5 ms·

Prostitution is legal around here for a while so general labor laws apply as well as some special ones, and e.g. the ver.di labor union (largest one representin

Prostitution is legal around here for a while so general labor laws apply as well as some special ones, and e.g. the ver.di labor union (largest one representing workers in all "service" occupations, with about 2 million members) since then allowed prostitutes to join their union and lobbies on behalf of all sex workers, as well as providing members a wide array of legal services and representation in work and social matters and a lot of advisory/informational services (tho few sex workers actually become members due to a plethora of reasons). The decriminalization actually helped weed out most of the small "street pimps" and violent or non-paying Johns/Janes are now a lot more regularly reported and prosecuted, especially since prostitutes can now actually go to the police without fear of being charged for prostitution. Legal prostitution also means brothels are now registered as legal businesses a lot more often, which in turn means they have to follow health and safety regulations and are subject to inspections. Before, the state only ever could raid a brothel (illegal by definition) and shut it down, at which point it often popped up again in some new place. This also means brothel operators can invest in their properties, thereby usually improving the physical working conditions as well. But admittedly it hardly put a dent into the larger criminal enterprises which have an entire "supply chain" incl human trafficking and (illegal) brothels with sex slaves. Those criminal organizations just continued as usual, maybe even profiting from generally increased demand in prostitution now that it is legal, keeping their enslaved people in check with fear and outright violence, but are helped by trafficked sex workers nowadays originating from non-EU states which means those people would have to worry about deportation (aside from violent retribution by the criminal enterprises) if they went to the police. Now that the state has freed up some resources it previously spent on prosecuting sex workers and their customers, I'd like to see those resources go towards fighting those larger criminal enterprises, but that didn't really happen yet as far as I can tell. There have been some high profile busts, but not more than it used to be.

e12e 7y ago
> Prostitution is legal around here for a while so general labor laws apply (...) Like protection from unwanted and unsolicited sexual attention in the work space? It's something that's pretty common in labour protections - but also highlights how prostitution is different from other forms of "wage slavery".
- belorn 7y ago
  How does it highlight how prostitution is different from other forms of "wage slavery"? The article describe this problem: > "how to avoid the director when he’s trying to get you to blow him between takes and your jaw needs a rest" It quite clear that the author consider the sex in the shooting and the unwanted sexual attention by the director to be two very different things. One of the two they agreed to before hand and is getting paid to do, the other is unwanted. It seems identical to the problem that has been on the news regarding directors in the movie industry in general.
  - e12e 7y ago
    I think it's clear that in general the sex she's paid for is in general also unwanted? So, both are examples of an unpleasantly sexualized work place with an unequal power balance?
    - gjm11 7y ago
      There are laws requiring workplaces to be as safe as reasonably possible. None the less, some jobs just are dangerous and can't be made entirely safe. To take an obvious example, a soldier on active military duty faces some risks, and they're inherent in the job. I don't know exactly how employment law applies to the armed services, but I expect the upshot is something like this: the army has an obligation to do things in a way that e.g. doesn't make accidents needlessly likely, but if you are a soldier fighting a war then you might get shot and that's just part of what they pay you for. Employment laws may or may not already be drafted in a way that makes them suitable for applying to sex workers, but in principle the situation seems to me very similar to the one I just described. If you are (say) a pornographic actor or a prostitute, then you are going to be having some sex that you wouldn't otherwise have chosen to have, and that's just part of what they pay you for; but your employers are still obliged to protect you from (for instance) being sexually harrassed by your boss. So, sure, it's a special case and the laws might need to be written carefully to deal with it, but that's not unprecedented. (In particular, if your intended subtext was something like "... so sex work should be illegal because it's fundamentally abusive" then I think you need to explain why we don't have to outlaw the military, police, and other groups that are necessarily exposed to substantial physical danger in the course of their work.)

e12e 7y ago

> Prostitution is legal around here for a while so general labor laws apply (...) Like protection from unwanted and unsolicited sexual attention in the work space? It's something that's pretty common in labour protections - but also highlights how prostitution is different from other forms of "wage slavery".

belorn 7y ago
How does it highlight how prostitution is different from other forms of "wage slavery"? The article describe this problem: > "how to avoid the director when he’s trying to get you to blow him between takes and your jaw needs a rest" It quite clear that the author consider the sex in the shooting and the unwanted sexual attention by the director to be two very different things. One of the two they agreed to before hand and is getting paid to do, the other is unwanted. It seems identical to the problem that has been on the news regarding directors in the movie industry in general.
- e12e 7y ago
  I think it's clear that in general the sex she's paid for is in general also unwanted? So, both are examples of an unpleasantly sexualized work place with an unequal power balance?
  - gjm11 7y ago
    There are laws requiring workplaces to be as safe as reasonably possible. None the less, some jobs just are dangerous and can't be made entirely safe. To take an obvious example, a soldier on active military duty faces some risks, and they're inherent in the job. I don't know exactly how employment law applies to the armed services, but I expect the upshot is something like this: the army has an obligation to do things in a way that e.g. doesn't make accidents needlessly likely, but if you are a soldier fighting a war then you might get shot and that's just part of what they pay you for. Employment laws may or may not already be drafted in a way that makes them suitable for applying to sex workers, but in principle the situation seems to me very similar to the one I just described. If you are (say) a pornographic actor or a prostitute, then you are going to be having some sex that you wouldn't otherwise have chosen to have, and that's just part of what they pay you for; but your employers are still obliged to protect you from (for instance) being sexually harrassed by your boss. So, sure, it's a special case and the laws might need to be written carefully to deal with it, but that's not unprecedented. (In particular, if your intended subtext was something like "... so sex work should be illegal because it's fundamentally abusive" then I think you need to explain why we don't have to outlaw the military, police, and other groups that are necessarily exposed to substantial physical danger in the course of their work.)