we've looked at full criminalization,

0:14:07.442,0:14:10.445
partial criminalization,[br]the Swedish or Nordic Model

0:14:10.469,0:14:11.659
and legalization,

0:14:11.683,0:14:13.335
and how they all cause harm.

0:14:13.359,0:14:16.311
Something I never hear asked is:

0:14:16.839,0:14:18.509
"What do sex workers want?"

0:14:19.573,0:14:22.241
After all, we're the ones[br]most affected by these laws.

0:14:23.115,0:14:25.995
New Zealand decriminalized[br]sex work in 2003.

0:14:26.532,0:14:28.433
It's crucial to remember

0:14:28.457,0:14:31.908
that decriminalization and legalization[br]are not the same thing.

0:14:31.932,0:14:34.817
Decriminalization means[br]the removal of laws

0:14:34.841,0:14:36.884
that punitively target the sex industry,

0:14:36.908,0:14:40.330
instead treating sex work[br]much like any other kind of work.

0:14:40.354,0:14:43.167
In New Zealand, people[br]can work together for safety,

0:14:43.191,0:14:45.944
and employers of sex workers[br]are accountable to the state.

0:14:45.968,0:14:48.651
A sex worker can refuse[br]to see a client at any time,

0:14:48.675,0:14:50.135
for any reason,

0:14:50.159,0:14:52.633
and 96 percent of street workers

0:14:52.657,0:14:55.798
report that they feel the law[br]protects their rights.

0:14:55.822,0:14:57.916
New Zealand hasn't actually[br]seen an increase

0:14:57.940,0:15:00.051
in the amount of people doing sex work,

0:15:00.075,0:15:02.699
but decriminalizing it[br]has made it a lot safer.

0:15:03.274,0:15:04.851
But the lesson from New Zealand

0:15:04.875,0:15:07.272
isn't just that its particular[br]legislation is good,

0:15:07.296,0:15:08.447
but that crucially,

0:15:08.471,0:15:10.790
it was written in collaboration[br]with sex workers;

0:15:10.814,0:15:13.123
namely, the New Zealand[br]Prostitutes' Collective.

0:15:13.147,0:15:15.476
When it came to making sex work safer,

0:15:15.500,0:15:18.689
they were ready to hear it straight[br]from sex workers themselves.

0:15:19.251,0:15:20.401
Here in the UK,

0:15:20.425,0:15:23.843
I'm part of sex worker-led groups[br]like the Sex Worker Open University

0:15:23.867,0:15:25.962
and the English Collective of Prostitutes.

0:15:25.986,0:15:27.781
And we form part of a global movement

0:15:27.805,0:15:31.265
demanding decriminalization[br]and self-determination.

0:15:31.653,0:15:34.393
The universal symbol of our movement[br]is the red umbrella.

0:15:34.417,0:15:37.518
We're supported in our demands[br]by global bodies like UNAIDS,

0:15:37.542,0:15:39.142
the World Health Organization

0:15:39.166,0:15:40.552
and Amnesty International.

0:15:40.924,0:15:42.762
But we need more allies.

0:15:43.181,0:15:45.517
If you care about gender equality

0:15:45.541,0:15:48.337
or poverty or migration or public health,

0:15:48.361,0:15:50.865
then sex worker rights matter to you.

0:15:51.355,0:15:53.378
Make space for us in your movements.

0:15:53.402,0:15:56.638
That means not only listening[br]to sex workers when we speak

0:15:56.662,0:15:58.663
but amplifying our voices.

0:15:59.219,0:16:01.340
Resist those who silence us,

0:16:01.364,0:16:04.543
those who say that a prostitute[br]is either too victimized,

0:16:04.567,0:16:07.213
too damaged to know[br]what's best for herself,

0:16:07.237,0:16:08.973
or else too privileged

0:16:08.997,0:16:11.185
and too removed from real hardship,

0:16:11.209,0:16:14.589
not representative of the millions[br]of voiceless victims.

0:16:15.709,0:16:20.512
This distinction between victim[br]and empowered is imaginary.

0:16:20.536,0:16:22.989
It exists purely to discredit sex workers

0:16:23.013,0:16:24.956
and make it easy to ignore us.

0:16:25.819,0:16:28.011
No doubt many of you work for a living.

0:16:28.560,0:16:30.281
Well, sex work is work, too.

0:16:30.877,0:16:32.033
Just like you,

0:16:32.057,0:16:33.663
some of us like our jobs,

0:16:33.687,0:16:35.088
some of us hate them.

0:16:35.770,0:16:38.413
Ultimately, most of us[br]have mixed feelings.

0:16:39.238,0:16:41.644
But how we feel about our work

0:16:42.566,0:16:43.740
isn't the point.

0:16:44.484,0:16:47.502
And how others feel[br]about our work certainly isn't.

0:16:48.373,0:16:51.121
What's important is that we have[br]the right to work safely

0:16:51.145,0:16:52.453
and on our own terms.

0:16:52.477,0:16:54.352
Sex workers are real people.

0:16:54.823,0:16:57.003
We've had complicated experiences

0:16:57.655,0:17:00.710
and complicated responses[br]to those experiences.

0:17:01.651,0:17:04.427
But our demands are not complicated.

0:17:04.451,0:17:07.248
You can ask expensive[br]escorts in New York City,

0:17:07.272,0:17:10.210
brothel workers in Cambodia,[br]street workers in South Africa

0:17:10.234,0:17:13.353
and every girl on the roster[br]at my old job in Soho,

0:17:13.377,0:17:15.717
and they will all tell you the same thing.

0:17:15.741,0:17:17.982
You can speak to millions of sex workers

0:17:18.006,0:17:20.463
and countless sex work-led organizations.

0:17:20.487,0:17:24.457
We want full decriminalization[br]and labor rights as workers.

0:17:24.985,0:17:27.301
I'm just one sex worker[br]on the stage today,

0:17:27.325,0:17:29.895
but I'm bringing a message[br]from all over the world.

0:17:29.919,0:17:31.087
Thank you.

0:17:31.111,0:17:37.484
(Applause)