Prostitution Law Reform in Australia.  A Preliminary Evaluation

Introduction -

    Over the last three decades, significant changes have occurred to prostitution laws in several Australian states and territories (see Sullivan 1997).  In New South Wales (NSW), Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), brothels may now operate legally although a range of different conditions are attached to this (see below).  In the Northern Territory (NT), brothels remain illegal but escort agencies may explicitly offer sexual services.  In NSW, some street soliciting for the purposes of prostitution is legal although, in all other jurisdictions, significant penalties remain attached to street prostitution. While these changes are part of an overall trend in Australia towards decriminalisation - that is, towards the establishment of more legal space for prostitution practices - this has not been evident in all states. For example, the 'reform' of Queensland's prostitution laws in 1992 reduced the space for safe and legal sex work (see the articles by Banach and Bronny in this issue).

Working: A Personal Story

Introduction -

   "We make a living by what we get. We make a life from what we give" (Unknown author).

    Among other occupations over the last eighteen years, I have worked in the sex industry.  I have worked in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Singapore.  Working in these venues has exposed me to many of the different rules and expectations that society uses in its attempts to control the sex industry.

Sex Work and the Official Neglect of Occupational Health and Safety: The Queensland Experience

Introduction -

    Since changes to laws regulating the sex industry in Queensland in 1992, there have been increasing anecdotal reports that sex work has become a more dangerous occupation.  This paper presents some results from a larger study of the impact of these legal changes on the occupational health and safety of sex workers.  The results tend to confirm these anecdotal reports of more violence against sex workers and decreasing occupational safety.  In the final section of the paper I explore why the Queensland laws have failed sex workers so badly.  I argue that occupational health and safety issues have to be incorporated - as a primary objective - in present law reform initiatives.

Occupational Health and Safety in the Australian Sex Industry: The ACT Experience

Introduction -

    The Australian sex industry is diverse, both in terms of the legislation operating in different legal jurisdiction and in terms of how each state's commercial sex traders conduct business.  While there are clear differences, there are also similarities and issues which are a priority for all sex workers regardless of their location.  Sex workers in Australia have long recognized the need for a formal set of rules to ensure their occupational health and safety (OH&S) and the health and safety of their clients.  Health and safety standards vary greatly from brothel to brothel and sex industry educators are constantly faced with re-educating both workers and management in best practice safety standards.

To Test or Not to Test

Introduction -

    Public fears about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS, have often led to
calls for the compulsory testing of sex workers.  Advocates of this view argue that sex workers must be subject to compulsory testing if the health of the community is to be preserved.  In this paper I argue against any sort of compulsory testing of sex workers as both unreasonable and unjustified.  Compulsory testing serves no purpose other than to stigmatise sex workers continually for the work they do and represents a denial of basic civil liberties.

Whose Morality?  Brothel Planning Policy in South Sydney

Introduction -

    In December 1995, the Parliament of New South Wales (NSW) passed the Disorderly Houses (Amendment) Act which removed impediments to the lawful operation of brothels.  So currently in NSW, as in Victoria and the ACT, brothels can operate legally providing they have planning consent from their local government authority. Some councils in NSW have been unwilling to treat brothels like other commercial premises and have had great difficulty in putting together an acceptable set of guidelines for approving development applications for sex industry premises. South Sydney City Council, however, moved quickly to introduce a 'Brothels Policy' in consultation with the sex industry and the wider community.  The Council believes that by ensuring that applications are dealt with in a fair and reasonable manner, it will achieve the best outcomes in terms of appropriate planning and health regulation for the industry and the preservation of residential amenity.

"How much are you, love?" The Customer in the Australian Sex Industry

Introduction -

    Sex industry clients (known as "mugs" by many Australian sex workers) outnumber sex workers by as much as 20:1 to 100:1 (Bullough et al. 1977).  One might expect from this that studies of the sex industry would focus on clients or, at least, include an address to clients.  But this is not the case. Two decades ago Vem Bullough et al. (1977) compiled a comprehensive list of items published between 1539 and 1977 dealing with the sex industry.  He found that the proportion of studies on males (as clients, pimps and sex workers) amounted to only 0.97% of some 5500 publications; the vast majority of publications looked at women working in the business. This situation has not changed greatly in recent times; studies continue to concentrate on the working lives, backgrounds and motives of female sex workers. Part of the reason for this is the public fascination and titillation with "bad girls". It is also the case that studies of clients are more difficult to undertake than of sex workers (which are also not easy). The few available studies on clients have often supported a public profile of them as psychologically disturbed, sexually perverted or as men isolated from the social mainstream. This study, however, will demonstrate that, far from any of these, clients fit a broad cross-section of men who do not stand out from most other Australian males.
 

Is Sex Work Queer?

Introduction -

    In western society sexuality is grounded in romance and morality.  So we see boy meets girl, they fall in love, they get married, procreate and live happily ever after. Boy is not supposed to ring girl of ill repute, visit same, get laid, pay girl of ill repute for sexual pleasure and leave. Although this is a common occurrence, it is frowned upon and criminalised and those involved in selling sex for money are stigmatised and punished. In this paper I utilise Queer Theory to contest this treatment of sex workers. Queer Theory is concerned with the social production and regulation of sexuality and its object is to challenge heteronormativity (that is, the power exerted over both individuals by the enforcement of heterosexual norms).  Queer Theory ....
 

Non-Violent Erotica (NVE) or Not Very Interesting

Introduction -

    The Eros Foundation is the national industry association of the adult goods and services sector.  Founded in 1992 Eros membership represents 70% of all adult businesses in Australia including adult video wholesalers and producers, magazine publishers, adult stores, phone sex operators, brothels, escort agencies and condom suppliers. The Eros Foundation supports a proposal, presently before the Commonwealth Parliament, for a new classification category for film and video in Australia. This new classification category is NVE (Non Violent Erotica) and is designed to replace the current X classification. To understand the Eros Foundation's support for NVE, we need to look briefly at the debate leading to the government's introduction of NVE, the current legal situation, the definition of NVE and the effect it will really have.