A very fair report in the Morning Star offers an introduction to the debate now going on in the Green Party regarding laws about sex work.
The current policy is for complete decriminalisation, along the New Zealand model, which, as I’ve previously written, has been shown to be an effective and sensible one.
That’s also backed by the Women’s Institute, and (which I neglected to say at the conference fringe in Hove) the Royal College of Nurses (as I reported in an account of a parliamentary lobby last year).
I’m not going to rehearse all of the arguments here – although I will make the point that whenever you read anything about this issue, do ask very carefully about the evidence and how it was collected. Many surveys quoted draw for their samples on street workers, workers seeking aid for drug addiction, and other groups that are clearly unrepresentative of workers as a whole.
I can also point you to some further reading, most notably the full report on the New Zealand law completed after it had been in force for five years. (And a short summary.)
There’s also:
* Lara’s account of why I am a sex worker. As for many, it is a financial/life balance decision.
* A critique of some of the figures often quoted for trafficking of women into sex work.
* An account of a meeting where some sex workers spoke about their work.
* An some interesting figures on public opinion: “59% of people agreed that “prostitution is a perfectly reasonable choice that women should be free to make”.
Not in any way a comprehensive list, just a small collection of useful resources for anyone looking into the issue.
And it is perhaps also useful for me to note for any non-party members reading this, that policy in the Green Party is made democratically – it can only be changed by winning a vote on the floor of conference. It is true, of course, to say that influential figures can have an impact on that, but so can good arguments and decent evidence. And as yet there’s not even been a motion put, or even a formal review process instituted. This is purely a discussion.
About
6 Comments
Good post Natalie, and I certainly agree with what you say.
Even as a Labour leftie I always thought the Greens had a good policy on prostitution and hope it remains so.
Pingback: Liberal Conspiracy » Green Party wants rethink on prostitution
Having done considerable research on this issue for my PhD-that-never-was I completely agree with you Natalie. The ‘Nordic model’ doesn’t make sense and by all reasonable evidence that I can find, doesn’t work.
Only by decriminalising and regulating the industry will you protect the participants. Off the record many police officers have told me this would be their preferred approach also — I say this not because police have the answers but because they see the ‘sharp end’ of trafficking, the overlap with drugs etc.
Complete decriminalisation will create a distance between legitimate, licensed sex workers and the underground world of sex trafficking which we absolutely must act on.
Thanks Ben – I’ve been heartened by the support our policy has received from right around the party (and expressed on The Daily (Maybe). It’s clear there are plenty of people who are ready to fight hard to maintain it.
Hi,
Since Ms Lucas is my local MEP, I have sent an email to her addressing the arguments for complete decriminalisation and urging her to reconsider this call for the Swedish model (I also posted the email text at my blog).
Pingback: Speaking at the Decriminalisation Protest for the Sex Worker Open University - Philobiblon