Yo!
Lots of people have strong opinions about sex work: whether it’s right or wrong is up to you, but I’d encourage you to think about the reality of life for men and women involved in having sex for cash whatever you think.
If you are a sex worker and want to find a support project for sex workers near you then go to this brilliant website, UK Network of Sex Work Projects, click on projects or on the map of the UK on the right. They can help you to stay safe, to deal with drug or alcohol use and to help you exit sex work.
I reckon that there are people in sex work who are fortunate and those that are less fortunate and some people who are in between.
For all sex workers there are other difficulties too.
- It’s sometimes illegal to be a sex worker (or to earn money from a sex worker, in the UK)
- It makes other relationships very difficult
- It can make writing a future CV very difficult
- It can be hard having a social life
- It’s hard work (the ultimate customer service position)
- Sometimes family aren’t that proud of their kids doing sex work
Now it makes me angry and sad that some people are treated very badly and become victims as a result of sex work. My anger and sadness is directed at people who
- Force people to do this
- Dodgy clients who don’t treat sex workers with respect
- The laws which do not seek to protect sex workers in any way
- The media that do not treat sex workers with the same dignity that they would treat non-sex workers
- The problems of drugs and homelessness and the fact that we still have massive amounts of poverty.
People who are (or have been) sex workers who have chosen to blog their experiences, such as Belle de Jour, do not make me angry at all.
Here are some links you might be interested in.
Safety advice for sex workers from the UK Network of Sex Work Projects
The International Union of Sex Workers http://www.iusw.org/
Here’s an interesting blog from a former male sex worker Post Grad Gigolo
And one of my twitter chums tweets about her good and bad experiences as a sex worker here
Brook FPA THT
