Yes, Sex "WORK"

In 1960 Compton's Cafeteria(riots) which arrived at the Stone Wall Uprisings and brought the LGBT rights to the foray in America, relied on the power of sex workers. Unions of sex workers marched in fiery red and rainbow colors as the primary advocates of the movement, pelting stones at the patriarchy, joining hand in hand with other women; white and black, cis and trans, queer and straight, fighting for justice. From the 1960s till now in 2021, what has changed for them? Back then, they were called whores and now they are called prostitutes. The feminist movement which stands proudly for freedom and autonomy, conveniently seems to forget these when it comes to the very own rights of sex workers. 

It is time to carefully retrospect and proudly respect them for work they do.

In this article, I will be working my way through analysis and views to ring the bells of awareness within us and hopefully convince the readers about my take about sex work.

What are different approaches taken by governments around the globe with respect to sex work?

There are 3 different models which are widely adopted:

1.     Full Criminalization Model- where buying, selling and facilitating sex is criminal

2.     Full Decriminalization Model- where buying, selling and facilitating sex is totally legit (a very successful example of this would be of New Zealand)

3.     Partial Decriminalization, End Demand or the Nordic Model- where buying and facilitating sex work is illegal but sex workers aren’t charged or prosecuted (a famous example of this would be of Sweden)

How is Sex Work represented in the status quo?

Generally, Sex Work is seen as some moral evil which is inherently violent to women and that, ALWAYS, a person`s choice to enter sex work is undermined by poverty and desperation.

This mostly is because of this general taboo around sex in general and that person buying or selling sex is engaged in some immoral act, because that is not in line with the “family values” or “religious duties” which the society and organized religion dictates. The government then banning sex work and thus spreading this narrative through its policy decisions, only exacerbates the problem at hand.

There is also disproportionate attention towards male sex workers and queer and trans sex workers which needs to be addressed

What should be our approach to sex work then?

I firmly believe that the way to approach sex work is to adopt the full decriminalization model. Why is this the case?

Recognize that placing a ban on something doesn't mean it completely comes to a standstill. The US waged a “war” on drugs and what it did was just to push drug cartels underground or to Mexico making its impact more pernicious. Similarly, criminalizing sex work pushes the market underground as the demand for sex work still exists, and also because this is the profession sex workers either WANT to work in, or some are FORCED to work in for some reason. 

This is problematic for a number of reasons:

1.     When both buying and selling of sex is criminal, that is when you have fewer buyers to begin with. So sex workers have to adopt or engage in more unsafe practices like agreeing to lower wages, unprotected sex and so on to make themselves more attractive and accessible to potential buyers.

2.     The buyers now, are most likely to be the worst ones - people who are willing to break the law are likely to be the worst and abusive consumers there is, at least in this particular context. 

3.     A sex worker, no longer has the ability to go to the police and report crimes or abuse, because pimps and people you are working for, are unlikely to allow you to go to the police. Because if you are to blow the whistle, the entire brothel is going to be shut down and you are left with no income for yourself in the first place.

4.     Sex trafficking is worse because a) Supply of sex workers is constrained, but pimps don’t want to raise prices or wages as sex work is highly elastic and b) Voluntary sex workers now are forced into sexual slavery by Johns because they have nowhere else to go.

Why does full decriminalization help?

1.     When sex work is legal, it means it enables us to start treating sex work like any other job in this world; be it a doctor or a lawyer, professions, our society seems to worship for generations together. The focus must be on the work part, rather than the sex part; and it`s a labor issue rather than a morality issue- it is not their burden to show that their clients are these really reliable people. They could be reliable, or could be these horrible guys- but so are people in many other industries. 

2.     This gives sex workers more autonomy over their working conditions. When you have a larger number of buyers then you have this option to deny consumers who are abusive and report them to police; you are more likely to have safe working conditions because these regulations are mandated by the government just like it does with factories. So decriminalizing sex work goes as far as giving people the bare minimum of a safe work space.

3.     Easier to set up shelters and support groups to victims of sex trafficking and prosecute the Johns, when people who were forced into sex work can easily come out and call out their traffickers because a brothel can no longer function without a license and consent of sex workers. Strategic raids and preventive measure to prevent sex trafficking is easier when it is a legal market at hand. So this strategic line of demarcation is all what is required.

4.     You as a sex worker are unlikely to work with governments and the feminist movement, when they constantly tell you that your profession is something you should be ashamed of and prosecuted for. Campaigning for their rights and involving them in policy discussions instead of letting academics speak on their behalf would be pivotal in driving policy changes. Even if it means that this choice made is coerced by economic desperation, the state should allow them to access this choice as it is complicit in this crime of letting poor people suffer with no other alternatives, and feminist movement should stand by them for its decade long of ostracization. 

Look, we need to view sex work through a 3D lens-  Decriminalize, Destigmatize and Decarcerate People involved in Sex Trade. Because frankly speaking, what Sex Workers Want is Rights, Not Your Opinions. The world should be one where a single mom involved in sex work is able to spend time with her child and pay for her education with no shame being involved; should be one where the society no longer dictates women what to do with their own bodies and a world where violence, is no longer an occupational hazard. Yes, we are talking about Sex -” Work”- just another occupation like million others where people are proud of the work they do.