Thread by @MKellyPalm

In the audience at @nordicmodelnow event #PowerPlay listening to the amazing Heli St Luce explain how #sexwork became a euphemism for exploitation
#NotSexNotWork

The youngest girl rescued from the red light trafficking district in Amsterdam in 2020 was two years old
#PowerPlay
#NotSexNotWork

The rise of neoliberalism and unrestrained capitalism has given rise to the expansion of the sex trade and a lack of material analysis in academia props it up.
#PowerPlay
#NotSexNotWork

The #NordicModel is the only legal framework which recognises the sexploitation industry as the structural oppression that it is.
#PowerPlay
#NotSexNotWork

The #NordicModel framework consists of

1 Decrim selling sex
2 Services and exit routes - real long term investment
3 Buying sex as a criminal offence
4 Strong laws against trafficking pimping and brothel keeping
5 Holistic measures in wider society Inc education and training -… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

#Fulldecrim on the other hand
1 Turns pimping and brothelkeeping into legal businesses
2 Normalises buying sex
3 Expands the trade including increasing trafficking
4 Makes trafficking more difficult to detect and convict
5 Offer no exit support

Next up the brilliant @fiona_broadfoot who is a sex trade survivor and founder of Build A Girl discussing the hypersexualisation and grooming of young people
#PowerPlay
#NotSexNotWork

Fiona talks about the high comorbidity of childhood sexual abuse and later entry into the sex trade, as well as comorbidity with substance misuse and domestic violence in the household
#PowerPlay
#NotSexNotWork

Im finding it impossible not to tear up as Fiona talks about the effects of abuse, disassociation and #PTSD on sex trade survivors.
#PowerPlay
#NotSexNotWork

Now a piece called 'Sugaring the Pill' where women will perform pieces written by young women who have been in webcamming. How pervasive it is, how accessible....and the inevitable harms and dangers. Mention of female pimps. The attraction of 'easy money'.
#PowerPlay… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

How easy the boundaries are laid down in order to make ends meet and in response to coercion and grooming. The best look to earn the most money? The 'teen next door.' Best way to boost profits? Engage with punters offline. Make actual porn.
The earning potential is a Myth.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Set up costs. Processing fees. The crazy cuts taken by the sites. The difficulty of getting seen.
Now a story from a young woman groomed into camming by her physically abusive ex.
This hits hard. #PowerPlay
#NotSexNotWork

Revenge porn. How once your face is out on the Internet, it's almost impossible to get rid of.
Stalking as another 'occupational hazard.' #NotSexNotWork
#PowerPlay

OnlyFans and how successful the site has been in conning women onto the site with headlines promising millions.
The majority of 'creators' on OnlyFans take home less than £116 pound a month for hours of 'work.' Because of this, most will go on to porn and/or prostitution. Only… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Esther is up now talking about the idea that prostitution can ever conform to 'employment law.'
Prostitution is CONTROL of sexual activity. The buyer gets to decide what happens, what he wants, even down to the physical characteristics of the seller.
#PowerPlay
#NotSexNotWork

What would a job specification look like for #prostitution? To have unwanted sex with multiple men, who see you as an object. To learn to disassociate, and fast. To lay down your own sexual boundaries and not complain about it. If you have a boss, it's your pimp. Remuneration… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

The enormous power imbalance between sex buyers and the women and ppl they exploit leaves sellers with little to no protections. The health and safety risks alone cannot possibly be legislated for. Risk of murder is higher than for any other sector.
#NotSexNotWork #PowerPlay

Exited survivors talking about the risks and harms are silenced in a way no others are. Veterans who have similar PTSD rates are encouraged to talk about the torture they endure. Exited women are told they are contributing to stigma.
#NotSexNotWork #PowerPlay

If #prostitution was made to conform to the Equality Act 2010 its market driven business model would fail. The sex trade advertises overt discrimination against protected characteristics such as sex, race, age and gender reassignment. Just have a look at some adverts and porn… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Some mega brothels in Germany segregate women by race and age. Would this be acceptable anywhere else? Race, age and social class are fetishised.
Interviews with sex buyers indicate that exposure would deter them the most.
#PowerPlay #NotSexNotWork

Sex buyers are more invested than anyone else in keeping up the stigma against prostituted women, because they need those women to 'stay in their class' so they can continue to use them.
#PowerPlay #NotSexNotWork

Last speaker is Kellie Ziemba whose lived experience has driven her many years of work within #VAWG include strategy lead within rape crisis centres and currently CEO of @Kairos_WWT.
She starts by sharing her own powerful story. #PowerPlay #NotSexNotWork

Discusses local sexual exploitation rings, familial trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors around the local club and DJ scene. So much happens in plain sight to #workingclass girls and society turns a blind eye.
Pipeline from stripping to prostitution. Dangers of #BDSM… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Exit routes are often step by step, not a linear path. Need multi agency support. Often some overlap between 'old life' and 'new life.' Holistic support is needed to address whole person and range of needs. Women in prostitution often fall through the cracks of single issue… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Women in prostitution are impacted by structural injustice, victim blaming and pathologisation. Many services only focuses on harm reduction, but that can only be a start, robust exit support is vital and needs to be explicitly on offer.
#NotSexNotWork #PowerPlay

That's all for today my hands are killing! Blown away by the power of these womens stories and expertise. Please do go follow @nordicmodelnow @fionabroadfoot and @kairoswwt