Myths about Sex Work Debunked
Myth: the average age of entry into the sex industry is 13 years old
Fact: this statistic was made up and most studies show sex workers enter the industry in their early 20s
Myth: the sex industry is rife with trafficking
Fact: most human trafficking is in domestic labour and most sex workers are not trafficked. The myth of sex trafficking is used to force voluntary sex workers into sweat shop labour and has its roots in white supremacy
Myth: Criminalising clients makes sex workers safer
Fact: the so-called Nordic model pathologizes sex workers and forces them to take unreasonable risks to protect clients, leading to increased violence in every single place it’s introduced.
Myth: restrictions on sex work protect sex workers
Fact: the carceral state is a constant source of violence and abuse and there is no scenario in which involving the police and the legal system will improve things for sex workers. Police rape, extort, abuse and deport sex workers.
Myth: Sex workers who want decriminalisation are a privileged vocal minority. Most sex workers are poor oppressed victims with no voice.
Fact: sex workers all over the world are demanding their work be recognised as work, not just in the “west” but throughout Asia, Africa, South America, everywhere where sex work happens (which is everywhere). Sex workers are all negatively impacted by criminalization regardless of where they live or how much money they make.
Myth: Abolishing sex work is anticapitalist
Fact: this logic wouls say that we should refuse to give refugees citizenship because we’re opposed to borders. There is no way to use the carceral state against marginalised people and dress it up as anticapitalist. You’re oppressing an already vulnerable group with state violence.
Myth: sex workers need to be stopped from spreading disease (or, sex workers need to be protected from contracting disease)
Fact: sex workers have higher levels of condom use than the general population. Criminalization makes it harder for sex workers to insist on condoms, and mandating condom use allows police coerce sex workers into not using condoms then arrest them for breaking the law.
Myth: Opposing sex work is a human rights stance
Fact: every human rights organisation with any merit is in favour of decriminalisation and supporting sex workers rights such a Amnesty International, UNAIDS, the International Labour Organisation, Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women, and Human Rights Watch.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. This entire blog is a source really. Check /tagged/criminalization, /tagged/sex-work-research, /tagged/sex-trafficking, /tagged/nordic-model, or navigate to the about page.
If you’d be so kind I’d really like to counter the anti sex worker propaganda that’s become so common on Tumblr so please consider reblogging
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