What prostitution really means for women

This fortnight’s feminist roundup features three items that address the reality of prostitution in supposedly progressive first world states – jurisdictions where we often mistakenly assume human rights are universally available.

In May this year the Executive Director of CATW-I (Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International) Taina Bien-Aime interviewed German psychologist Dr Ingeborg Kraus. The text of the interview was published online in The World Post (an affiliate publication of The Huffington Post).

Dr Kraus speaks very plainly of the harms arising from the deregulation of prostitution in Germany in 2002. Germany has the most liberal prostitution laws in the world, and it now has around 400 000 women working in prostitution, the overwhelming majority of whom are from poorer European countries.

Burdened by the impediments of poverty, and separation from family, and unfamiliarity with their rights and the German language, these prostituted persons, who are mostly women, a subjected to a range of iniquities in German mega brothels.

The idea that ‘sex work’ is just a job like any other is comprehensively negated by their experiences, and the culture of entitlement to all manner of sexual abuse motivating buyers of sex in Germany.

Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taina-bienaime/germany-wins-the-title-of_b_7446636.html

This month Ms Bien-Aime published a second interview in The World Post. Her subject was Dr Julia Geynisman, a Russian born, American raised obstetrics and gynaecology specialist.

Two years ago, Dr Geynisman founded the Survivor Clinic in New York to assist women who have survived or are surviving gender violence, including sexual violence and female genital mutilation.

Many of the clinic’s patients are current or former prostituted persons. Their needs are complex – both physical and psychological – their exposure to harm is significant, and their ability to access health care often compromised.

Dr Geynisman considers it ‘absurd’ that prostitution is called an ‘occupation’. Her work is focused on harm elimination, rather than the ‘harm reduction’ approach that facilitates the continued sexual abuse and exploitation of prostituted persons.

Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taina-bienaime/if-you-build-itthey-will-_b_7785724.html

Natasha Falle is a Canadian survivor of prostitution who acted as adviser to the Canadian government in their formulation of Nordic Model style legislation for prostitution in 2014.

Ms Falle is the founder of Sex Trade 101, a sex trade survivors and abolitionists organisation that works to raise public awareness of the damaging reality of prostitution. The organisation is a diverse group of women who have survived prostitution – they are a powerful voice against the myths plaguing the sex trade today, its normalisation in modern culture and the erroneous notions of ‘choice’ and ‘female autonomy’ underlying the ‘just a job’ mantra.

Read more at http://www.sextrade101.com