Lessons From Spitzer
March 12, 2008 | 1 Comment
Don’t Use Agencies
1. Don’t use agencies. Though he led authorities to the agency (they were not under investigation otherwise), the rest of the time agencies are busted because they are under investigation – which leads to client records.
2. Don’t use agencies. In the current legal climate of the US, agencies are charged with felonies: pandering, money laundering, tax evasion, violating federal trafficking laws. Because they are an agency these charges are easy to make, difficult to successfully fight.
3. Don’t use agencies. Good agencies that care about their employees’ well-being need to screen clients and this information is saved. It’s responsible — but again, it makes it easy to bring felony charges against them and easy to out clients. Though clients are rarely arrested in agency busts, they are often outed.
4. Don’t use agencies. Good agencies often attract college students or girls who are using this as temporary employment while starting a career. An agency bust often leads to the arrest and outing of its employees. If you have a favorite agency girl, encourage her to go independent (indie). It’s more hassle but may save her future career.
Independent Escorts
Independent escorts are the way to go. Currently, indies can only break local laws – no felonies involved. (There is the matter of crossing state lines for appointments, but I’m not going to go into detail there.) There is an amended trafficking bill (TVPA) that would make even indies into felons, but it hasn’t come up for vote yet.
Most indies who are arrested are thrown in jail, do their time/pay their fine and go on with their lives. Client records (if any) don’t seem to be important to police. Since most indies need to go back to escort work to pay off their fines and court costs, it’s in their best interests not to out their clients. Though police like to rack up the charges, an independent escort who has no illegal drugs and no business arrangements with anyone else is not a big deal (legally speaking).
Police do run stings for clients online; currently CraigsList is popular. Do homework on an escort: her reviews, discussion board postings, blog or anything else about her online. Having a history is a good thing.
Asking if she’s a cop will not get you a straight answer.
Being willing to pay a little more for her company if she’s a well-established escort may mean peace of mind. An escort with a good reputation wants to protect it because it means her livelihood.
And cautious escorts need to screen. Be aware of this need. (Undercover cops may screen but don’t really need to; if they’re going to sting you, they’re going to end up with all your personal info anyway.) Ask the indie what she does with your screening info (be prepared for her to keep it until after your appointment).
I expect clients and providers to become even more cautious after this. It’s ridiculous to have to play such games with the state over a private matter between consenting adults. Understand that the escort or agency is not your enemy.
Online Escorts
Though the US has become aware of CraigsList Erotic Services section, the Spitzer scandal is going to encourage law enforcement to target more online escort agencies. Already the media is in a frenzy discovering the online escort world beyond CraigsList. Though police certainly know about advertising malls and review/discussion boards, CraigsList offers easy pickings and has had the public’s attention. Now the public’s attention is going to broaden, which will have consequences for all.
The Fife Ordinance
February 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The town of Fife, Washington (population: 7000), passed a law in December that outlaws using the Internet (or pagers, cell phones and telephones) for the purposes of prostitution.
While this law seems mostly aimed at CraigsList (since that’s mostly what everyone is aware of), it still applies to the whole Internet — at least for Fife residents. It does make one wonder just how many sex workers there are in a town of 7000. One hundred? A thousand? Several thousand?
I feel this is the beginning of a disturbing trend. Last fall, many newspapers and weekly magazines stopped allowing adult ads. Fife may well start a trend other cities will follow. The effect will not be one of stopping a “problem”; rather it will drive people even further underground and into danger. We’ve seen that again and again with street sex workers when cities decided to “clean up.” Marginalizing and criminalizing does nothing but put the workers in harm’s way.
Not that anyone cares.
Reporters Experiment With CraigsList
February 20, 2008 | 1 Comment
Due to the huge amount of media attention that CraigsList has drawn over the past year, a news team decided to try their own experiment. The stunt was to post a “casual encounters” ad of a women looking for no-strings fun. The reporters were astonished when men replied to the ad. Even more disturbing, a lot of the men were actually sounded nice and were looking for a relationship! Imagine that! Looking for a relationship online.
Then they posted a fake escort ad in the “erotic services” section, with and without a picture. Not surprisingly, they got a response. (A lot of responses wanted uncovered blowjobs, also not a surprise.)
What does all this prove?
- The media are desperate for as much attention as women posting on CraigsList.
- Men are looking for sex, both paid and unpaid, on CraigsList. (Then again, men look for sex in men’s bathrooms too.)
- Men responding to escort ads and asking about specific sex acts are not discreet or smart. Girls who respond to these guys are neither as well.
- No one seemed to be harmed in the experiment, except perhaps the men who never heard back from someone they hoped would contact them. Sort of exploitative of the reporters, isn’t it?
End Violence Against Sex Workers
December 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Today is a day of awareness and memorial for sex workers around the world. Because of the illegal status of sex work and the low status of women in many countries, sex workers are a particular target of violence. (Transgendered sex workers face the same levels of violence as female sex workers.)
I don’t have any stats handy right now, but a large number of sex workers have been murdered through 2007 in the US and Canada. Most of these cases will never be solved. (Many other sex workers have simply disappeared and are presumed dead.) And every day sex workers are assaulted (sexually and violently). Their abusers have no fear of being brought to justice.
This is only the 5th Annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. But awareness of the issue is growing. We can’t actually hope to end violence against sex workers until we erase violence against all women, but at least we can make the world aware that sex workers are humans and deserve basic human rights. Their abuse or loss of life affects more than themselves.
It’s easy to join us. SWOP-East is hosting an online vigil and live discussion. Or, if you’d like to physically show your support, carry a red umbrella today or find an event near you.
Prostitution in Iraq
October 4, 2007 | Leave a Comment
A look at how the forces of war cause women to turn to survival prostitution — a choice they would not otherwise have made.
The part of the post I found most interesting:
As is always the case, the same fanatics who deny women a place in society because of “religion” are the ones who ensure that they can earn money as prostitutes, indeed are much happier with prostitution being the main way that a woman can make money independently of a man, because it allows them to indulge their own dark desires while maintaining their own auras of purity and piety in their public facade.
It’s certainly true in the Muslim world. And the hypocrisy — “it allows them to indulge their own dark desires while maintaining their own auras of purity and piety in their public facade” — is certainly true here in the predominantly-Christian US. Although US women have more options to making a living than just prostitution, those who do make their living as prostitutes (whether by choice or necessity), understand the truth of the statement.
Is this not what the whole DC Madam scandal is about?
Sex Workers and PSTD
October 3, 2007 | Leave a Comment
A recent Canadian article details how street prostitution caused post-traumatic stress disorder in prostitutes.
I feel a large part of the stress and trauma the sex workers feel come from their legal status. In the US, many sex workers are constantly stressed from the fear of arrest and many become quite paranoid (I had my paranoid moments as well). Lifting the threat of arrest and giving sex workers the power to pursue legal action against harmful clients might go a very long way in reducing PSTD.
Another major factor contributing to PSTD seems to have been childhood abuse. While I certainly don’t believe that all sex workers were abused as children, it seems (according to this article) that those who were abused as children are pre-disposed to PSTD. In this case, while their job — and its legal status — may be causing stress, the root cause is from those who harmed them years before.
I don’t believe prostitution itself causes PSTD. I do believe that everything surrounding the job can contribute to PSTD: fear of arrest, fear of violence without legal recourse, social stigmatization, self-medication with drugs or alcohol (in an effort to deal with the stress), inability to easily find other work, lack of social resources and support, lack of understanding or support from the social services that are available.
Changing the legal status of prostitution would be a very big step in easing the mental stress of sex workers. It certainly couldn’t hurt. The current system doesn’t seem to be helping. Why not try a different approach?
