Why are we forcing women to stay in sex work?

[SummerFeverVenice]

Primary school teacher was struck off for moonlighting as a sex worker. It all started with an anonymous letter outing her on the website she used to advertise. Selling sex in England and Wales is perfectly legal. This isn’t like she was selling class A drugs.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/primary-school-teacher-struck-off-after-anonymous-letter-exposed-her-as-1-600-a/

This has upset me as she should not have been struck off for something that is technically a legal side hustle. It is putting a scarlet letter on her and causing her to now be forced to do sex work under severe economic duress. She’s lost her entire career.

As a feminist, we should be encouraging women not to do or continue to do sex work if they have a better option to earn money, like teaching in a primary school. We shouldn’t be excluding sex workers from these jobs.

In my opinion, she should have been given a warning to cease and desist sex work or be moved into an admin position. It seems to me that her being struck off was punishing her for being a “whore” by dooming her to have no other option to survive than more sex work. It feels all very Victorian fallen womanish to me. The admin position is more a reluctant concession on my part towards prudish parents who get up in arms at the thought of their child being taught their ABCs by a sex worker because they think immorality is contagious.

Which is strange because we all know that the upper class fathers were having sex with their children’s governesses and nannies and these children all turned out to be pillars of the community, some even went on to be ordained archbishops.

It’s always blame the woman. It doesn’t matter that someone was clearly looking for a sex worker and came across her ad, that’s absolutely fine and excusable but for her to be offering it is the awful thing.

it’s not like any of her pupils are going to come across her profile, just the pervert fathers.

Sex work isn't a legitimate side hustle when you're a primary school teacher.

She also had pictures of her having sex on a swingers site and her sex work website gave prices for various activities. Most places would fire you for advertising sexual services especially occupations like teaching.

I can't believe a feminist thinks sex work is a legitimate side hustle.

Well said Summer.

The law says it is a legitimate side hustle. It is perfectly legal to sell sex no matter what your day job is.

As a feminist, I think sex for money should be abolished but the reality is that is not going to happen anytime soon and furthermore, this decision to strike off a teacher FORCES her to now rely on sex work 100% to pay all her bills. It is pushing her further into the sex industry. What she might have done consensually and to top up her wages, she is now being forced to do just to eat, have a roof over her head, pay the bills, etc.

If we cared about her as a woman, she would not have been (punished) struck off but warned she should stop the sex side hustle or be moved from classroom to administration.

Or better yet, why don’t we pay teachers a better wage so they don’t have to resort to sex work to offset the cost of living, housing, energy and health crises which have made all of us poorer?

Why is the focus on punishing her in a way that traps her in the sex industry? It’s not a woman centred solution.

Too, why is it that male primary school teachers can likely buy sex, keep their jobs, and it not impact their career, but a female primary school teacher cannot sell sex and keep her job? They’re not at risk of being outed are they?

This is all about our antiquated society thinking fallen women should be kept away from children lest they corrupt them and punished by intentionally trapping them in the violent, degrading sex industry by closing off any escape they might have had from it.

Exactly. The “solution” just makes her more sexually available to these tossers by taking away her career.

I had not thought about it like this and I agree with you entirely.

She broke her contract. Anyone who breaks their contract is likely to lose their job. Teachers cant be "moved into an admin position"

It’s so sexist to strike her off. She wasn’t breaking any law and yet you can have a criminal record and become or remain a teacher!

”If you have a criminal record that needs to be disclosed, it will not automatically prevent you from becoming a teacher.
Offences which would be considered to be most concerning would include:

• Sexual offences
• Crimes of violence
• Crimes of dishonesty including fraud or embezzlement
• Offences relating to possession or supply of illegal drugs
• Any offences against children or which raised concern with regard to child protection.

When considering a person’s suitability to become or remain a teacher schools will review:

• The length of time which has passed since the offence without any further convictions
• The seriousness of the offence and whether it may be relevant to a person’s position as a teacher
• Whether it would be proportionate to remove a person from the profession or prevent them joining the profession on the basis of the offence committed
• Were any children directly involved either as victims or in terms of being put at risk?
• The explanation provided by the teacher or applicant”

https://unlock.org.uk/advice/teacher/

Although the picture online issue clouds it a little. But you still make a very cogent argument which is very thought provoking

What part of the contract is that? Apparently you can commit a crime and stay a teacher…

She broke her contract though. Her contract would involve restrictions on what she can post publicly on social media. She broke her contract so she loses her job.

I'm fairly sure you sign a contract not to bring the school into disrepute. I think the pictures publicly available did do that

That contract clause needs to go as an unenforceable and an unwarranted intrusion on someone’s private life outside work.

“Disrepute” is so laden with subjective morality that used is most often in a sexist fashion to keep women in line.

How many MPs go around leaving a trail of pregnant girlfriends, caught giving million £ contracts to best mates, spouting racist hate speech and despite all the disrepute they bring on their largely male heads, they aren’t struck off from their career.

She should have been given the opportunity to come into compliance with the contract at the very least.

she can't comply with her contract. You can't remove those sorts of pictures from the internet, they are permanent

Nonsense, shes not forced into sex work to pay her bills. She can go get a delivery driver job, hospitality, or anything else. There are jobs out there, she might not like them but it’s not sex work or nothing!

She chose a high risk 2nd job, knowing she was in breach of contract. An employer doesn’t have to give you a chance to remove social media or make changes suggested above if you’ve been blatantly and knowingly in breach, and why should they? She could have taken any other type of 2nd job, tutoring, supermarket work, bar work, all with her employers permission but she chose not to ask.

What is she most likely to do? More sex work. That is the reality of how this plays out. Her photo is plastered everywhere, no one is going to hire her. One of those businesses that offers topless or naked cleaners might.

I am not sure she knew it was in breach of contract, the phrase “bring school into disrepute” is very vague especially when being capriciously applied to teachers that have broken no law but not applied to teachers clock up criminal convictions.

You can delete accounts and have photos removed. You can stop selling sex.

Yes people could still find old screenshots and suchlike as others might reupload anything they have saved down. But her site would be shut down.

I agree it makes for an interesting argument. Looking at various scenarios:

Let's say she had a side hustle selling cupcakes along with a website advertising prices etc. Then I think she would have kept her job although some employers have a blanket ban on employees having outside businesses.

Let's say a male teacher paid for prostitutes, if a scarlet letter was sent accusing him of this then he could of course deny it and proving it would be difficult. But let's say he had a website boasting of his prostitute activity including photos then I think there would be a strong chance he would be fired.

Lastly let's say she kept her job as a teacher but continued with her sex work and the associated website. There is a question of how the school's customers (ie parents) feel about this and whether her employer (school) feels that it brings reputational harm to the school. For example if she had a website exposing extreme (but let's say just barely legal) political views which brought reputation damage to the school - should she still keep her job.

It's an interesting situation.

it is not undoable - you can't erase the pictures, you can't erase the knowledge and memories in the heads of the community. She cant teach in that community

Because of misogyny driving the need to punish her for violating sexual mores in a way no man is punished ever, rather than a woman centred solution that doesn’t destroy her career, recognises the fact she didn’t break any law, and encourages her to disengage from sex work.

She said she started it out of loneliness caused by the Covid lockdowns. For single people living alone, Covid had a huge impact on mental health. I can see her starting this as a way to get human contact and the semblance of affection and then finding it hard to step away.

No one thought to help her, only to punish her.

nothing to do with being a women, a male teacher would also be sacked

Just a note of appreciation for all the thoughtful replies and not just the ones that agree with me. Disagreement that is thought provoking is just as valuable and I am just happy to have a lively discussion.

Males are maybe 1% of sex workers. Men who buy sex from men almost always stay in the 18-24yr old age range. It usually takes until 24 to be fully qualified as a teacher, so this is vanishingly unlikely.

This disproportionately affects women by an estimated factor of more than 1000 to 1, and so is indirectly sexist.

The teacher signed a contract when she started work, stating that she wouldn't do anything that may bring the profession into disrepute. That is conduct that could potentially damage the public's perception of a teacher.

She didn't go into sex work because she needed the money, she went into it out of choice knowing that she was breaking the terms of her contract. Most businesses have terms in their contracts about damaging the brand.

You can't put pictures of yourself having sex and openly sell sexual services and maintain a career like teaching. I challenge you to find a case of a man selling sexual services openly who retained a traditional career.