There's lots of talk in Ireland at the mo' about criminalizing the purchase of sex - and from the looks of things the bill will probably be put through and sometime in the near future Ireland will be have the same stance as Sweden does on Prostitution. The campaign to have the bill brought in is being spearheaded by turnofftheredlight(dot)ie, an NGO that claim 'prostitution is not about sex, it's about exploitation, violence and abuse'. They lump prostitution and trafficking together as the same thing, and claim that women who enter into the profession do so because they have no choice. I know most of the posters on SAAFE are based in the UK, but many who post on here tour Ireland and if the Swedish model is adopted in Ireland it will affect anyone who tours and it will probably lend more weight to any groups campaigning for anti-prostitution legislation in the UK (remember the smoking ban?).

There's so much media attention surrounding the anti-prostitution movement at the moment, it's total backlash against the Belle De Jour phenomenon - but it's gone to the polar opposite rather than the middle ground. Stella Marr and co. have decided to speak out and campaign for women who have been trafficked and coerced into prostitution, which is commendable, but at the same time they've decided to lump all sex workers together as victims who need saving, which anyone who posts on here knows is total tosh.

The reason I'm ranting (sorry), is because these groups have power - representatives from Turn Off The Red Light were invited to talk with the government in Ireland about their concerns (i.e agenda), whereas the average independent is never going to be given that privilege. And this is the problem, there is no platform for sex workers to say 'Actually, it's not that bad and it gives me financial independence and security', and these groups are kind of exploiting the fact that because most of us work anonymously we can't publicly speak out in opposition to them (I know some on here are really involved in sex workers rights activism, but it's not something I can publicly support because of what I'm studying, but I won't be able to continue what I'm studying if I don't work ) Theprostitutionexperience(dot)com talks about 'the demeaning, degrading experience that is prostitution' - but what I find far more demeaning is someone deciding to speak on behalf of me and put words in my mouth that I don't agree with. And it's all done under the guise of I know what's best for you and your body, and it's beyond patronisning.

Apologies, major, major rant  I think I need to google 'how to start an anonymous campaign'...Does anyone else find this frustrating?

If I was a builder they would pay for the use of my muscles.
If I was a scholar they would pay for the use of my mind.
But I am an escort, so they pay for the use of my c***.