9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I want to talk about sex for money. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm not like most of the people 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you've heard speaking[br]about prostitution before. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm not a police officer[br]or a social worker, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm not an academic, a journalist[br]or a politician, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and as you've probably picked up[br]from [arian's] blurb, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm not a nun, either. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Most of those people would tell you[br]that selling sex is degrading, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that no one would ever choose to do it, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that it's dangerous: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 women get abused and killed. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In fact most of those people would say[br]there should be a law against it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Maybe that sounds reasonable to you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It sounded reasonable to me[br]until the closing months of 2009, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 when I was working two dead end,[br]minimum wage jobs. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Every month my wages would just[br]replenish my overdraft, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I was exhausted 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and my life was going nowhere. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Like many other before me, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I decided sex for money[br]was a better option. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Now don't get me wrong, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I would have loved to have[br]won the lottery instead, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but it wasn't going[br]to happen any time soon, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and my rent needed paying, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so I signed up for my[br]first shift in brothel. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In the years that passed, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I've had a lot of time to think. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I reconsidered the ideas[br]I once had about prostitution. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I've given a lot of thought to consent 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the nature of work under capitalism. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I've thought about gender inequality 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the sexual and reproductive[br]labor of women. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I've experienced exploitation[br]and violence at work. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I've thought about what's needed 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to protect other sex workers[br]from these things. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Maybe you've thought about them, too. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In this talk 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm going to take you through[br]the four main legal approaches 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 applied to sex work around the world, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and explain why they don't work; 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 why prohibiting the sex industry 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 actually exacerbates every harm[br]the sex workers are vulnerable to. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then I'm going tell you about[br]what we, as sex workers, actually want. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The first approach is full criminalisation. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Half the world, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 including Russia, South Africa[br]and most of the US, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 regulate sex work by criminalizing[br]everyone involved. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So that's seller, buyer and third parties. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Lawmakers in these countries[br]apparently hope 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that the fear of getting arrested[br]will deter people from selling sex. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But if you're forced to choose 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 between obeying the law and feeding[br]yourself or your family, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you're going to do the work anyway, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and take the risk. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Criminalisation is a trap. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's hard to get a conventional job[br]when you have a criminal record. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Potential employers won't hire you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Assuming you still need money, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you'll stay in the more flexible,[br]informal economy. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The law forces you to keep selling sex, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which is the exact opposite[br]of its intended effect. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Being criminalized leaves you exposed[br]to mistreatment by the state itself. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In many places you may be coerced[br]into paying a bribe, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or even into having sex with a police[br]officer to avoid arrest. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Police and prison guards[br]in Camodia, for example, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 have been documented[br]subjecting sex workers 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to what can only be described as torture. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Threats a gun point, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 beatings, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 electric shocks, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 rape 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and denial of food. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Another worrying thing: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 if you're selling sex in places like[br]Kenya, South Africa or New York, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a police officer can arrest you[br]if you're caught carrying condoms. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Because condoms can be legally used[br]as evidence that you're selling sex. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Obviously this increases HIV risk. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Imagine knowing that if you're[br]busted carrying condoms, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it'll be used against you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's a pretty strong incentive[br]to leave them at home, right? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Sex workers working in these places[br]are forced to make a touch choice 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 between risking arrest[br]or having risky sex. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What would you choose? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Would you pack condoms to go to work? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 How about if you're worried 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the police officer would rape you[br]if he got you in the van? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The second approach[br]to regulating sex work,[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 seen in these countries, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is partial criminalisation; 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where the buying[br]and selling of sex are legal, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but the surrounding activities, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like brothel-keeping or soliciting[br]on the street are banned. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Laws like these, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we have them in the UK and in France, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 essentially say to our sex workers, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Hey, we don't mind you selling sex, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just make sure it's done[br]behind closed doors 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and all alone." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And brother-keeping by the way, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is defined as just two or more[br]sex workers working together. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Making that illegal means[br]that many of us work alone, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which obviously makes us[br]vulnerable to violent offenders. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But we're also vulnerable 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 if we choose to break the law[br]by working together. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A couple of years ago, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a friend of mine was nervous[br]after she was attacked at work, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so I said that she could see[br]her clients from my place for awhile. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 During that time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we had another guy turn nasty. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I told the guy to leave[br]or I'd call the police, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and he looked at the[br]two of us and he said, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "You girls can't call the cops, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you're working together, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this place is illegal." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He was right. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He eventually left without[br]getting physically violent, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but the knowledge that we were breaking[br]the law empowered that man to threaten us. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He felt confident he'd get away with it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The prohibition of street prostitution[br]also causes more harm than it prevents. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Firstly, to avoid getting arrested, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 street workers take risks[br]to avoid detection, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and that means working alone 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or in isolated locations like dark forests[br]where they're vulnerable to attack. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you're caught selling sex outdoors, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you pay a fine. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 How do you pay that fine[br]without going back to the streets? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was the need for money that saw[br]you in the streets in the first place. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And so the fines stack up, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and you're caught in a vicious cycle 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of selling sex to pay the fines[br]you got for selling sex. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Let me tell you about Mariana Popa[br]who worked in Redbridge, East London. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The street workers on her patch[br]would normally wait for clients in groups, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for safety in numbers, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and to warn each other about how[br]to avoid dangerous guys. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But during a police crackdown[br]on sex workers and their clients, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 she was forced to work alone[br]to avoid being arrested. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 She was stabbed to death 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the early hours of October 29th, 2013. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And she had been working later than usual 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to try to pay off a fine[br]she had received for soliciting. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So if criminalizing[br]sex workers hurts them, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 why not just criminalize[br]the people who buy sex? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This is the aim of the third[br]approach I want to talk about, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the Swedish, or Nordic model[br]of sex-work law. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The idea behind this law 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is that selling sex[br]is intrinsically harmful 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and so you're in fact helping[br]sex workers by removing the option. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Despite growing support 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for what's often describe[br]as the "End Demand" approach, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there's no evidence that it works. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There's just as much prostitution[br]in Sweden as there was before. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Why might that be? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's because the people selling sex[br]often don't have other options for income. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you need that money, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the only effect that a drop[br]in business is going have 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is to force you to lower your prices, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or offer more risky sexual services. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you need to find more clients, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you might seek the help of a manager, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and so you see, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 rather than putting a stop to what's[br]often descried as pimping, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a law like this actually gives oxygen[br]to potentially abusive third parties. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 To keep safe in my work, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I try not to take bookings from someone[br]who calls me from a withheld number. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If it's a home or a hotel visit,[br]I try to get a full name and details. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If I worked under the Swedish model, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a client would be too scared[br]to give me that information. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I might have no other choice 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but to accept a booking from a man[br]who is untraceable 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 if he later turns out to be violent. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you need their money, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you need to protect[br]your clients from the police. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you work outdoors, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that means working alone[br]or in isolated locations, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just as if you were criminalized yourself. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It might mean getting into cars quicker, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 less negotiating time[br]means snap decisions. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Is this guy dangerous or just nervous? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Can you afford to take the risk? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Can you afford not to? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Something I'm often hearing is, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Prostitution would be fine if we[br]made it legal and regulated it." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We call that approach Legalisation, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it's used by countries[br]like the Netherlands, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Germany 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and Nevada in the US. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But it's not a great[br]model for human rights. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And in state-controlled prostitution, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 commercial sex can only happen in certain[br]legally-designated areas or venues, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and sex workers are made to comply[br]with special restrictions, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like registration[br]and forced health checks. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Regulation sounds great on paper, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but politicians deliberately make 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 regulation around the sex industry[br]expensive and difficult to comply with. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It creates a two-tiered system:[br]legal and illegal work. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We sometimes call it[br]backdoor criminalisation. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Rich, well-connected brothel owners[br]can comply with the regulations, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but more marginalized people find[br]those hoops impossible to jump through. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And even if it's possible in principle, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 getting a license or proper venue[br]takes time and costs money. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's not going to be an option 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for someone who's desperate[br]or needs money tonight. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They might be a refugee[br]or fleeing domestic abuse. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In this two-tiered system, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the most vulnerable people[br]are forced to work illegally, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so they're still exposed to all[br]the dangers or criminalistion 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I mentioned earlier. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So ... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it's looking like all attempts to control[br]or prevent sex work from happening 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 makes things more dangerous[br]for people selling sex. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Fear of law enforcement makes them[br]work alone in isolated locations, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and allows clients, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and even cops, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to get abusive with the knowledge[br]they'll get away with it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Fines and criminal records force[br]people to keep selling sex, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 rather than enabling them to stop. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Crackdowns on buyers drive sellers[br]to take dangerous risks, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and into the arms[br]of potentially abusive managers. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 These laws also reinforce stigma[br]and hatred against sex workers. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 When France temporarily brought in[br]the Swedish model two years ago, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 ordinary citizens took it as a cue 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to start carrying out vigilante attacks[br]against people working on the street. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In Sweden, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 opinion surveys show 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that significantly more people want sex[br]workers to be arrested now 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 than before the law was brought in. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If prohibition is this harmful, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you might ask, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 why it so popular?