GRIOTS REPUBLIC - An Urban Black Travel Mag - March 2016

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY
Fighting for Sexworker’s Rights
Written By: Kate McGrew
In 2008 I was living in NYC, a city once known
for its debaucherous spirit that was sadly
suffering raids on much of its sex industry.
This included the mid-town BDSM dungeon
where I catered to the peculiarities of men
and couples wanting to be dominated, or for
the lucky discerning gentleman, to take me
as a submissive. That August, I went on a
family holiday to Ireland and on the Arran
Island of Inishmore, I met a nice young man.
He offered me residence with his family if I
wanted to extend my visit to “experience real
Ireland”, as they were accustomed to taking
in travellers to work in their garden for a
period. Impulsively, I stayed and discovered
that Ireland also provided fertile ground for
artistic creation. I began a life here, busy
writing music and performing shows. Later,
during the lowest point of the country’s
economic crash, I started working again
in the sex industry, first in strip clubs then
putting myself on a website as a full service
escort. I was happy to have the financial
salve sex work provided.
Just like NYC, Ireland soon began cracking
down on the industry. The “Turn Off the
Red Light” campaign combined a coalition
of groups aimed at abolishing prostitution
through “End Demand” tactics. It is a
campaign calling for the criminalisation
of the purchase of sex using the Swedish
model, a model since proven to infringe on
the health, safety, and human rights of the
workers.
If they turn off the red light, we will all be in
the dark.
The industry is still in the criminal sector,
so workers have strained relations with the
police. Complicated restrictions around
where and how you can work mean that many
people fall in between the cracks, bypassing
a legal path and relying on third parties or
becoming more vulnerable to traffickers to
sort the details for them.
Holland and Germany have legalised sex
work, but New Zealand and Australia have the
model that sex work organisations worldwide
prefer. Sex work is fully decriminalised.
Legitimizing sex work within the labor
sector, workplaces are inspected by the
Labor or Health departments instead of by
police raids. Law enforcement relations have
improved and workers have realistic access
to the justice system, solving disputes via
legal redress. A woman famously sued her
brothel-owner for harassment in New Zealand
in 2013 and was awarded 25,000 dollars. It
is fairly simple to get a flexible license to
suit your particular circumstances. Because
of this flexibility and decriminalization, big
brothels went out of favor in New Zealand
in 2003, giving rise to SOOBs (small owner
operated brothels) where up to 4 women
work together in an apartment.
In the Republic of Ireland, it is currently legal
to both sell and buy sex, within extremely
narrow parameters. It is legal for me to work
because I work alone, and I work indoors.
We are not allowed to solicit, work in pairs
or groups, work outdoors, or hire anyone
as security or to manage our bookings. No
one, not even a partner or relative, is allowed
to share in the earnings of our work. Most
workers get caught with charges for “brothelkeeping”,
although this definition includes
even only two women working together for
safety.
This criminal record often forms a barrier
for people to leave the industry and secure
other work. The Sexual Offences Bill was