text: leaflet from london demo

below is the text from the leaflet that was distributed outside the 'Disrupting Sex Markets' conference on 23 March 2006 London.

not about us – without us.

why are we here?

Today a commercial organisation is running a conference in the Bloomsbury Holiday Inn. Entitled “Disrupting Sex Markets,” speakers include Home Office minister Fiona Mactaggart and senior police officers.

This conference takes place in the wake of the publication of the government’s of “Paying the Price” strategy on prostitution. Although well-intentioned, this strategy takes no real account of the complex reality of sex work. We live in a society where services are bought and sold. Sex work is one of these services. Sex work occurs where one party considers the experience as sex, another considers the experience as work and both recognise the other's perspective. We condemn the hypocrisy within our societies where our services are used but our profession or businesses are made illegal and stigmatised.

The IUSW stands for the choice of all who work in the sex industry. We call for

· full and complete decriminalisation of prostitution

· integrated support on drug use, housing issues, training and employment advice for those who need it

· partnership working between communities, local authorities, police and sex workers to minimise harm and create the best solution for all concerned

why red umbrellas?

The red umbrella is a symbol of the international sex workers’ rights movement (see www.sexworkeurope.org). It symbolises both the literal shelter needed if working on the street, and demonstrates our solidarity with all sex workers who are frequently marginalised and excluded, both from their communities and from the debates about our industry.

IUSW
c/o Membership GMB Thorne House

152 Brent Street

London NW4 2DP

tel: 07946 897770

www.iusw.org

Sex workers as all other persons should have right to participate in the formulation of the laws and policies affecting their working and living environments.

Sex work is work.

Alienation, exploitation, abuse and coercion do exist in the sex industry, as in any other industry sector, but it does not define us or our industry. However limits are placed on exploitation when the labour within an industry is formally recognised, accepted by society at large and supported by trade unions.

The lack of recognition of sex work as labour and the criminalisation of activities within and around the sex industry results in sex workers being treated like criminals, even if they do not break any laws. Such treatments alienate us from the rest of society and reduce our ability to control our work and our lives. It creates greater possibilities for uncontrolled exploitation, abuse and coercion – unacceptable working hours, unsanitary working conditions, unfair division of income and unreasonable restrictions on freedom of movement - certain groups of sex workers such as migrants are disproportionately affected by unacceptable working conditions.

We demand that sex work is recognised as gainful employment, enabling all sex workers to enjoy a full range of human and labour rights and migrants sex workers to apply for work and residence permits and that both documented and undocumented sex worker migrants be entitled to full labour rights.

International Union of Sex Workers – March 2006

www.iusw.org

GMB: IUSW

We are a sex workers organisation for sex workers’ civil, legal and workers rights.

We offer free and confidential advice, information and support to sex workers of all sectors of the industry. We do not discriminate on the grounds of race, gender, sexuality, HIV status, ability, nationality or religious belief.

The GMB – Britain's third largest union - recognises sex work as a valid form of labour and offers union membership to all who work in the sex industry, whether as prostitutes, dancers, film models or actors, or in associated occupations (eg working in an adult video shop).

think about it for five more minutes…

…sex work as a comparison with the shoes industry or put another way - no Nike! but not no shoes (it is well known and accepted that multinationals pay workers as little as £2 per day to make shoes. This is what is called hyper-exploitation, a practice often enforced by violence and intimidation. So in calling for reforms, regulation and workers rights in the textile industry, no one is suggesting that we for instance should not buy shoes – what people are saying is that you should not support Nike (or for that matter any other companies that exploits their workers).