Catherine was on Sunday Morning Live talking about the industry or the "trade" as the Daily Mail journo insisted on calling it as its about "buying and selling".

She did a cracking job and certainly gave a different impression of sex workers to the 'young, fragile, Romanain girl with bruises and track marks' which Daily Mail woman rabbited on about.

The male guest was really no better relying on media stereotypes and those much bandied about Government statstics to try and argue against the experience and knowledge of someone with 10 years personal experience in the business.

Of course this is in the news again after the Wayne Rooney stuff (the girl in question there is now rumoured for I'm a Celebrity, Get me out of here) and Chloe Mafia/Victoria who was on this weekend's X Factor. Neither of those girls are particularly good adverts for sex workers but they are the sort who hit the headlines and open the industry up to accusations of glamoursing prostitution. I agree it shouldn't be glamourised but surely that is about far wider societal and cultural issues, in particular how much power the media wield.

Anyway, Catherine (who is a member here), bloody well done! 

I was just coming back to add the link - good spot Amy.

Press Release
The International Union of Sex Workers
Monday 27th September 2010
Immediate Release

?It?s time to accept prostitution? ? say the British public.

A survey carried out as part of yesterday?s BBC1 Sunday Morning Live discussion, featuring Catherine Stephens of the IUSW, Bel Mooney of the Daily Mail and Mehdi Hasan of the New Statesman showed overwhelming public support for accepting prostitution:
71% yes, 29% no.

This echoes a government funded Ipsos MORI poll in June 2008: almost six in ten (59%) agreed that ?prostitution is a perfectly reasonable choice that women should be free to make?. [1]

In the Sunday Morning Live debate, Stephens repeatedly argued that policy that solves problems is based on evidence and in reality, not on ideology, dramatic individual cases and stereotypes.

Stigmatisation of sex work plays a large part in violence and trafficking.

Clients are not the problem: evidence shows that the majority of robbery, abuse and physical or sexual violence experienced by sex workers comes from those who do not pay for sex. [2] Many assailants express hatred of sex workers and appear to feel their actions are legitimated by the social attitudes of abhorrence for commercial sex.

More than a third of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation report that fear of being exposed as a sex worker played a part in the coercion they experienced. [3]

In a study of nearly 500 sex workers, researching issues of power, exploitation and control, 1 in 4 women said that they had, at some point, felt physically threatened. More ? 30% ? had experienced other threats ??in almost all cases, [this] was the threat of being publicly exposed as a sex worker.? [4]

Catherine Stephens says, ?It?s time to start treating women with respect and equality, regardless of their sexual behaviour. It?s time to give people in the sex industry the same human rights as other citizens, so we can work together for safety and call the police without fear of arrest. It?s time to decriminalise prostitution.?

Ends

Contact IUSW: 07772 638748

Notes to Editors:
The International Union of Sex Workers is an unfunded, voluntary organisation of individuals themselves working in the sex industry. We campaign for human, civil and labour rights, and the full protection of the law for everyone who works in the sex industry and for the inclusion of sex workers in decisions which will affect our rights and safety. The IUSW offers a unique source of expertise and experience from people who see reality of the industry day to day: we are the experts on our own lives.

Catherine Stephens has worked in the sex industry for nearly 10 years, and has been involved in sex worker organising for most of that time.  She is an activist with the International Union of Sex Workers and is a member of the GMB trades union?s branch for people who work in the sex industry.

References:
[1] http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=2308
[2] Violence and Sex Work in Britain, Hilary Kinnell, Willan Publishing, 2008
[3]Globalisation of Crime: A transnational organised crime threat assessment, UNODC, 2010
[4] Beyond gender: an examination of exploitation in sex work, Suzanne Jenkins, Keele University, 2009

See Sunday Morning Live Sunday 26th September 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00v1pns/Sunday_Morning_Live_Episode_11/

Stigmatisation of sex work plays a large part in violence and trafficking.

Clients are not the problem: evidence shows that the majority of robbery, abuse and physical or sexual violence experienced by sex workers comes from those who do not pay for sex. [2] Many assailants express hatred of sex workers and appear to feel their actions are legitimated by the social attitudes of abhorrence for commercial sex.

More than a third of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation report that fear of being exposed as a sex worker played a part in the coercion they experienced. [3]

In a study of nearly 500 sex workers, researching issues of power, exploitation and control, 1 in 4 women said that they had, at some point, felt physically threatened. More ? 30% ? had experienced other threats ??in almost all cases, [this] was the threat of being publicly exposed as a sex worker.? [4]

Catherine Stephens says, ?It?s time to start treating women with respect and equality, regardless of their sexual behaviour. It?s time to give people in the sex industry the same human rights as other citizens, so we can work together for safety and call the police without fear of arrest. It?s time to decriminalise prostitution.?

Thanks Elrond for this.

I absolutely agree with the decriminlisation part. An environment needs to be created in which it is easier/safer to report crimes, whether they be threats from other girls, attacks from clients or trafficking issues.  The stigmatisation is the real issue. I cant see the ConDems doing much to improve our lot, maybe we will have to wait for 'Red Ed' to get in.

I've just watched the Sunday Live programme with this article in it. I couldn't believe it when the middle-England, middle-aged stereotypical 'anti' lady started talking about the poor husbands and wives, as if they were victims of the sex industry!!!!

Men decide voluntarily to see us, and surely it's their choice and their marriage. Smacked a little of the "I couldn't help myself, she was there and was wearing a short-skirt" line.

The majority of clients treat girls very welll, with a  lot of respect and it's mostly those ignorant or generally that way inclined already who are behind attacks, or are abusive - another being that they have the idea that WGs are vulnerable, that they might not go to the police etc. Less stigma would probably prevent those on the borderline from committing such harm.

Its also been my experience that the majority of clients treat us very well. In fact I can count on one hand the number of bookings which have left me feeling yuk. There are just 3 of them in a period of over at least twice as many years.

That said, not everyone is that lucky and it is not easy to go to the police as a result of the stigma. I had to go to the police once after some threats and general harassment. the police were good, particularly vice, but it was not an easy decision and if it was, I would have dealt with the harassment sooner and it probably would not have escalated as it did. There are numerous other examples of girls not going to the police after attacks because they are worried about how they will be viewed. Same goes for punters who get ripped off. The stigma allows the nasty side of the business to breathe in relative comfort. It should not be that way.