The New York Times ran an editorial endorsing the pending legislation in France to criminalize the clients of sex workers. The editorial qualifies its opinion by stating: “Nine out of 10 prostitutes in France are reported to be of foreign origin, and many are presumed to be victims of sex traffickers.” Um, source? Let’s join in on the fun! It is the esteemed opinion of the editorial board at Tits and Sass that the New York Times is severely lacking competent fact checkers. Nine of the 10 fact checkers at the New York Times are actually just plush Furbies masquerading as copy editors. The staff has yet to notice.
Melissa Gira Grant responded to the editorial. She even defended her argument with something called “evidence.”
In good sex worker news, California’s Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board voted to overturn the odious provision that prevented sex workers in illegal sectors of the sex industry from receiving victims’ compensation for sexual assault. The policy denied compensation to anyone engaged in an illegal activity at the time of their assault.
Sex workers in Bangalore are sick of getting harassed and assaulted by police officers.
Hey strip club owners, figure out how to legally classify dancers before you get yourselves sued.
New York attorney John Scarpa suggested that a sentence of twenty five years was too long for his client to be sentenced for killing trans sex worker Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar: “Shouldn’t that be reserved for people who are guilty of killing certain classes of individuals?” Thankfully, Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter wasn’t buying it: “This court believes every human life in sacred. It’s not easy living as a transgender, and I commend the family for supporting her.” Look forward to more on this story from contributor Emma Caterine as part of Tits and Sass’ International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers coverage.
Meanwhile, in Turkey, the murderer of Ece, an Izmir trans sex worker, was judged not guilty and freed by the local courts this week.
The Canadian Supreme Court’s decision on Bedford v. Canada—which will determine whether or not Canada will strike down prostitution related laws against bawdy houses and third parties—will be released on Friday, December 20th.
Sadly, another porn worker has tested positive for HIV.
In response to the massive raids in Soho, London, columnist Molly Smith asks an excellent question: “If this was about protecting the vulnerable, why did police invite numerous press outlets along?” Maybe someone has an answer for us. Go on. We’ll wait.
Laurie Penny gets to the root of that issue by remembering that sex work is work in the New Statesman: “The Soho raids show us the real problem with sex work isn’t the sex—it’s low-waged work itself.”
Can anyone figure out what the hell is going on in this clusterfuck of an article in Vice Canada? The “journalist” keeps putting sex work in quotes and “cites” Equality NOW as an “authoritative source.”
Correspondence between the Irish Minister for Justice and Oireachtas Justice Committee on the governmental debate around a bill which would criminalize sex workers’ clients has been published.
Are you a man who is considering becoming a sex worker? You could take a class.
The owner of a strip club in California is getting sued by his own municipality. Zoning laws are such a bitch.
Vancouver has come to the brilliant conclusion that it’s safer for sex workers to work indoors.
Our own co-editor Bubbles explains how wrongheaded it is for self-proclaimed “high-end” strip clubs to ban hip hop in Complex.
The coffee blog Sprudge discovered that Portland’s strip clubs don’t have good coffee. This is a really good opportunity for some up-and-coming Portland roaster.
Human Rights Watch notes that the Louisiana police’s use of condoms as evidence of prostitution contributes to the spread of HIV. Women With A Vision could have told them that a long time ago.
Ah, Meghan Murphy. It boggles the mind how a person can function as she does; claiming to be a feminist but not ever listening to what women have to say who disagree with her, claiming to care about sex workers but vehemently supporting laws that endanger them. She is the epitome of the abolitionist and she is a horrible human being. She really needs to stop writing articles, and more importantly, people need to stop publishing her bologna.