Prostitution (2007)
In line with our culture's obsession to pursue the shiniest,
chicest, glossiest products, we are being presented with images of
prostitution that have been re-packaged accordingly. This
past couple of months has seen ITV2 present 'The Secret Diary of a
Call Girl' based on the experiences in the online blog of Belle de
Jour. ITV2 has styled Belle's world directly from a high-end
lifestyle magazine. The clothes and the furnishings reflect
Belle's level of income - in one episode she admits to turning over
£105k in the previous financial year - to the point that, were it
not for the fact that she is a sex worker, it presents a highly
aspirational lifestyle.
The link between consumerism and sex was highlighted in a 2007
report commissioned by Safe Exit. The report found that the
proliferation of highly sexualised images of women in mainstream
men's lifestyle magazines, the easy access and availability of
internet porn and the fact that it's socially acceptable to go to a
lap dancing club all contributed to a culture that commodifies sex
as a purchasable experience. Only 2% of respondents said that
the threat of official sanctions, such as removal of their car or
driving license or even imprisonment, would deter them from buying
sex. If men do not wish to cruise around in their cars in
cold weather to buy sex from a street prostitute, they can go
online, point and click. Some sites even take credit
cards.
It is rare that buying sex from a prostitute buys you into the
world of Belle de Jour. In the mid-1990s an estimated 85% of
women working in the UK's brothels were British. Today,
around 85% are from overseas (BBC
Online). The Home Office estimates that around 4,000
women have been trafficked into the sex industry in the UK
(2003). Anecdotally, is not unusual for women to be raped 40
or 50 times daily. Torture is not uncommon for women that are
not compliant with their captor's demands. Access to condoms
is controlled, increasing risk of STIs and HIV, and there have been
reports of cruel and unsafe backstreet abortions for women that
have become pregnant.
Whilst the worst treatment Belle's 'agent' gives her is a
reprimand for not 'sharing' a former client that has decided to
favour another prostitute on her books, a Home Office study in 2000
found that all the women had experienced physical abuse from their
pimp and more than half also suffered rape and sexual abuse.
In the sex industry it is rare that transactions take place
between two fully consenting individuals. It is not merely
about supply and demand. Whilst some may argue that as state
benefits merely allow women and their children to exist on the
poverty line, prostitution allows women to be more in control of
their economic well-being, this is hardly a context where choice
truly informs consent. When this situation is placed within a
culture that fosters gender inequality so casually, the playing
field can never be level during the purchase of sex. Whilst
the legalising of prostitution may lead to increased protection
under employment rights, the context remains the same, only women
have been legitimised as objects that can be bought and used.
ORGANISATIONS & WEBSITES
Safe Exit Partnership
http://www.toynbeehall.org.uk/page.asp?section=000100010001000300020002&pagetitle=Safe+Exit
The Poppy Project
http://www.eaves4women.co.uk/POPPY_Project/POPPY_Project.php
POLICY & REPORTS
'It's just like going to the supermarket': Men buying sex in East
London
CWASU report for Safe Exit, 2007
Streets
Apart: outdoor prostitution in London (PDF, 186kb)
The Poppy Project, 2007
Profitable
exploits: lap dancing in the UK (PDF, 436kb)
Julie Bindel, CWASU, for Glasgow City Council
NEWS ARTICLES
Child
prostitutes available at $100 a night: the human cost of junta's
repression
The Guardian, 30 October 2007
The lure of the courtesan
The Guardian, 14 October 2007
Sorry,
Billie, but prostitution is not about champagne and silk
negligee
The Guardian, 8 October 2007
