For too long, the conversation around sex work has been mired in moralistic judgments and harmful stereotypes. While some voices continue to paint a picture of an "improbable" future where sex work is promoted in schools, the reality is that advocating for the rights of sex workers and their clients is about ensuring safety, dignity, and autonomy for consenting adults. It's not about making it part of the school syllabus or career guidance.
The Reality of "Sex Work Is Work"
The mantra "sex work is work" isn't a flippant catchphrase; it's a fundamental recognition of labor. Just like any other profession, sex work involves an exchange of services for compensation. As Dame Emma Thompson highlighted, drawing from research for her film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, sex workers often approach their profession with a level of professionalism and dedication that is indeed comparable to other fields. To dismiss this simply because the service involves sex is to deny the lived experiences and economic realities of countless individuals.
The "sex-positive" movement isn't about glorifying sex work, but about destigmatizing it and advocating for a framework where sex workers can operate in safer conditions, free from violence, exploitation, and criminalization. When sex work is driven underground due to illegality or severe stigma, it becomes inherently more dangerous for everyone involved.
Why Decriminalization and Rights Matter
The focus on criminalizing either the selling or buying of sex has consistently failed to protect individuals. Instead, it pushes sex work into the shadows, making it harder to address issues like human trafficking, violence, and health concerns.
Supporting the rights of people to sell sex means:
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Ensuring safety: Allowing sex workers to operate legally and openly enables them to report violence, access legal protection, and work in safer environments.
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Empowering individuals: It gives sex workers control over their bodies, their work, and their income, reducing their vulnerability to exploitation.
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Access to healthcare and support: Decriminalization can lead to better access to health services, mental health support, and resources for those who wish to exit sex work.
Supporting the rights of people to buy sex within a legal and regulated framework means:
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Reducing hidden dangers: It allows for clearer boundaries and safer interactions, as transactions are not driven underground.
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Focusing on consent and exploitation: The focus can shift from criminalizing consensual acts to prosecuting actual harm, coercion, and exploitation.
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Protecting privacy: Clients, like sex workers, also deserve a degree of privacy and protection from arbitrary targeting.
Debunking the "Slippery Slope" Fallacy
The argument that supporting sex worker rights will inevitably lead to "GCSEs in kerb-crawling" or sex work being promoted in schools is a scare tactic. It's a classic "slippery slope" fallacy designed to derail legitimate discussions about human rights and safety. Michael Deacon should be ashamed of using this old trope.
No serious advocate for sex worker rights is suggesting that sex work should be a part of school career guidance or curriculum. Just as we don't include other adult professions like accounting, surgery, or construction work in sex education, the discussion around sex work belongs in the realm of adult rights, labor laws, and public health—not primary school classrooms. Sex education, as Baroness Nicholson points out, should be age-appropriate and focus on consent, healthy relationships, and bodily autonomy, regardless of any discussion about sex work.
The core of the argument is simple: consenting adults should have the right to engage in sexual acts for compensation without fear of criminalization, violence, or exploitation. This stance is about harm reduction, individual liberty, and creating a society where all workers, including sex workers, are afforded basic human rights and protections. It's time to move past outdated moral panics and embrace a pragmatic approach that prioritizes safety and autonomy.