Nigerian women migrating to Europe are increasingly aware that work hidden in the form of menial jobs is actually sex work, even though they cannot imagine the brutality that comes with it.
Sex workers in South Africa are all potential criminals due to the country’s regressive laws. But their status may change soon, making South Africa the first African country to decriminalise sex work.
A conference highlighting the oppression of sex work was held in Melbourne over the weekend. But online protesters campaigned against the event, targeting the university hosting it.
Rentboy.com is the oldest and most popular website for male sex workers, who pay a monthly fee to advertise to and connect with potential clients. Its fall this week will leave a void in the market.
While being supported by many sex industry groups, feminists have labelled Amnesty International’s decriminalisation of prostitution a betrayal of women’s rights.
There is a wider social, economic and cultural context in which sex work occurs. The criminalisation of consensual adult sex work does not prevent violence – it exacerbates it.
There is a non-binding precedent in Victoria that allows judges to consider the victim’s sexual experience when passing sentence on a sex offender – but only when the “victim is a prostitute”.
Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western Australia