More in Exasperation than in Anger

Selling shoes with sex ok, selling sex, not so much.

Socially conservative "anti-trafficking" blog exoduscry has been toiling away in the vineyards, ensuring that everyone is aware of the great, pressing problem of Human Trafficking. And what better way to go about that then taking advantage of the anniversary of the release of Pretty Woman and contrast Julia Roberts with the most raddled coke-whore they could find an image of?

It speaks so eloquently of what they had to say about ongoing crisis that is White Slavery ... I mean, "Human Trafficking"

How many young, naive, and unsuspecting women over the last 25 years were deceived by the fairy tale of Pretty Woman and led into a life of abuse, trauma, and slavery? We can only estimate the role—however big or small—that this film played in adding to the vulnerability of young women at risk for being coerced into the industry. As such, the cast today should be issuing an apology to those women and raising awareness about the plight of girls trafficked in the commercial sex industry, as well as the inherent and serious harms of prostitution. You see, Julia Roberts’ teethy smile is not the true face of prostitution. The real face of prostitution is the battered and bruised face of Maria, an actual prostituted woman in Eastern Europe who is depicted in this award-winning photograph. Maria, like 75 percent of women in prostitution, has been raped. Maria, like 95 percent of women in prostitution has been seriously physically abused and battered. Maria, like 68 percent of women in prostitution suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to her “job”.3 Maria most likely entered into prostitution as a child after a history of sexual abuse, as most women in prostitution do. And Maria is probably under the brutally abusive control of a pimp, as most women in prostitution are. Maria is a victim of sex trafficking. Julia’s role was indeed a fantasy. The reality isn’t pretty. Don’t believe the myth.

Now, that makes perfect sense to the sort of people they are used to motivate donations from. The worst thing that could have happened was for it to come to the attention of - well, the women you see. Women who are professional prostitutes and women who are already pretty active in promoting a harm-reduction approach to the issue.

But people like those at Exoduscry do not feel that professional sex workers are incapable of speaking for themselves, or of being unaware of the professional risks of what they consider to be ... well, their jobs. But they are - and Scarlet Alliance, the Austrailan Sex Worker's Association prompted a twitterstorm in response.

Alas, they overreached. One of their blog posts went viral via mamamia, an Australian woman's interest site. When a Social Conservative's sex-related viewpoint escapes the yard, outrage, hilarity and confusion is bound to follow - much as it would had they accused everyone in the media of being whores. Speaking of the Daily Mail, who's all over this.

Oddly, the story is no longer to be found on mamamia.

Real Risks, Real Concerns, Real Research, Real Answers

Sex Worker's activism is not new.

Sex work is a job with a constant demand that nobody wants to admit they want to have available. But like every other thing that people want and other people think they shouldn't, a black market springs up. It's the black market that leads to human trafficking. It's_ illegal_, after all. Criminal involvement by people who are actual criminals by measures other than social disapproval are bound to get involved. But there's little profit for the men, women and boys who are the commodities of this clandestine trade.

Trafficked women cannot complain. They can be abused, raped, exploited and murdered with near impunity. The odds of police taking the issue of violence against sex workers (legitimate or trafficked) is very low - but an illegal immigrant is at an even greater disadvantage.

Sex workers point out that if prostitution were legal, it would be safer for everyone. The idea is tried here and there, from time to time, and the more and better it works, the greater the outcry against it. You could read through stacks of information on the internet, scholorly studies or just pull up "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas." The classic Dolly Parton musical may not be a documentary, but it is an excellent reductio-ad-absurdem of the social forces at play.

The Answers Are Out There

One of the older groups out there is COYOTE. COYOTE was founded in 1973 to work for the repeal of the prostitution laws and an end to the stigma associated with sex work. And here's what they have to say about it, in a nutshell.

The laws prohibiting the soliciting or engaging in a consenting adult act of prostitution, or patronizing a prostitute, should be repealed (decriminalized as opposed to legalized).

The laws against pimping (living off the earnings of a prostitute) and pandering (encouraging someone to work as a prostitute) should also be repealed, to be replaced with labor laws dealing with working conditions in third-party owned and managed prostitution businesses. Laws which prohibit coercive behavior including forced trafficking and hiring underage persons for the purpose of prostitution (or any other sex work) should be vigorously enforced and punishment for acts of force, threat of force, rape, statutory rape and any other coercive tactics should be imposed without regard to their occupation or status in the community (such as police officers, immigration officials and elected politicians).

Sex Workers are real people with real needs.

That's the gist of it. They are people with a range of options. It's quite possible their options are limited. It may well be they have been traumatized - insufficiently to deter them from ever having sex, but traumatized, neglected and so forth. Granting that, it should be obvious that it's unhelpful to remove an option without providing an alternative that's equally or more attractive. "Concern" does not pay the rent.

It's fine if you see prostitution as a social ill. But that would suggest the solution is also social.