There seems to be subtle but incredibly important differences in language used by Nordic Model now when describing a handbook for universities and this toolkit, which highlight the issues Diane is trying to bring up.
From the link upthread, my bolding:
Supporting students impacted by the sex industry: A handbook for universities – The launch
Late last year, the University of Leicester launched their ‘student sex work’ policy and toolkits and announced that they had received funding from the ESRC to roll these out to universities all around the UK. Many people are worried that this approach could be interpreted as sanctioning or even promoting a deeply sexist and damaging industry and will lead to more vulnerable young people being drawn into the industry and harmed and disadvantaged by that experience. There is also concern about the impact of this approach on students’ understanding of consent and on the general relations between the sexes, at a time when girls and young women are subject to staggering levels of sexual harassment and sexual crimes.
To address these concerns, Nordic Model Now! has developed a handbook for universities that presents an alternative and more holistic approach – which we are launching at this event. It provides a realistic understanding of the sex industry, the short and long-term impact of involvement within it, and how best to support those who are caught up in it.
It looks at the responsibilities universities have under the Equality Act 2010 to work to prevent the discrimination and further disadvantaging of students who are young, female, LGBT+, disabled, or racialised, and to work towards improving the relationships of those from all the protected characteristics, including between women and men generally. It argues that any efforts to bring about positive change on university campuses in respect to sexist attitudes and behaviour are doomed to failure unless programmes directly address the sex industry and porn consumption.
Speakers
Kathleen Richardson – Professor of Ethics and Culture of Robots and AI, De Montfort University, and Director of Women Ethics Robots AI and Data (WERAID)
Lily – Lily is a survivor of prostitution and sex trafficking and the violence intrinsic to these experiences. She is also a person-centred therapist working with victims and survivors of sexual violence. Lily’s professional interests are in the role of power and oppression within sexual violence, working with the mental distress following sexual violence, and how we as a society influence these processes.
Andrea Heinz – Andrea is a Canadian feminist who spent 7 years in the licensed commercial sex trade as an Escort, Dominatrix, and Brothel Owner. Now a sex trade Abolitionist, she works to educate both professionals and the public on sexual exploitation and the harm in “sex work” ideology. Andrea is happily married with three children and completing a degree in Governance, Law & Management.
Questions
There will be an option to submit questions during the event, but you are welcome to email in advance any questions you would like the panel to consider. Please put ‘Webinar Question’ in the subject line and email it to [email protected]. Time constraints mean, however, that we will be limited in how many questions we can address.
Petition
If you are concerned about the Leicester approach and how it is being rolled out UK-wide, please consider signing our petition calling on them to scrap it.