Top Tweets for #SexworkIsNotWork

“Prostitution is inherently violent because, by definition, it involves unwanted sex. When both parties actually want sex, no one needs paying, because sex in those circumstances is its own sweet reward. So if one party is paid, it suggests she doesn’t really want it. And unwanted sex is a violation of the integrity and dignity of a human being. So right there, at its core, prostitution is violent. But the violence doesn’t end there. The punter doesn’t want her to simply tolerate his hands all over her body, his disgusting halitosis in her face, his rancid sweat against her skin, his dick ramming into her orifices. No. He also wants her to show him that she is enjoying it. Because that’s part of the deal too. The pretence that she’s enjoying it. A pretence that must be so thorough, he can believe it’s real. So she not only has to bear his invasion of her boundaries and her most intimate places, but she also has to act like she’s enjoying it. This is a form of psychological violence. And if she can’t manage it, the pretence? What then? Well that’s when he might become physically violent. Or he might become physically violent anyway, no matter how hard she pretends. Because he might just be a sadist. Or having a bad day. Researchers conducting a nine-country peer-reviewed study interviewed 854 prostituted people, who reported experiencing a staggering amount of physical violence within prostitution. For example, 64% had been threatened with a weapon, 73% had been physically assaulted, and 57% had been raped (which, in this context, means unwanted sex for which they were not paid). “I’m a survivor. And I can say with authority that NO, sex is not worth buying. In the process of selling my body, I was shot five times, stabbed more than 13 times, beaten unconscious several times, had my arm and nose broken, had two teeth knocked out, lost a child that I will never see again, was verbally abused, and spent countless days in jail.” (Brenda Myers-Powell) Of the 57% (483 people) who had been raped in prostitution, 59% (286 people) had been raped in prostitution 6 or more times. Other studies have found not dissimilar results and the testimony of survivors of prostitution tells the same story. Some people argue that legalisation (or full decriminalisation of the sex trade) makes prostitution safer. But the truth is that nothing can make prostitution safe. Just as regulation doesn’t make the woman safe from STIs and unwanted pregnancy, legalisation doesn’t make the women safe from the punter’s violence. Because violence is inherent to prostitution. We can see this in the murder statistics. Prostituted women have an enormously high rate of being murdered. Mostly by punters and pimps…” To read more and see references etc, see the link in the next tweet.