To think that grooming students into casual jobs as 'Sex Workers' is wrong

[theOtherPamAyres]

Freshers' Fair for new students at Brighton University featured a 'Sex Workers' stall.

If your son or daughter, fresh out of school, fancied a well paid but highly dangerous casual job then there were tips and leaflets on how to stay safe, and goody bags of lubricants and condoms.

In such a way, the prostitution trade is normalised.

It is sold as an 'empowering', edgy thing and lucrative self-employment. It is marketed with faux concern for young people's safety. (I bet they don't actually reveal the extent of beatings, robberies and rapes of prostituted men and women, though!)

Any young person who might think that sex work isn't all it's cracked up to be will keep their views to themselves, in the face of such enthusiasm and endorsement from the University. No-one wants to be labelled a SW erf (Sex worker exclusionary radical feminist).

Is that what we want for our adult children?

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/30/brighton-university-accused-encouraging-prostitution-sex-workers/

...sigh.

If it reads like I think people's objections are with this charity offering support that was not my intention at all. I know that isn't the objection. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you think their presence at freshers' fair was inappropriate as you think it will normalise for students the idea of becoming a sex worker, right?

Whereas I think their presence there was completely appropriate because it is known that more and more students are getting into sex work, and the only way to make contact with those students before they find themselves in a situation of high risk and vulnerability is at fresher's fair.

Just curious, why do you say this charity was promoting sex work as "just a hobby like any other"? Is that something they actually said or is that your paraphrasing their message? I looked at their website and didn't get that impression of them at all

you think their presence at freshers' fair was inappropriate as you think it will normalise for students the idea of becoming a sex worker, right?

No. It’s not the charity having a presence that I object to. It is what they are doing with that presence.

Just curious, why do you say this charity was promoting sex work as "just a hobby like any other"? Is that something they actually said or is that your paraphrasing their message?

It’s me paraphrasing some of the writings they have promoted on their Twitter account - specifically, that sex work should be viewed as a commercial transaction and a job just like any other commercial transaction/job.

Disgraceful that a stall like this was at a Freshers Fair. Of course it is normalising prostitution.

Anyone on here apologising for it needs to take a long hard look at themselves.

No. It’s not the charity having a presence that I object to. It is what they are doing with that presence.

Oh, okay. What specifically? I think I'm missing some detail on this then.

I thought they had a couple of things to engage with students and get their name remembered (wheel of sexual health; because every student should be interested in the sexual health, that's not a sex worker thing!; and a sex-related goody bag, right?), and that's about it.

I got freebies from all sorts on my freshers week all those years ago; that's how they get you to go to their stall. They aren't doing it to "lure you in", they're doing it to engage with students because otherwise they'll walk straight past them to the more rewarding interesting stalls, and those could be the students who ended up in sex work!

If you have nothing to give away, how can the vulnerable cam girl go up to the stall? What's her excuse, if not because she's either a sex worker or thinks one day she might be? That wouldn't be very effective outreach. But give them free shit and students don't bat an eyelid. It's entirely normal from what I remember.

that sex work should be viewed as a commercial transaction and a job just like any other commercial transaction/job.

This is such a contentious phrase that can have positive and negative interpretations in my book. It's hard without context. I don't think they're saying prostitution is a "hobby" though; that's taking it a bit far.

Oh, okay. What specifically? I think I'm missing some detail on this then.

This is about the eighth time I’ve been over this in this thread, so apologies in advance for any snappiness at this point, but once again:

I would not have a problem with a charity supporting addicts having a presence at freshers fair.
I would start having a problem with it if said charity was pushing the line that heroin is a hobby just like any other hobby, inviting people to come and play on a wheel of drug wellbeing, and not giving any more than lip service to supporting people to quit or recognising that there are any inherent dangers to addiction.

I would not have a problem if a charity supporting students with debt had a presence at the fresher’s fair.
I would start having a problem if said charity was presenting payday loans as a fun and common way to support yourself at university, complete with lots of language about how they totally respect your autonomy and your choice as a free individual to take out such a loan. Especially if their Twitter account was happily retweeting Wonga.

I would not have a problem with the Samaritans having a presence at the fresher’s fair.
I would start having a problem if the Samaritans changed approach to sound an awful lot like they didn’t have any problems with the idea of suicide, complete with fun spin-the-wheel games. Which is kind of a ridiculous scenario re: them and suicide specifically. But it is not so ridiculous with the idea of prostitution, is it?

I do not have a problem with a charity supporting sex workers having a presence at fresher’s fair. (And I certainly don’t have any problem with them or anyone else giving away condoms!)
I do have a problem with this specific organisation taking this specific approach, for the same reason as I would all the above.

I was happy to believe they had maybe been misrepresented in the press - happens a lot! Which is why I dug around myself to try and find out what they did and what they offered, in case they had indeed been massively misrepresented. Alas, this didn’t seem to be the case.

I don't think they're saying prostitution is a "hobby" though; that's taking it a bit far.

I didn’t say they were. It’s a parallel I was making with a hypothetical ‘addict support’ organisation, in response to someone asking if we’d have the same objections about a charity that was there to support addicts.

The view they are happy to promote, or at least whoever runs their social media is happy to promote, is that sex work is a job like any other, is a commercial transaction, and should not be viewed as inherently abusive or the result of systematic sexism. That kind of attitude is, yes, normalising.

(I also have some real doubts about that “1 in 6” figure they’re using. Another part of normalisation is pretending something is far more common than it in fact is. But I don’t know where they got that.)

Why is it assumed that naivety plays a role in objections to this. I am objecting to this because I have worked with young people engaged in selling sex. Before this work I was much more hip and cool about it all. Experience has shown me the damage it can do.
I am in favour of young people receiving support for any risky and damaging behaviour they are involved in, drug use, alcohol misuse, sex work, anything else.
A freshers fair with a spin the wheel attraction isn't the time or place or for this support. In this case the background ethos of the organisation seems to normalise the activity which may be why they thought a freshers fair was a good place to go.

If you have nothing to give away, how can the vulnerable cam girl go up to the stall? What's her excuse, if not because she's either a sex worker or thinks one day she might be?

Like I said upthread though, what would these people say if a fresher went up to them and asked them advice about whether she should enter the industry?

Wouldn't a reply of 'don't do it, it's incredibly dangerous and selling your body for money is dehumanising, your body is not a commodity for men, its not worth the money and we can support you to find other employment' be too SWERFy? This is a genuine question by the way, I don't know enough to know how they would respond.

I also totally agree with 53rdway.

Like I said upthread though, what would these people say if a fresher went up to them and asked them advice about whether she should enter the industry?

You'd have to ask them, wouldn't you? If it were me I would say, "we're not here to advise you on what's right for you as an individual, or to pass judgement on whatever path you feel you want to pursue. But what we will do is support you if you find yourself turning to sex work and help you be the safest you can be in that situation. Because there are risk and dangers and specific health concerns associated with sex work, which everyone should be aware of."

Wouldn't that be okay??

A lot of people on this thread assuming that it is a good outreach opportunity to reach young people already involved in prostitution at a freshers fair.

It is still the case (?) that most go to university after school. So,18,and moving away from home. The assumption is that > in what may be a new town and while getting to grips with where they're living, the layout of the university etc and making friends, they are working as prostitutes. At what is likely to be 18.

This feels like a stretch TBH.

I feel that their outreach efforts would have been better spent elsewhere.

For those claiming that a freshers fair at a university is a great place to target a high number of young people already involved in prostitution who may want help >> seriously?

Girls who are working as prostitutes before this age (and they would have to be to be actively working in continuation at their brand new university) >> it's illegal isn't it? To pay for sex or to sell sex if you are under 18? And yet here we have the fun wheel being offered up as if it's totally reasonable and expected that plenty of these freshers will be old hands at this at age 18.

Yep I'm going with a hard nope on this.

IF they were genuinely interested in Outreach then their method is inapproprite and shite.

And yes they are normalising it.Obviosuly. Because having a stall at the freshers fair for those who work in the sex trade, is normalising it.

But, there is a big driive to normalise it, and say that men paying you to stick their dicks in your orifices is the same as bar work >> better even as you get more money for "less work".

Which section of society benefits from this exactly. Hmmm tricky.

To a PP who flagged the Cardif Uni sex work study that said 1 in 20 were involved >> they also said it was more men than women.

I would be interested to see the questions !

If you are an old hand working in prostitution at 18 then you have been abused.

It really is as simple as that.

In which case is a wheel of sexual wellbeing or whatever it was, and a few condoms, really what's needed.

Nothing when I went to fresher's fair (not recently!) I didn't need an STD test. I didn't need help with anxiety, or bereavement. I didn't need a rape alarm. I didn't need support with my studies. But I found out where and how I could get all of those things at fresher's fair.

By the time I'd finished uni I'd used them all. And if it hadn't been for fresher's fair I may not have known where to find them.

Right.

Do the only time it's possible to advise students of any and all support services that will be available to them for the duration of their studies is at freshers fairs.

Gotcha.

I would assert that these orgs have utterly shit outreach and engagement progs if the first only and final time they ever give their info is at a freshers fair, and whoever is funding them needs to take a close look.

People on here are reaching big time and for what? To support 18yo girls off to uni being reminded that loads of men see them as a set of orifices. And this view is accepted by the uni.

Yes welcome indeed.

Nothing when I went to fresher's fair (not recently!) I didn't need an STD test. I didn't need help with anxiety, or bereavement. I didn't need a rape alarm. I didn't need support with my studies. But I found out where and how I could get all of those things at fresher's fair.

Really? As a new student to university at fresher's fair you went round to the Bereavement support, student support, anxiety support stalls, even though you had no need for those services at the time, and collected all the information you would ever need for your time at uni?

By the time I'd finished uni I'd used them all. And if it hadn't been for fresher's fair I may not have known where to find them.

Really?

There was no other kind of advertising going on in your university students union, no other way of finding out how to access those services, so if you had missed Freshers Fair for some reason you were screwed? Your student union needed to sort their support services out big time.

“hello, welcome to freshers fair. Statistically, we know that 1 in 6 of you will resort to prostitution and escorting before you graduate. I’m afraid that due to media hysteria, we can’t signpost any help or support until you’ve turned enough tricks by yourself for people to be satisfied we didn’t give you the idea. Do pop back when it’s just a bit too late for advice on how to stay safe. Enjoy your freshers week!”

Fenella

The Big Lottery Fund provided Swansea University with the money to survey over 6750 students.

3.5% had become prostituted women
5% had become prostituted men

A quarter of that number found it difficult to leave.
A quarter were scared and did not feel safe.

Source: Student Sex Work Project, Swansea University

I can't for the life of me how anyone who supports supporting women can consider that "normalisation". To me that is so counter to the good work of these charities; do the Samaritans normalise suicide?

If the Samaritan's freshers fair stall consisted of handing out salve cream for the rope burns around student necks, and a lot of reassurance that they weren't there to stop anyone taking their own life, I'd object, yes.

But the Samaritans won't do that, because they aren't daft, and the last thing that they want to do is normalise suicide. They spend a great deal of their efforts in avoiding normalising suicide.

This discussion makes me so angry. Prostitution is an incredibly abusive industry that destroys women's lives and anyone who promotes it as no big deal and calls it "sex work" ought to be ashamed of themselves.

I went to university in 1985. At the main entrance, just opposite the bus stop that served everywhere to get onto campus a bloke was handing out flyers for staff for a spearmint rhino club opening in town.
Students must have been rich pickings for ages. And we had grants.

Archery we (judging by what others have also written on this thread) only call it "sex work" because what we're referring to is not just prostitution. You know that, right?

Prostitution is prostitution. Lap dancing is lap dancing. Camming is camming.

Sex work is any/all of these.

Bullshit, Rat. There's a whole political agenda in calling it "sex work", and if you don't realise that then you need to educate yourself.

ArcheryAnnie support charities aren’t “promoting it as no big deal*, they just are a little more sensible than you. If they went in going “OOOH ALL SEX WORK IS A POLITICAL AGENDA AND DISGUSTING AND WE MUST SAVE YOOOOOOOU” then most people would run a mile. Non-judgemental support is more likely to be accepted.