Today is International Sex Workers' Rights Day

[jhameia]

I don't actually have much to say on the subject besides, yes, sex workers should bloody well have rights.

Why?

Because they're people.

Just because they rent out their bodies doesn't make them, their feelings, their rights any less legitimate.

There are sex workers who're in the industry because they've been bullied into it. They are there because they're being exploited. They are abused and hurt by their employers and clients. Not only that, but they are also reviled by general society.

There are sex workers who're in the industry because they love what they do. They're there out of choice. They recognize that their bodies are their greatest assets and use these assets to garner legitimate income. They do what they like doing best, and are reviled by general society for it.

My modeling hobby has made me consider a lot of things, mostly issues that stem from core feminist issues. Sex work is one of them.

I don't think the sex industry is inherently bad. What's wrong with paying for sex? Just don't do it if you're in a monogamous relationship, of course, but that's not a rights issue or a morality issue, it's a sensitivity and respect issue.

But a person being a sex worker is no reason to abuse them.
It is no reason to shortchange them.
It is no reason to assume they are less than human.
It is no reason to dehumanize them.
It is no reason to hurt them, debase them, violate them, do violence to them.

Sex work should be a legitimate form of work, and should be recognized by the government as such. Sex work, like all other kinds of work, should have regulations in place, in order to protect the rights of the service providers.

And that's all I have to say.

Comments

[eiko82.livejournal.com]

Amen! And that's why I love the Netherlands. They legalized it thus protecting sex workers.

[tenchan.livejournal.com]

Prostitution (sex work) Should be legal.

1. Make it a licensed profession. The fees of the license goes towards clinics where girls can obtain things such as birth control, condoms and other protection. As well, in order to maintain a license, they should be tested every two weeks for STDs.

2. Legalizing the sex trade allows for save havens for girls to work at. Just like the office full of it's cubicles, it could be fitted with security systems, and other amenities for the safety, comfort and well being of workers and patrons alike.

3. Standardized pricing! No more making 'just enough for us to eat tomorrow'. Price setting could ensure everyone gets a fair wage.

4. Licensing prevents those under age, the diseased, etc, from practicing in the industry. If you can't provide a license, you run a huge risk of contracting diseases, or being prosecuted for statutory rape.

that's just a short list ~^_^~