The Guardian celebrates as prostitute made Dame in Queen's Birthday Honours List for 'her services to the industry'

[CaitlynsCat]

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/04/new-zealand-former-sex-worker-becomes-a-dame-in-queens-birthday-honours

The official wording is

www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/lists/qb2018-dnzm#healyca

"For services to the rights of sex workers."

This is for setting up the NZ Prostitutes Collective.

As the following notes, the NZPC can be very fairly said to be for services to the sex trade - it receives substantial funding from the NZ government which supports the sex trade.

reneejg.net/2018/01/03/nz-sex-trade-comprehensive/

They like to employ men (!) like Calum Bennachie, whose background was in 'Controlling anti-gay hate speech' before becoming NZPC programme coordinator.

They drafted the bill that decriminalised prostitution in NZ and work closely with brothel owners who enjoy very light regulation/inspection digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1116&context=dignity . They are now trying to repeal anti sex trafficking law in NZ www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1803/S00106/proposal-to-decriminalise-sex-trafficking-must-be-challenged.htm, having previously denied that it exists www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/103129627/no-trafficking-in-nz-sex-industry-but-migrant-abuse-is-widespread-report-finds a ridiculous claim that only the most brazen of shills could make

I suppose pimp is a better term than prostitute at this point.

"NZPC advertises that it can help in completing the application to set up a brothel and apply for a brothel operator’s certificate. The NZPC website directs applicants to the Ministry of Justice portal that lists requirements for prospective brothel owners. The applicant must be over 18; a New Zealand or Australian citizen or permanent resident; pay a fee of NZ $205; present a copy of an official photo ID; fill out a simple application form and undergo a criminal record check. If initially disqualified, the applicant may apply for a waiver.9
Given that requirements for certification are minimal, there should be few who need NZPC assistance. Even a brothel operator commented, “They [certificates] are too easy to get. I’ve lost confidence in the system. I used to be a car dealer and to get a licence was really hard. For this, there is no training, no interview, no asking what you know. What’s the point?”
10 One could surmise that things must be very easy when the brothel operators are complaining about the lack of difficulty.
However, the Prostitution Law Review Committee (PLRC) in evaluating the brothel certification process recommended that the current system be maintained and only amended to extend the certificate’s validity from one to three years — a boon for brothel owners."

"The NZPC has largely become a public relations organization promoting decriminalization of prostitution. One of their spokespersons, Anna Reed, when asked whether trafficking was prevalent in New Zealand responded, “Nooo…If I was young and beautiful, I would love to go on a working holiday.”"

Hence the NZPC wants to make it legal for foreigners to open brothels and traffic women from very poor countries to NZ to be sold for sex.

www.truthdig.com/articles/the-evidence-about-prostitution-that-the-new-york-times-ignored/

"Young Jade had a friend who dropped her off at a brothel, and because she was underage, the friend gave Jade her identity card. The madam barely looked at the card, liked that she was sucking on a lollipop, and put the word out that she was young. Her first buyer was into fantasies of sex with children.

I read that article too. It’s so depressing.

I don't quite understand why the Queen has to sign off on daming (?) pimps.

CaitlynsCat

Maybe the pimp thing is seen as a positive as it means she's broken through the glass ceiling and obtained a management position. Or something.

brothel madams aren't new really.

perhaps she could persuade men to do the job instead. that would be a breakthrough. though not transwomen obviously as that would be transphobic.

do the job of being prostitutes I mean

This thread was sitting low just above the "why are the public still not engaged with the gender debate?"

The normalisation of prostitution and pornography bothers me a gazillion times more than the gender debate.

I completely agree that prostitution should be decriminalised for the workers and the work of people like Catherine Healey does very much improve the lives of the sex workers themselves. It's abhorrent that in so many countries including America a prostitute can't report a crime or go to hospital for injuries in case it is worked out crime/injury occurred through prostitution then she'll be arrested.

I believe these people, those of NZPC and similar organisations in the UK do have the livelihood, health and safety of the workers in their minds.
The fact decrim largely benefits men who buy sex while it also benefits the workers is more of an added bonus rather than the sole motivator (although in reality decrim/legalisation also massively reduces the price and earning potential for many sex workers in many scenarios).

There are many ways to improve the livelihoods of prostitutes however without resorting to making it completely legal for all buyers and all types of sellers.

There's nothing bad about raising the profile of people who want to help the lives of prostitutes.

Under the second article someone has commented (about prostitution):

"The world's most important profession....without which it would be a very, very angry and unhappy place."

I find the world IS a "very, very angry and unhappy place", despite the prevalence of prostitution.