first meeting -- june 1st 7pm

if you are interested in attending the first meeting
please email: alice.london@gmail.com for details

Thursday 1st June 2006 -- 7pm start

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).

sex workers in europe manifesto + declaration

Sex Workers in Europe Manifesto

This manifesto was elaborated and endorsed by 120 sex workers from 26 countries at the European Conference on Sex Work, Human Rights, Labour and Migration 15 - 17 October 2005, Brussels, Belgium.

(photo from demonstration at the conference)

sex workers in europe manifesto

declaration of the rights of sex workers in europe

international committee on the rights of sex workers in europe (click here)

History
In 2002 a group of Dutch sex workers and allies took the initiative to organise a Conference on Sex Work that would challenge the current neo conservative political debate on sex work and trafficking. With the International Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) we looked at the possibilities of a world conference. Together we concluded that although there are a lot of similarities regarding the position of sex workers all around the world such as stigmatisation, social exclusion and violence, the differences between the different regions were too big to organise a global conference in the way we had envisioned. Therefore we decided to start with a European Conference.

Mid 2003 we approached sex workers from all over Europe to ask whether there was an interest in such a conference and if sex workers were interested in joining the Organisation Committee. This consultation led to many enthusiastic responses from sex workers from different European countries who wanted to be involved in this process. In January 2004 the Organisation Committee met for the first time in Amsterdam and has been working hard since to realise the conference.

The consultation initiative for the development of the Declaration and Manifesto began approximately a year ahead of the conference date. Sex workers, organisations involved with sex workers and allies working in the fields of human, labour and migrant's rights contributed to the second draft. These drafts were brought to the conference and were further elaborated and endorsed by the 120 sex worker and 80 ally participants.

x:talk project summary

x: talk - a network of sex workers, sex workers rights', and migrants' rights activists are in the process of organising a project that involves the development, co-ordination and delivery of non-commercial English classes workers in the sex industry in London. The project has been endorsed by the International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW). This is a project to put into action our critiques on the "trafficking" politics as producing criminalisation, victimisation and exploitation of migrants and workers in the sex industry.

Project summary

x: talk aims to empower, educate and organise workers in the sex industry, focusing on the needs and realities of migrant sex workers in particular. The project would be initially externally funded and there are hopes to become more self funded through the holding of fundraiser parties. As well it is hoped that as the project develops it will attract the support and endorsement of a variety of sex worker organizations and also sex industry service organisations and allies.

The project will involve a pilot six month course of English classes held on an evening per week in an accessible and suitable venue, with the possibility of expansion of both the timetable and venues, dependent upon the success and evaluation of the pilot project. The classes are proposed to run for 2hours (with 1.5hours of English classes, and 0.5hrs spent on peer education about the sex industry with Q&A session). The Q&A session being one where sex workers can ask specific questions and also be referred to the appropriate agencies/ services if needed.

This project is a conscious effort to make contact with migrant sex worker communities, offer a practical and needed service that currently is only provided for on a commercial basis and ultimately attempt to build political alliances and strengthen migrant sex worker networks with and within the IUSW.

Whilst this project is an ‘organising project’ and offers numerous organising and union recruitment opportunities – it is important that sex workers feel that they can access the service without necessarily being union members or under pressure to join . Careful attention will be paid to all promotional material and advertising in relation to the message as to who can participate and also who is offering the service. It is also hoped that fundraising parties (two held per course, one at the start and one at the end) will offer another opportunity for participation by course participants

x:talk -- an invitation

x: talk – cross: talk
a project of English classes for workers in the sex industry in London

x: talk – a network of sex workers, sex workers rights', and migrants' rights activists are in the process of organising a project that involves the development, co-ordination and delivery of non-commercial English classes workers in the sex industry in London. The project has been endorsed by the International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW). This is a project to put into action our critiques on the "trafficking" politics as producing criminalisation, victimisation and exploitation of migrants and workers in the sex industry.

Project in progress : it would be great if you joined us, in person, by email, or in any other way we can think of together.

First meeting: 1 ^st of June, London, 7 pm, near Covent Garden tube (get in contact for the address)

Dear Friends,

A few months ago some of us based in London and involved in sex workers' rights activism, around the International Union of Sex Workers in particular, started thinking about a project that would move into the organising sphere the confidence we have developed in criticising "trafficking" by bringing together the insights produced by sex workers', migrants', and feminist struggles.

Uder a racist and anti-feminist rhetoric of protection, the discourse and politics of trafficking that see women as victims of organised crime or of cruel men produces deportation, criminalisation and exploitation of migrants, in the sex industry in particular, and of sex workers in general.

It also creates divisions between migrants' and sex workers' forms of resistance.

Putting at the centre the dimension of autonomy of people moving across borders, and of people of every gender employing their resources in the sex industry, we found language to be one of the crucial elements to directly challenge and change conditions of work and life, and to come together, and to organise.

London represents for us a difficult jungle with amazing working opportunities but also opportunities for resistance. Our desire and belief is that together also with people who are not only based in London we can start creating a space for change inside this jungle, and all around.

x:talk is so that degrees and ways of involvement are multiple and variable.

For instance the project is going to need:

teachers

venue

translations

promotion

funding.

x:talk opens and is open.