Dear Mr @jeremycorbyn. Having watched you give public support for the Nordic Model of regulating sex work, I feel I should show you the overwhelming data that proves how dangerous this is to sex workers. care.org.uk/news/latest-ne…
The ‘Nordic Model’ criminalising sex workers’ clients in an effort to ‘end demand’ for sexual services. It makes paying for sexual services illegal, but selling sex is legal.
Ask yourself, Mr Corbyn, how well you would fair if tomorrow you turned up for work and were told that it’s legal for you to work, but anyone who hires you is committing a crime. Feel safe?
Is pretty obvious, Mr Corbyn, that the Nordic Model criminalises the client & ipso facto criminalises of the sex worker. Criminalising any part of a transaction, criminalises the whole transaction - you know that, Jez (can I call you Jez?)
Why would anyone want to do this, Jez? Supporters will tell you all sex work is exploitation & NM that allows sex workers report abuse without being prosecuted. They hope this will stamp out a demand for sexual services.
What it doesn’t take account of are the thousands of UK sex workers who ENJOY their work and want to earn money through sex work - The consenting adults to have chosen this work. Don’t they get a say, Jez?
I don’t know if you know this, Jez but the number of sex workers in the UK is estimated to be around 72,800 with about 32,000 working in London. So that’s 72800 people who will lose their income under a NM. That’s a lot of folk, Jez.
I bet supporters have told you that NM will help end abuse and sex trafficking, right JC? But sexual abuse is not sex work. Trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation is a separate issue from sex between consenting adult. But let’s look at trafficking...
Professor Nicola Mai conducted research on migrant women, men and transgender sex workers working in London, and found that only around 6% of all interviewees felt that they had been deceived and forced into selling sex. publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cm…
I know what you’re thinking JC, and I agree - Any percentage is too much, but NM criminalises the other 94% of sex workers who are not forced into selling sex. Yes, people are trafficked into the sex industry - it’s horrific. You’ll get no argument from me there, but...
But in the uk, the most common reported exploitation type was labour exploitation (44%) -followed by sexual exploitation (37%). Labour exploitation covers domestic, agricultural & construction industries. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
So, JC I have to ask, will a similar Nordic Model be introduced in these industries to prevent people being exploited in them? Will it be made illegal to pay for cleaning or building services? Or can we see that this would punish those who happily work in these areas?
NM has been implemented in a number of countries and research shows again and again that NM HURTS sex workers. It doesn’t protect them. Buckle up, Jez...
Criminalising clients may reduce demand from those not wishing to commit a crime, but it does not deter those who wish to hurt sex workers.
Once demand has been reduced, competition for less desirable clients increases among sex workers, leading to an increase in risky, dangerous behaviour, such as unprotected sex, working in isolation or in deserted areas.
In the year since Ireland brought in the Nordic model there has been a 54% increase in crime against sex workers reported to National Ugly Mugs Ireland, and violent crime is up by 77%. 77% Jeremy! Yes, you read that right.
Sex workers in ‘end demand’ countries report increased levels of police harassment, difficulty accessing support services, and in Oslo the police actually threaten to prosecute landlords if they do not evict sex workers from their premises. But it gets worse, Jez...
In 2016, France brought in NM. The results of the qualitative research also reveal that cases of violence, of all kinds, have increased and that impoverishment, increased health risks and increased exposure to violence form a vicious circle. opendemocracy.net/beyondslavery/…
I know. It’s bleak, isn’t it Jez? But there’s more..
Sex workers can experience greater harassment due to the policing of clients on the street (Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Police Affairs 2004).
Stigma against sex workers increases, which puts them at risk of violence from clients and community retribution (this stigma has been explicitly positioned as a positive effect of the Swedish legislation, since it is thought it will deter people from entering the sex industry.
Sex workers can be displaced to outlying areas or more secluded times, for client protection, which creates additional risk (Hester and Westmarland 2004, Crago 2008, Kinnell 2008, Krüsi et al 2014, Lyon 2014).
There is increased competition between those selling sex on the street, due to a reduction in those willing to buy publicly (Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Police Affairs 2004, Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare 2007, Levy and Jacobsson 2014).
Higher risk services (such as unprotected sex) are often offered due to lack of client choice, less bargaining power, and needing to negotiate more quickly with clients who may fear arrest (Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Police Affairs 2004)
Some sex workers may engage in theft to make up for lost earnings (Levy and Jacobsson 2014), and are thereby criminalised by other means.
Clients become less willing to give sex workers their contact details, which is an important safety measure, or insist on ‘outcalls’ rather than services being provided in venues familiar to the sex worker (Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security 2014, ScotPEP 2015).
Sex workers can become more reliant on potentially exploitative third parties due to clients being less willing to negotiate the purchase of sex directly (Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Police Affairs 2004, Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare 2007, ScotPEP 2015).
There are effects on relations with police, with sex workers reluctant to report dangerous or violent clients due to concerns over a loss of their livelihood (Krüsi et al 2014, Amnesty International 2015)
In both Sweden and Norway, these laws have provided cover for practices such as the removal of sex workers’ children and deportation of migrant sex workers (Kulick 2003, Amnesty International 2015, ScotPEP 2015).
Sex workers face being reported to hotels or evicted from housing, as it is illegal to provide premises where sex work will take place (Levy and Jacobsson 2014).
Nearly done, Jez - thanks for sticking with it. Nordic Model does not help keep sex workers safe. It does not end trafficking or abuse in the industry. It creates dangerous conditions and endangers lives.
If you want to keep people safe, sex work must be fully decriminalised and seen as work, not a criminal act - just as Amnesty International & the World Health Organisation advocate for.
Basically, Jez - please Do not throw sex workers under a bus because you aren’t brave enough to look at the evidence & say what needs to be said. Criminalising does not work and it never has.
