SAAFE forum
General Category => Politics and academic/media queries => Topic started by: Mobeen Azhar on 13 November 2012, 04:36:32 pm
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Hello all,
I hope everyone is well.
I'm writing to you from an television production company. I'm working on a 60 minute documentary for the Discovery Network exploring the world of Sex Work. The documentary aims to be non-sensationalist, immersive and brutally honest. I think it will contribute something really significant to the broader discussion about sex work.
I'd really appreciate your help in contacting Sex Workers who may be willing to speak about their experiences. I'm interested in speaking to Sex Workers about key issues like decriminalisation, workers co-operatives and regulation.
Specifically I'd like to speak to:
1) UK sex workers who can assert their work as a choice and talk about the benefits of the job.
2) activist sex workers who can talk about personal experiences of violence at the hands of clients and the problems resulting from the criminalisation of sex work in the UK.
3) activist sex workers who are organising events in the next few weeks or who may be willing to put a little time into organising a mini-seminar for filming purposes.
At this stage no commitment is required but potential contributors should be willing/interested in appearing in a documentary. In some instances it may be possible for contributions to be made whilst maintaining anonymity.
You can email with any queries at mobeen@knickerbockerglory.tv
For examples of my previous work please see www.mobeenazhar.co.uk You can also call me on 07714 490 703.
Many thanks
Mobeen Azhar
Title edited to remove all caps
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To save getting emails asking the same thing, you might want to answer the basic question: "What's in it for the contributors?"
If the answer is just exposure, you may not get the responses you were hoping for.
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In some instances it may be possible for contributions to be made whilst maintaining anonymity.
Not to rain on your parade, but I think you will find it very difficult to find any sex worker currently active who will agree to any kind of participation without assured anonymity.
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In some instances it may be possible for contributions to be made whilst maintaining anonymity.
You mean: It may be "possible" that I don't get outed to family, neighbours, landlord etc... and be stigmatized for the rest of my life in order to advance your career? Thank you. That's just sooooooooo sweet. Let me jump in the wagon. Right. Now.
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Hello all,
To clarify, when I say 'it may be possible' to maintain anonymity, I'm saying in some instances contributions can be made anonymously.
The defining factors are
1) If this is the preference of the Contributor.
2) If maintaining anonymity can be editorially justified.
Regarding 'what is in it for the Contributor', primarily the programme will provide a platform for voices that are often marginalised and unheard. I think a documentary/discussion about sex work requires the voices of Sex Workers. This is an opportunity to contribute to an important debate which is often misrepresented. I think that's worth a lot.
Feel free to get back with any more questions.
Thank you
Mobeen
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To clarify, when I say 'it may be possible' to maintain anonymity, I'm saying in some instances contributions can be made anonymously.
The defining factors are:
-If maintaining anonymity can be editorially justified.
Editorially justified? Interesting. You mean that if the editor decides my blurred face doesn't match the background I might get outed to family, neighbours, landlord etc... and be stigmatized for the rest of my life for the sake of the er.."documentary"? Were do I have to sign please?
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To clarify, when I say 'it may be possible' to maintain anonymity, I'm saying in some instances contributions can be made anonymously.
The defining factors are
1) If this is the preference of the Contributor.
2) If maintaining anonymity can be editorially justified.
Theres no way any current WG would agree to appear in this kind of programme under these circumstances, for the very reasons Ana stated above.
Regarding 'what is in it for the Contributor', primarily the programme will provide a platform for voices that are often marginalised and unheard. I think a documentary/discussion about sex work requires the voices of Sex Workers. This is an opportunity to contribute to an important debate which is often misrepresented. I think that's worth a lot.
Yes and who knows what will be left of your original aims/ideas by the time the programme comes to fruition. We only have your word about how it would give a genuine voice to WGs. It could well end up being yet another programme about how all SWs are victims etc etc
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2) activist sex workers who can talk about personal experiences of violence at the hands of clients and the problems resulting from the criminalisation of sex work in the UK.
So you want an honest documentary yet you still want the sensationalism of the violence received from clients. Sorry but there is not half as much as you would like to believe. We do not get beaten regularly as we have good security measures in place to ensure this sort of thing is very rare for any of us.
This 2 part question alone has made me very wary of your intentions as yet again it is the same thing everyone wants to talk about and then make sound so much worse than it is.
Also I was not aware the sex work we do had been criminalised. As far as I am aware escorting is completely legal. So how can any of us help when none of us fall under the criminalised aspect. We do not solicit on the streets, nor do any of us own a brothel, nor do we control others for gain. This site does not have brothel owners it does have independent escorts or escorts who work for parlours and agencies. Therefor none of us can help with the second part of your question
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2) activist sex workers who can talk about personal experiences of violence at the hands of clients and the problems resulting from the criminalisation of sex work in the UK.
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Dani I guess (?) the guy was talking about the "possible criminalization" of prostitution (otherwise I agree his words make little sense).
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This is an opportunity to contribute to an important debate which is often misrepresented. I think that's worth a lot.
I can see that our contributions would make it a better program which is great if you are the Director, the Researcher or even the viewer - but I'm still not clear what's actually in it for us. Oddly enough most of us aren't sex workers because we have political agendas, we do it because we have bills to pay. (Or because our big Daddy pimps make us do it to support our crack habits, obvs)
As for the comments about anonimity and 'editorial justification' - I'm not often stuck for words but... You said to ask questions so here goes. Do you think we're all stupid???
R
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Gawd how many requests are we getting now? Surely it would be simpler to add a sticky for journo's and students to read to avoid us having to go over old ground each time??? My suggestion to journo's is to go and find yourself a girl on the street who is willing to discuss issues and why they are there, this forum is not the right place to look and the same replies come again and again. Can we save the forum from this or is it a continuous ongoing plight/fight?
Sorry, that may seem a bit harsh telling the journo's to find street walkers, but they want sensationalism, that's probably the only place you're likely to find it!
**Steps off soapbox**
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2) activist sex workers who can talk about personal experiences of violence at the hands of clients and the problems resulting from the criminalisation of sex work in the UK.
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Dani I guess (?) the guy was talking about the "possible criminalization" of prostitution (otherwise I agree his words make little sense).
No, he definately said the problems resulting in the criminalisation of sex work.
Not what problems may arise if sex work is criminalised
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Dear Mr. Mobeen Azhar,
I see that you are very interested in the escort lives,
Well! I am happy to help you provided that you do some little favour for me.
If you do what I am going to ask you, I will give all the answers that you want.
1) Go to the supermarket and buy a lot of condoms, some tubes of lube and some toys.
2) Take some nice picture of you.
3) Go to www. adultwork.com and register your personal account.
4) At the page of the registration, select Offering Services---> Escort services
5) At the page of your details, select your interest in meeting "Men" and/or "Couples MM"
6) Write a nice advertise.
7) Select "A Levels" and "Oral Offering" in your like list. They are very important!
8 ) Upload your pictures
9) Select In-call and/or Outcall
10) Decide your rates
Do not be shy and let me know what happen in the next months.
I look forward to reading some feedback and reports left to you from people you are going to meet.
Regards
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2) activist sex workers who can talk about personal experiences of violence at the hands of clients and the problems resulting from the criminalisation of sex work in the UK.
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Dani I guess (?) the guy was talking about the "possible criminalization" of prostitution (otherwise I agree his words make little sense).
I suspect the intent was to discuss the ways in which prostitutes can be criminalised by laws specific to the sex industry (such as brothel legislation which prevents people sharing flats, or soliciting laws) whilst prostitution remains legal in and of itself - the repealing of these laws (aka decriminalisation of sex work) is one of the main aims of most UK activism groups. The OP did specify 'sex worker activists' when he mentioned this, and whilst there may be few here, there are far fewer engaged in street work.
Having corresponded with the OP myself and also having thought I had made it absolutely crystal clear that preserving anonymity was the only thing that anybody here was likely to be interested in first and foremost, it appears I was wasting my time (over an hour of it patiently answering emails) completely. I wonder where I ought to send the bill to?
As for the OP trying it out himself, can we try to keep it sensible please? I know he wants it to be 'immersive', but it is perfectly possible to inform about something without having done it yourself (we have books about suicide, after all) and this line of non-argument just makes us look childish and silly. As ever, if you have nothing constructive to say, please post elsewhere.
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I think that with all the backlash against the likes of the Scottish legislation etc, a candid interview with an intelligent, articulate, self employed business woman would be a good remedy for the "all sex workers are victims and deserve our pity and help" platform that some people in power support.
After all, if we would like people to stop harping on that we are all drug users/sluts/riddled with STIs/victims/being pimped or any other of the myriad of myths that surround the industry it seems it would be in our best interest to show an accurate depiction of the trade.
We got all up in arms about the woman who proposed the bill to criminalise the purchase of sex in Scotland about never meeting/speaking to a WG, but if all she has seen or heard have been trafficking/drug abuse/pimping stories then no wonder she believes that.
All that is entirely dependent on, as others have said, the documentary being completed as envisioned. But taking the OP at face value, I wouldn't mind talking over the phone to help out (would not be comfortable with being seen mind!)
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I think that with all the backlash against the likes of the Scottish legislation etc, a candid interview with an intelligent, articulate, self employed business woman would be a good remedy for the "all sex workers are victims and deserve our pity and help" platform that some people in power support.
After all, if we would like people to stop harping on that we are all drug users/sluts/riddled with STIs/victims/being pimped or any other of the myriad of myths that surround the industry it seems it would be in our best interest to show an accurate depiction of the trade.
Yes indeed, wouldn't that be nice. However as Amy said in her post above, he seems unable to comprehend that 99.9% of current WGs would require annonymity in order to appear. If he can't take that on board, there will be no programme.
We got all up in arms about the woman who proposed the bill to criminalise the purchase of sex in Scotland about never meeting/speaking to a WG, but if all she has seen or heard have been trafficking/drug abuse/pimping stories then no wonder she believes that.
I beg to differ - if she had really wanted to look behind the stereotypes she would have done so, but she didn't want to, simple as.
All that is entirely dependent on, as others have said, the documentary being completed as envisioned. But taking the OP at face value, I wouldn't mind talking over the phone to help out (would not be comfortable with being seen mind!)
Yes my feeling is that it would end up concentrating exclusively on proposed criminalisation and those women experienced violence from clients. (the OP did state these as some of his aims)
I doubt that a phone chat would be an option either, going on everything that has been said by the OP.
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Hello all,
A phone chat with anyone that is willing to contribute to the research would be useful actually - feel free to inbox me or call the number provided on my original message.
Re - anonymity being 'editorially justified'. To clarify, this means we would maintain anonymity if the contributor felt they would be put in danger or suffer backlash as a result of their identity being revealed. That constitutes editorial justification. This would be decided and agreed before any filming was done. The power to maintain anonymity remains completely with the contributor. I hope that's clear now.
Re: criminalisation of sex work - in many activists circles there is an argument that the criminalisation of brothels and 'soliciting' for sex works means that sex workers are less likely to report crimes to the police. There are also issues with sex workers not trusting the police as some have experienced police not taking them seriously. I've spoken to some sex workers who have told me thy have reported abuse and violence at the hands of clients only to be told 'it's part of your job'. I think this is an important area to explore.
I understand it must be a little frustrating to be inundated with press enquiries so if you find anything in the post offensive I apologise in advance. We're trying to make the best documentary possible on the subject that I think needs open and honest discussion. If you feel you can contribute please get in touch.
Thank you
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Also,
Can someone please point me in the right direction for any 'punters forums?' A few people have mentioned them in on the boards but I can't see where the punters forum is.
Many thanks
Mobeen Azhar
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Google "punter forums".
Where do I send the invoice for the consultancy work?
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Google "punter forums".
Where do I send the invoice for the consultancy work?
And bear in mind only a tiny number of clients use 'punter forums' they are certainly not representative of clients as a whole. In fact sadly a high percentage of those on punter forums are those unsavoury clients most of us wouldn't touch with a bargepole.
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I've found a few punters forums.
I'll keep in mind what you say about them being unrepresentative.
Thank you
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Another point is that violence against indoor sex workers is comparatively rare, so if this is what you're concentrating on in the documentary it would be as well to make this absolutely clear in the title and summary, rather than trying to paint it as a general portrait of what the day-to-day job is like as it would then be misleading and disproportionate.
I'd be surprised if many here have much experience of violence. I've been robbed once in ten years, and that wasn't a particularly violent incident; I can compare this with a nurse I know who is threatened and abused by patients regularly when working (mainly in A&E) and is attacked several times a year, ditto police officers and teachers despite not often getting in anywhere as vulnerable situations with strangers as we do when we're working. Serious violent attacks on us are still relatively isolated events, and they are rarely perpetrated by punters; punters are people who turn up, pay and get their service; the people who attack us tend to do just that and have no intention of paying. Therefore they are not punters, they are robbers, rapists or both.
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I can compare this with a nurse I know who is threatened and abused by patients regularly when working (mainly in A&E) and is attacked several times a year
That would make a great documentary the problem is that because it has no sex it won't sell.
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Amy, Anna,
Thanks for your feedback. As I think I've stated earlier, the documentary aims to be as honest and real as possible. If we find violence is not an issue for most/all sex workers it will not be focused upon in the documentary. It has been raised as an issue by some of the sex workers that I'm in contact with and that's why I asked the question. I'm interested to learn that your experiences have been different so thanks for sharing that.
Once again, if you feel you can contribute or you have any genuine questions - feel free to get in touch.
Many thanks
Mobeen
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Hi Mobeen,
In 15 years of sex work I've endured 2 violent situations:
1) Once I got a client coming to visit me who I inmediately recognized from a dangerous mugs website as a rapist. I told him one of my pipes had broke, there was a huge leak, maintenance of he building would be coming in 5 minutes and he would need to leave asap. He left (phew!)
2) On another occasion someone twisted my arm (not very hard I have to admit).
To be honest I've endured more violence growing up in my neighbourhood and working in the retail business. But I'm just telling you my personal experience which may differ from other women.
Do sex workers suffer from violence? Sure they do. But women in general suffer from violence in our society in all sorts of forms, and sex workers are women - a lot of us working alone so of course we become more vulnerable to attacks. I work as an independant in a very safe (and er..."upscale" I hate that word) enviroment and i'm very good with my safety procedures but if I worked in the streets most probably I would have been subjected to quite some violence at this point. I've worked in the states for some time and I saw that women over there don't report attacks while here in the UK they do it (I guess because it's legal).
Anyway...sorry for the rant... that's my story. If you want to pm with more questions feel free but i'm definately not sitting infront of any camera :-)
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To be honest I've endured more violence growing up in my neighbourhood and working in the retail business. But I'm just telling you my personal experience which may differ from other women.
Do sex workers suffer from violence? Sure they do. But women in general suffer from violence in our society in all sorts of forms, and sex workers are women - a lot of us working alone so of course we become more vulnerable to attacks. I work as an independant in a very safe (and er..."upscale" I hate that word) enviroment and i'm very good with my safety procedures but if I worked in the streets most probably I would have been subjected to quite some violence at this point. I've worked in the states for some time and I saw that women over there don't report attacks while here in the UK they do it (I guess because it's legal).
I think this is very helpful in illustrating what I was getting at, and why we are often so irritated by programmes made and articles published about our work - sex work does not exist in a vacuum and the often total lack of any context is one of the primary reasons why these depictions of us and our job are generally so useless. Will there be companion programmes covering other jobs, and how people who do them go about their day-to-day activities?
If you don't want to lead the people you engage with, might I suggest you don't blaze in with questions like 'tell me about any violence you have experienced' and so forth, because people will tell you about what you ask them about, and if that's all you ask them about it would be easy to assume that it is something which happens a lot. Why not ask them what a typical day or week is like, and let them tell you? This way you can get a realistic picture without manipulating anyone. Unless you actively want to, that is.
People who do not take security precautions, take silly risks and generally behave irresponsibly are more likely to find themselves in dangerous situations, but those who are more careful, have good security procedures in place and operate responsibly are far less so. What they do for a living (or a hobby, or for their holidays) is nothing whatsoever to do with that, and you seem to have already assumed that sex work is itself inherently risky. What is inherently risky is taking unnecessary risks.
People who put on a blindfold and then walk across the M25 are more likely to get run over than those who skip the blindfold and only ever step into the road at a pelican crossing. It isn't rocket science.
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I think that with all the backlash against the likes of the Scottish legislation etc, a candid interview with an intelligent, articulate, self employed business woman would be a good remedy for the "all sex workers are victims and deserve our pity and help" platform that some people in power support.
After all, if we would like people to stop harping on that we are all drug users/sluts/riddled with STIs/victims/being pimped or any other of the myriad of myths that surround the industry it seems it would be in our best interest to show an accurate depiction of the trade.
We got all up in arms about the woman who proposed the bill to criminalise the purchase of sex in Scotland about never meeting/speaking to a WG, but if all she has seen or heard have been trafficking/drug abuse/pimping stories then no wonder she believes that.
All that is entirely dependent on, as others have said, the documentary being completed as envisioned. But taking the OP at face value, I wouldn't mind talking over the phone to help out (would not be comfortable with being seen mind!)
I have to agree, I think they would actually be shocked that the percentage of ladies who do this out of free will is higher than they assumed and the fact that a large majority of us enjoy it and for various reasons i.e financial independence, confidence and the fact that some women just love a lot of willie. But anonymity is paramount.
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I have to agree, I think they would actually be shocked that the percentage of ladies who do this out of free will is higher than they assumed and the fact that a large majority of us enjoy it and for various reasons i.e financial independence, confidence and the fact that some women just love a lot of willie.
I wouldn't paint it all rosie DND, there's also the economic pressure that makes sex work often the ?best? option for a woman with little or no options. I used to work my ass off in retail before I enter the sex industry and make a third of what I make now. Would I be in the industry if I were to make a third of what I do now? no way! I would be back in retail asap.
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A program about the reality of most of our day to day working lives would be too boring to actually watch. Shopping for babywipes and condoms, booking appointments and Hotels, endless identical phone calls, average clients, home to pay the bills and watch tv while washing a load of bed covers and towels. Yawn...
The problem is that no-one wants to believe it, so the program that will be made will be either be 'Secret Diary' or 'Band of Gold' just like all the others. Starting out by asking us about violence and then wandering off in search of the Punter forums suggests the latter...
R