this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2023
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as a sex worker, i don’t find it either debasing or dehumanising
i have a well paying job and i do it because i want to
that’s just completely ignorant tbh
sex work is frequently reduced to exploitation when it’s unregulated, but making it illegal doesn’t stop it: it just makes the problem worse
when you regulate sex work (like where i live, in victoria australia) you solve a huge amount of problems. you’re not allowed to represent a sex worker here, so it’s all “sole trader” kind of stuff, or the other kind is working at a brothel which has a huge list of restrictions and you have a proper employment contract with health and safety requirements like any other job
i’m not saying exploitation doesn’t happen, but exploration can’t be stopped so it’s about harm minimisation… legal and de stigmatised sex work means when people make choices to do sex work they’re protected and have plenty of avenues to get out when they need to
*edit: also who is this “we”? don’t talk for people you don’t know… sex work isn’t an issue where i live, and id imagine you don’t have quite the majority you think you do… don’t assume your bubble represents the world
it’s also not about absolutely nothing bad happens: no matter whether it’s illegal or not people are going to do sex work… its about harm minimisation and in a system where there’s no stigma, sex workers can seek help without fear of reprisal and have laws that help them
i don’t know what else to say here other than to reiterate that you’re provably wrong on all fronts
as i’ve said: i live in a place where SEX WORK is regulated rather than criminalised, and we have significantly lower levels of associated social issues because of it… it’s not a theory, it’s a fact backed up by numerous government enquiries…
in fact, up until a year ago there were more restrictions and they significantly loosened them, because it was found that many of the minimal restrictions were detrimental to protecting people from harm and exploitation
https://www.vic.gov.au/sex-work-decriminalisation
i’m not going to reply any more because Brandolini's law exists
decreasing the number of SEX WORKERS was not the aim, and is honestly irrelevant
it has, however, significantly increased the safety of those doing sex work and allowed them to make choices rather than being stuck
there are other reports and follow ups that go with that piece; that’s just kinda the culmination and the government PR piece
they had the desired effect, it just wasn’t the effect you were looking for. these changes effectively increase the safety of sex work
the regulations in question were rolled back because they were made in 1994 as a first attempt at legislation… when certain things are found not to be necessary or to cause more harm than good, they were updated
the last part is really the crux of the issue: regulations that people largely ignore are unhelpful… they only mean that people are less likely to seek help for fear of punishment, and that leads to more abuse
we had sex worker registration so that the government could track effectiveness of policy changes and revoke licenses if people weren’t following the rules, but it was found that some people were doing sex work without registration, and then were reluctant to seek help if they got exploited or abused for fear that they’d get into legal trouble
other systems were put in place to ensure everyone stays safe, and the registrations were no longer necessary
Do you plan on this being a lifelong career for you? Why or why not?
oh sorry i mean i have a well paying lifelong career and i do sex work just because i like it. i don’t do it for the money; in fact, my rule is that im only allowed to spend the money on kink, fetish, and sex toys because i don’t want it to become necessary. i know ill get older at some point and that’d be a problem: i’m over 30 right now and i can pull off a certain kind of daddy bear look, but not even that’ll last forever
i also find with other friends that do only sex work (because they enjoy it), it often makes the recreational sex that you have less fun… that’s the most common reason they stop doing it: starting on sex work not out of necessity tends to mean you quite enjoy sex, and that it’s a big part of how you relax and decompress