London 2012 Olympics: Crackdown on brothels 'puts sex workers at risk' Scotland Yard has been accused of putting prostitutes at risk with its crackdown.
Photograph by Alex Segre/Rex Scotland Yard has been accused of endangering sex workers after it emerged that officers were targeting brothels in London's Olympic boroughs as part of a coordinated clean-up operation ahead of the 2012 games. The Yard's human exploitation and organised crime command (SCD9) was launched in April last year, bringing together expertise in the fields of clubs and vice, human trafficking and immigration crime.
The command incorporates a team dedicated to tackling vice-related crime in the five Olympic host boroughs: Waltham Forest, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Greenwich. Figures recently released to parliament by the Home Office show SCD9 carried out 80 brothel raids between January to August 2010 in the five boroughs. Similar vice crackdowns have taken place in other countries hosting major sporting events. The decision by police to target brothels has been controversial. "Become a Porn Actress": Sasha Grey's Equal Pay Day PSA Misses the Point. March 20 is Equal Pay Day in Belgium, and to draw attention to the country's 22% wage gap for women, zij-kant (a women's group organizing the equal pay efforts) has launched an awareness video and corresponding campaign starring porn actress Sasha Grey.
It hinges on the fact that, according to the video, porn is one of the few industries where women are consistently paid more than their male counterparts. What Women Want: Porn and the Frontier of Female Sexuality - Lifestyle. The Dehumanising Effects of Smut The Porn Ultimatum. Professor Sedgwick would, I think, be surprised – possibly unpleasantly – by the contemporary world.
STFU Fauxminists! - Some more about porn from a feminist perspective. Let’s Talk About Extreme Porn. Is Pornography Racist? In her new book Pornland (Beacon Press) author Gail Dines argues that our sexuality is hijacked by the multi-billion-dollar-a-year porn industry.
(See my three-part interview with Gail here, here, and here.) Dines also argues that pornography is racist. But not everyone agrees. In the Pornland chapter titled “Racy Sex, Sexy Racism!” Yes, Pornography Is Racist. Tobitastic, 1) I cannot speak for Dines, but I can speak for the general idea.
Porn: Pleasure or Profit? Ms. Interviews Gail Dines, Part II. In Part I of my interview with Gail Dines, the self-described anti-porn feminist discussed sexual freedom, coercion, safety and harm.
International Union of Sex Workers. The many types of prostitutes in ancient Rome. UPDATE: After posting this guest entry, it was brought to my attention that the blog from which it is cross-posted contains material that is racist, misogynist, fat-shaming and transphobic.
Had I known that history, I would not have allowed this post to be published on Feministe. We will not be publishing work from this author again. And going forward, when guest posts are offered, I will do more homework into a blogger’s background and past posts, instead of just generally perusing their blog for anything that immediately stands out. The Feministe team is also discussing ways to prevent this from happening in the future. Why do women become sex workers, and why do men go to them? The women.
ANATOMY OF A SEX SYMBOL by Sheila O’Malley. “Maybe I’m a sexless sex goddess.” - Marilyn Monroe to Life magazine journalist Richard Meryman, 1961 The sexiest woman in America didn’t have an orgasm until the last year of her life.
Despite her famous love affairs and marriages, not to mention the fact that she was the symbol of sex to millions of men worldwide, Marilyn Monroe’s inability to enjoy sex was something she was open about to close confidantes (male and female) and her psychiatrist, Dr. A sanctuary for sex workers. Never wear black stockings, Lynda Dearlove's grandmother used to warn her.
"She used to say only two sorts of women wear them … nuns and prostitutes. " It makes Lynda laugh to tell the story: because today she's Sister Lynda, a nun who is dedicating her life to working with sex workers in one of London's most notorious red-light districts, King's Cross. And just like the convent, the "safe house" Lynda has set up is women-only. Resourcing Health & Education in the Sex Industry (RhED) The Sex Workers Project. Ontd_feminism: Canada's prostitution laws being challenged.
Criminalize Only the Buying of Sex - Room for Debate. Max Waltman is a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Stockholm University who has written about sexual exploitation and pornography in Canada, Sweden and the United States. Not to be bought and sold for sex should be a human right. Sweden effectively recognized this in 1999, criminalizing buying sex and decriminalizing being in prostitution. This law has been adopted in full by Norway and Iceland, partly in Korea, Finland, Israel and the United Kingdom. 0e51eb7f.pdf (application/pdf Object) Prostituutiosuomessa.pdf (application/pdf Object) Prostitution laws struck down by Ont. court - Canada. Terri-Jean Bedford, left, and Valerie Scott, shown in 2009, along with a third woman, launched a constitutional challenge of Canada's anti-prostitution laws. An Ontario court ruled Tuesday the Criminal Code provisions relating to prostitution contribute to the danger faced by sex-trade workers.
((Michael Turschic/CBC)) An Ontario court has thrown out key provisions of Canada's anti-prostitution laws in response to a constitutional challenge by a Toronto dominatrix and two prostitutes in 2009. Ontario's Superior Court of Justice ruled Tuesday the Criminal Code provisions relating to prostitution contribute to the danger faced by sex-trade workers. Partial victory for sex workers with Ontario ruling. Vancouver - Today the Ontario Court of Appeal announced its ruling on the constitutionality of Canada's prostitution laws. Pivot is heralding the decision as a partial victory.
The Court struck down the "bawdy house" provision of the Criminal Code as a violation of sex workers' right to liberty and security of the person. However, in a split decision, the Court did not strike down the law that prohibits communication for the purpose of prostitution in a public place, which remains a concern for street-based sex workers in the Downtown Eastside and across the country.