Is ‘Sex Work’ Work?

It’s a thorny issue, but one we want to address up front.

At CAAGe (the Campaign Against Adult Grooming), we are conscious that the people who approach us, as well as those who use and deliver our services, hold a range of views on approaches to prostitution and the sex industry. Some view commercial sex as inherently exploitative and harmful, a form of male violence against women. Others adopt the ‘sex as work’ view, seeing involvement as a matter of personal choice.

Whilst we will not, as CAAGe, enter into public debates on the legalisation of prostitution, or which legal models are best in order to protect society and its individuals, we are happy to share people´s views and opinions if they add to the possibility of helping those who find themselves stuck in negative cycles of abuse, exploitation or who have, until now, simply been unable to find another way.

Many believe that the terms “sex work” or “sex worker” legitimise exploitation and trafficking, and using the word “work” normalises this and presents it as the same as other jobs. When we use the term ´sex work´ at CAAGe, we use it to reflect the transactional nature of prostitution and sexual coercion. Nothing further should be read into the term.

The NPC Sex Working Guidance Document offers the following: “People who do not consent to the activity they engage in are not to be considered sex workers. They are victims or survivors of sexual exploitation. People who do consent to sexual activity but are subject to control may not be able to give true consent.”

Whilst trafficking into prostitution is well documented, not all involved as prostitutes are trafficked. Some statistics suggest that the figure is as low as 6%, but not all coercion into the índustry is trafficking. Arriving at meaningful information when people are often afraid to speak up is never going to be easy. All of it is taking advantage of someone else, and it’s rarely an equal deal.

We are able to point at first hand experiences of some of the people we have supported.

The path into sexual exploitation and prostitution is far from straightforward, and the testimonies we have heard include ´boyfriends´ who geographically separate women from their families and support networks and psychologically manipulate them; models who are expected to become more than clothes horses; musicians who have used their influence to lure primarily young women into ´situations´; and some who suggest that they voluntarily chose to enter the ‘profession’ to later find their autonomy removed through abusive landlords, boyfriends, employers, even family.

Sadly, too often people are promised one thing and find themselves groomed into situations where they feel coerced into prostitution or have been left by someone else’s deception in a position where they feel it’s their only way out.

CAAGe believes that people should not be sexually exploited, and that the root causes of exploitation need addressing.