Attorney General Christian Porter’s West Australian Prostitution Bill 2011_ Ongoing letter writing campaign

Campaigns, Letter Writing Campaigns, Sex Work in WA No Responses » Tagged with: campaigns, Government Campaigns, Law Reform, Legal, NAUWU, Nothing About Us Without Us, Police, Regulation, Western Australia

Jan 182012

Criminalisation and licensing is wrong, don’t support Porter’s Bill!

Porter’s Bill has progressed through the WA Parliament and now there is new urgency for action to be taken. NAUWU has begun another letter writing campaign to address this Bill lobbying all WA MP’s to research and think about the issues sex workers will face if they vote for Porter’s Bill.

Attorney General Christian Porter’s proposed Bill will:

ban sex work in residential areas
license and register sex workers and auxiliary staff
impose restrictions on sex industry advertising
increase criminal penalties for non-compliance
expand related police powers

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NAUWU’s lobbying work so far on this issue:
NAUWU has previously written on the proposed law reform on the following page which details submissions made by NAUWU, Scarlet Alliance and other peers in the industry.
http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/the-sex-industry-in-western-australia-proposed-law-reform-and-submissions-from-sex-worker-activists-in-nsw/

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The Bill itself and WA Parliament explanatory notes are here:
WA Prostitution Bill 2011_Porter’s Bill still needing final vote to pass
WA Prostitution Bill 2011 Explanatory Notes

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NAUWU’s latest letter
You can find our letter below which provides Western Australian MP’s information on why the Bill should not pass and the consequences if they vote yes to Porter’s Bill.
Criminalisation and licensing is wrong. Don’t support Porter’s Bill_ WA letter writing campaign to WA MPs

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Who did we send the letter to?
The list of MP’s we sent it to and their contact details can be found on the link below. We encourage everyone to do an email out to any and all MP’s to help inform and lobby them on this issue.
Porter’s Bill letter writing campaign email list for lobbying_current 2011
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Adele Carles response to our letter
NAUWU has received a response to the letter writing from Adele Carles, MLA, Member for Freemantle which you can read below. Although it is not what NAUWU and WA sex workers need to hear; and her position is NOT what Western Australian sex workers need and what she proposes would in fact be one of the worst possible outcomes, we are mindful of the fact she is the only one out of 27 MP’s contacted who bothered to respond.

From: Carles, Adele <Adele.Carles@mp.wa.gov.au>
Date: Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 4:41 PM
Subject: WA Prostitution Bill
To: Nothing Without <nothingaboutuswithoutus@gmail.com>

Dear Nothing About Us Without Us,

PROSTITUTION BILL

Thank you for your email. I appreciate receiving your views on this legislation that is set to be debated when Parliament resumes in February 2012. As you may be aware, prostitution is currently illegal in Western Australia. This new legislation seeks to change this, by creating legal areas from which this industry can operate. I have reviewed the legislation and I do have many concerns in relation to it.

As an Independent female MP, I am particularly concerned about prostitution, as it impacts on many of the most vulnerable and marginalised women in our State. My primary concern is for the women who are exploited in this industry – I want to ensure that their rights and needs come first. You may be interested to know that the numbers in our Parliament are particularly close for this bill. Ironically, it looks like Janet Woollard and myself, 2 Independent female MPs, may well determine the fate of this legislation. This is a responsibility I take very seriously.

I am interested in the Swedish model, after reading about its success in combating prostitution in Scandinavia. Next month I am travelling to Scandinavia to meet with policy makers in relation to the Swedish model. I will also be meeting with various stakeholders to understand the workings of the Swedish model and to get a sense of its impact on society, 10 years after its introduction.

Please be assured that I will consider equally, all perspectives, from all stakeholders in determining the best long term solution in response to the Government’s proposed Prostitution Bill. I will contact you when I have decided how to respond to this controversial legislation. Again thank you for sharing your views with me. I encourage you to continue informing me of you views and perspectives on civil society matters in Western Australia.

Yours sincerely,

Adele Carles, MLA

Member for Fremantle
Shop 1, Queensgate Centre
William Street, Fremantle WA 6160
Tel: 9336 7000 Fax: 9430 4564

NAUWU’s reply to Adele Carles
NAUWU is opposed to the Swedish Model and believes anyone who supports such a model needs to be informed about the great harms it imposes on the sex industry. NAUWU wrote the letter you will find below to Ms Carles to help her understand what potential dangers she would be exposing sex workers to if she continued to support the Swedish Model.

In this letter you will find links to research that has been conducted in countries where the Swedish Model has been introduced and research and papers from Australia looking at decriminalisation, legalisation, regulation and the different effects each model of this has had on different States within Australia.
NAUWU response to Adele Carles_December 2011

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We have had no further response from Adele Carles

NAUWU will continue to contact the MP’s detailed on the list above asking for a response to out letter. When we receive more information on the Bill or any responses to our letter, we’ll let you know!

Note: NAUWU makes every effort to ensure the quality of the information available on this website. Before relying on the information on this site, however, users should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances. NAUWU cannot guarantee and assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information.

Disclaimer: Images used on this site have been used with the permission of all parties pictured. If you happen to find an image of yourself and do not wish for it to appear on http://www.nothing-about-us-without-us.com please let the webperson of this site know by contacting nothingaboutuswithoutus@gmail.com .

Contributions on http://www.nothing-about-us-without-us.com have been made by NSW Sex Workers and other concerned parties of NSW Sex Industry; site design and maintenance by nothingaboutuswithoutus@gmail.com ; Copyright Nothing About Us Without Us 2009 – 2020

The Scarlet Alliance Migration Project has developed the AMAZING resource

Your Rights and Responsibilities When Dealing with Australian Government Agencies_Scarlet Alliance 2011

Sexy work regulator

This resource lists your rights and responsibilities when dealing with

Police
Immigration Officials
Taxation Officers

… with links where you can find it translated into Thai, Chinese and Korean.

Your Rights and Responsibilities When Dealing with Australian Government Agencies_Scarlet Alliance 2011

With nearly all States of Australia facing extreme law reform; media coverage of the sex industry now being more hysterical and biased; and NSW, WA and VIC experiencing more raids than ever before, we urge you to have a read, print out a copy and keep it with you where you work and send it to as many sex workers as you can.

If you do not know your rights and responsibilities and regulatory officers rights and responsibilities to you in this day and age, that’s something you may want to think about changing!

Thank you to the Migration Project at Scarlet Alliance for developing one of THE BEST resources EVER!!

Prostitution Bill passed in Parliament expected to regulate the industry Perth Now 03.11.11

Australian Media, Media, Sex Work in WA No Responses » Tagged with: Australian Laws, Australian Media, Janelle Fawkes, Law Reform, Legal, Media, Perth, Regulation, Scarlet Alliance, Western Australia

Nov 152011

Prostitution Bill passed in Parliament expected to regulate the industry

by: Katie Robertson
From: PerthNow
November 03, 201110

ATTORNEY General Christian Porter said that under the new Prostitution Bill 2011 brothels would be banned from suburban areas. Source: PerthNow

PROSTITUTION will be strictly regulated and forced out of the suburbs under legislation to be introduced to State Parliament today.

Brothels would be banned in all suburban residential areas under the Prostitution Bill 2011, while limited prostitution in non-suburban residential areas would be licensed and monitored.

The Government will also create an “exit fund” for prostitutes seeking to leave the industry.

Attorney General Christian Porter said the Bill had been carefully developed after the release of a draft for community consultation earlier this year.

“Prostitution is a controversial issue for any Government to address,” he said.

“Overwhelmingly though, ordinary West Australians do not want prostitution businesses of any size near their homes, in their residential suburbs or near their children’s school.

“This Bill is designed first and foremost to get prostitution out of the suburbs and to protect people’s homes.

“A vote against this Bill is a vote for backyard brothels and the current uncertain, untenable situation.”

Mr Porter said police would have the power to shut illegal brothels down and would have the responsiblity of responding to complaints about unlawful prostitution.

He added that the Bill was aimed at better protecting women, a claim which the Australian Christian Lobby has strongly objected to.

ACL WA spokeswoman Michelle Pearse said a government that legitimised prostitution through legislation was legitimising the exploitation and abuse of women.

“The key is to tackle the demand, to send a strong message to men that it is not ok to purchase a woman’s body for sex because it is exploitation,” she said.

“Penalties on the purchaser would be a deterrent and discourage men from using prostitutes. This would mean that fewer women would be exploited in the industry and fewer illegal brothels would exist in suburbs, which is not only better for community safety but is also better for the women who are exploited in prostitution.”

Ms Pearse said allowing prostitution to be legal in “tolerated zones” would not stop the expansion of the illegal industry.

“The Queensland Government legalised brothel prostitution in 1999 and research from the University of Queensland estimates that 90 per cent of prostitution in Queensland is still illegal, even after the government set up the Prostitution Licensing Authority to regulate the industry,” she said.

“It will be impossible to confine prostitution to certain zones when there is an increasing number of men purchasing sex.

“As long as there is a legal industry, men will continue to assume the right to exploit women by purchasing them for sex.”

Sex workers say the proposed West Australian prostitution bill would be the most dangerous sex industry law in the country.

Scarlet Alliance chief executive officer Janelle Fawkes said the bill will criminalise, marginalise and endanger the lives of sex workers.

“This will be the most dangerous sex industry law ever introduced in Australia,” she said.

“As a sex worker that has worked in Western Australia on many occasions, I fear for the safety of sex workers as a result of this bill.”

Ms Fawkes said sex workers already experienced discrimination and would be reluctant to have their name and details on a register.

“Sex work experience is used against sex workers and their families, and has resulted in sex workers losing custody of their children and being victims of harassment,” she said.

Ms Fawkes said she was also concerned about driving the industry underground and with police having such strong powers.

She said migrant sex workers would also be vulnerable to exploitation and would be forced to work illegally.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/prostitution-bill-passed-in-parliament-expected-to-regulate-the-industry/story-e6frg13u-1226184683046

Trafficking in Australia;
“Vigilante approach is wrong,
Prevention is key.”
say Sex Workers
*taken from Scarlet Alliance Media Release 11th October 2011

Sensationalist media
Over the last week Australian media has been flooded by sensationalised reports regarding the issues of trafficking and regulation in the Australian sex industry, but more specifically in Melbourne and NSW. In the 5 day period from the 8th October up until today the 13th October 2011 these media articles have included:

http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/why-did-abraham-papo-die-the-sydney-morning-herald-08-10-11/

http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/terrible-price-of-a-trade-in-misery-the-sydney-morning-herald-08-10-11/

http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/human-trafficking-prompts-raids-on-brothels-the-sydney-morning-herald-08-10-11/

http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/legal-brothels-linked-to-international-sex-trafficking-rings-the-sydney-morning-herald-10-10-11/

http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/licensing-law-to-tighten-screws-on-brothel-chiefs-the-sydey-morning-herald-11-10-11/

http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/never-a-game-the-sydney-morning-herald-11-10-11/

http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/brothel-firebombing-linked-to-turf-war-the-sydney-morning-herald-11-10-11/

and of course the Four Corners program which can be found at this link:

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2011/10/06/3333668.htm

The above articles were cross published in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Brisbane Times, WAToday and on the ABC website.

The articles and Four Corners program included the sensationalist terms:
“hundreds of legal brothels…..thousands of women ….. brutal industry….lives in danger… sex slavery….. sexual servitude”

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FLESH TRADE: Four Corners teaser and cross promotion of media
Along with the articles listed above, each appeared with what the newspapers named “FLESH TRADE: Four Corners teaser”. This “FLESH TRADE teaser” was a video that included hidden camera footage of workers in brothels being filmed without their knowledge or consent; a “journalist” driving around in his car stopping out the front of licensed brothels in VIC and brothels in NSW who have DA consent to operate, pointing out that they were brothels and would more than likely have illegal workers in them working in sexual servitude; commentary on how the next Four Corners program would blow the lid off the Flesh Trade in Australia and expose sexual servitude, sex slavery, trafficking, contract workers and that they were run by gangs, murderers and other criminals in huge numbers and how this behaviour is the norm in the Australian sex industry.

Examples of these Flesh Trade Teasers can be found here:

http://media.theage.com.au/news/national-news/flesh-trade–four-corners-teaser-2676045.html

http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-flesh-trade

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/legal-brothels-linked-to-international-sex-trafficking-rings-20111009-1lfxs.html

The Age newspaper and The Sydney Morning Herald were in partnership with Four Corners and running a cross promotion where all three media were able to promote each other and benefit by sensationalising the same issue. By doing this not only is this promotion and awareness achieved, but the issue can be seen by the public to gain more credibility and the ability to sensationalise an issue and make it larger than life is multiplied three fold.

NOTE: In the 2 months leading up to this media coverage, Scarlet Alliance did over the phone interviews with the journalists involved with producing theses articles for Fairfax media (SMH, The Australian) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (for the Four Corners program). However, Four Corners chose not to interview Scarlet Alliance, it’s members, NAUWU, or anyone from the asian sex worker organisations for this particular edition of the show. The Farifax media journalists chose not to use any of Scarlet Alliance’s material in their written coverage.

The response
The sex working community was appalled. People responded by writing blogs, commenting on the articles as they were published by each media group, discussing the issues on forums, Twitter campaigns, directly contacting the media groups who published and aired the material, press releases were put out by sex worker organisations, website campaigns were launched and complaints made to the Press Council. Please see below for examples.

Media releases:
Scarlet Alliance media release in response_ Trafficking in Australia; “Vigilante approach is wrong, prevention is key” say sex workers_11th October 2011

SWOP media release_Brothel Licencing and Illegal Safe Sex_October 2011

The Australian Sex Party Media Release_Sex Slavery Caused by Failure of Moral Policy

Sex worker comments:
“4 corners… use to be a childhood memory of ‘good journalism’.. now a stain in my consciousness… sad but true…”
R********

“…Now is the time to come together as a community. 4 Corners should have outraged us with the appalling one sided representation not given people permission to judge. 4 Corners should bring us together as a powerful lobbying community. You should be outraged!”
Dora Explorha

“…the show could have been on Today Tonight instead of Four Corner’s”
QueerRTchoke

“…did anyone pick up on the fact they actually took hidden cameras into the line ups, rooms etc and video’d woman without their knowledge or permission?! And they preach how evil it is these very woman they were videoing are being taken advantage of, used and abused for other people’s gain and given no choice. Disgusting hypocrits.”
IGP

“One of the main points about all these articles an even the program itself is that they are high on speculation and very low on fact. The unsafe sex in Sydney brothels article is a prime example where their only evidence is that say so of one brothel owner that other brothels in her area (not her own) may practise un safe sex.

I would add the results of the LASH project – we have the evidence that voluntary STI checks undertaken in consultation with individual’s medical practitioner as to how often, if at all, an individual sex worker ought to submit to a sexual health screen is best practice and works. According to the LASH project, NSW has best outcomes in terms of sexual health and access by representative bodies such as SWOP. Until the LASH Report to NSW Government is in the public domain, one of the papers produced from the study ‘Improving the health of sex workers in NSW: maintaining success’ says it all. Abstract from published paper Vol. 21(3-4)2010 NSW Public Health Bulletin Donovan et al

“NSW has a diverse sex industry that is limited in its size by modest demand. There is no evidence that decriminalisation in 1995 increased the frequency of commercial sex in NSW. Though the largest sector, female brothels, is now mainly staffed by Asian women, condom use for vaginal and anal sex exceeds 99% and sexually transmissible infection rates are at a historic low. These gains are attributable to the long-term support of the NSW Department of Health in collaboration with the community-based Sex Workers Outreach Project and sexual health services, facilitated by the removal of criminal sanctions without the expense and access barriers of licensing systems”
Julie

Websites:
http://www.sexparty.org.au/index.php/news/media-releases/1229-sex-workers-say-anti-trafficking-crusaders-are-not-our-friends

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/slavery-in-australia-goes-beyond-the-sex-trade/

http://www.sexparty.org.au/index.php/news/media-releases/1218-no-one-is-listening-to-us-sex-workers

NGO Delegation to the UNAIDS PCB_Trafficking truth and lies_it’s time to decriminalise

Sex worker blogs:
http://becauseimawhore.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/stop-the-traffic-the-car-crash-you-cant-look-away-from/

http://ryrysparkleby.tumblr.com/post/11267692856/sex-trafficking-rant

http://ashaaaa.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/migrant-exploitation-and-labour-trafficking-is-not-exclusive-to-the-sex-industry/

Meetings attended and representation given:
Sex Party NSW_Migrant Sex Workers Myth and Misconception

http://www.sexparty.org.au/index.php/videos/1245-sex-workers-andrew-patterson-

http://www.sexparty.org.au/index.php/videos/1244-sex-slavery-elena-jeffreys-fiona-patten

Radio:
ABC Radio Australia_Australian sex worker group opposes moves to police industry

Government Organisations:
PLA In Touch Newsletter_Issue 64_December 2011

Where to now and what can you do?
NAUWU is taking further action to hold Fairfax Media and The Australian Broadcasting Corporation accountable for their inaccurate and biased media coverage. Since this page was first published, there has also been media from different sources including Channel 10 and print media that NAUWU is concerned about. We will continue to lobby, advocate, and educate on the issues of trafficking and sex work and the need for Australian media to represent the issues in a fair and accurate manner. We will continue to work with sex workers including sex worker peer based organisations to address these issues.

If you’d like to help, we’d love it if you could…
- Get onto internet forums and give your feedback to the media articles
- Share the above media release
- Contact the media outlets whose reporting is most biased and sensationalist
- Tell us your opinion!- place a comment after this article
- talk about the issues on Twitter and Tweet this page
- send us an email to nothingaboutuswithoutus@gmail.com
- join NAUWU by sending us an email
- write a blog discussing the issues
- talk with other sex workers

We will keep you informed of any updates and with further information!

The Sex Industry in Western Australia: proposed law reform and submissions from sex worker activists in NSW

Campaigns, Sex Work in WA 1 Response » Tagged with: Australian Laws, Decriminalisation, Government Campaigns, Julie Bates, Law Reform, Legal, Perth, Regulation, Saul Isbister, Western Australia

Aug 272011

The Western Australian Government has been reviewing its legislative response and policing practices for the sex industry in Western Australia. The proposed law reform and regulation to be imposed in Western Australia is of great concern to sex workers all over Australia including the sex workers of NSW. It is an issue NAUWU is following closely and our members are actively lobbying on.

In this post we will outline what the proposed Prostitution Bill 2011 will mean for the WA sex industry, provide copies of the draft Bill, the submission peers submitted to the WA Govt and the Governments response. We feel it’s important to provide you with this information to show that sex workers are not defined by State or any other boundaries and what is inflicted on one sex worker affects us all. As one NSW sex worker stated…..

‘another fine example of the lobbying skills and efforts of individual NSW sex workers working collectively to challenge current and impending legislation that puts sex workers in harms way wherever we see it’

Members of NAUWU will be monitoring this post and encourage you to leave comments or questions either in the comments box or please feel free to email them to us at nothingaboutuswithoutus@gmail.com

Alternatively, sex workers are able to contact Scarlet Alliance to discuss what the proposed law reform will mean when working in WA and with any other questions you may have. Scarlet Alliance contact details can be found here

Western Australian Prostitution Bill 2011 – Draft Bill for Public Comment
The following document is the Draft Bill that outlines what the WA Government proposes to make the legislation for the sex industry in Western Australia. Sex worker activists and lobbyists read through this Bill and analyse it to find out what the Government proposes, how it will effect the sex industry including what this will mean in every day practice for sex workers, how it will effect OH&S, how the industry will be regulated etc. The Bill must be made available for public comment and submissions from the public collected. These submissions are then supposed to be taken into consideration to help inform and/or ammend the Bill.

Western Australian Prostitution Bill 2011 – Draft Bill for Public Comment

Sex workers in action
Sex workers activists and lobbyists, other key stakeholders and researchers are constantly behind the scenes working to inform Government on the best model of legislation for the sex industry. An example of this is the LASH Report which has already been posted on NAUWU here. Organisations like Scarlet Alliance are also in constant contact with politicians, health bodies etc to inform and educate them on the sex industry.

When this proposed Bill was made public, other individual sex workers, groups including NAUWU, e-list groups and sex worker organisations begin working on submissions as well as informing other sex workers on what’s happening. Again this is done nationally because it is not considered an issue that Western Australian sex workers should have to deal with alone.

Scarlet Alliance put together an information pack on proposed sex industry laws for WA. This information pack breaks down the Bill into plain language and highlights the key points in the Bill so sex workers are better able to understand what the proposed sex industry laws will mean. The pack also informs sex workers on how to write a submission and letters, who to send them to, how to stay informed and how to help spread the word to other people. The more people writing, the more chance we have; the more people who know about the proposed law reform and it’s consequences, the more power and the louder the voice we have! To have a look at Scarlet Alliances info pack and to see what the proposed law reform will mean, please check the links below. One is to a downloadable pdf and the other a direct link where the info pack appears on the Scarlet Alliance website.

WA Law Change Information Pack_Scarlet Alliance

http://www.scarletalliance.org.au/library/wa_2011/

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Submission by NSW sex workers to the Western Australian Prostitution Bill 2011 – Draft Bill for Public Comment
Below is a submission that two NSW sex workers made to the WA Government’s proposed Bill. We’d like to acknowledge their bravery in outing themselves as sex workers to the WA Government in their submission. Making this decision is never taken lightly and when it’s done, it does add power to any submission, letter written or media contact made.

WA Prostitution Bill 2011_Submission in response to the WA Prostituion Bill 2011_Final

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Government of Western Australia Department of the Attorney General Response
Below you will find the response the Department provided to the submission above. It basically just states that the submission has been received and gives no further detail.

WA Prostitution Bill 2011_Response to Submission from Governmentof WA Department of the Attorney General Offic of the Director General

So what now?!
Now we wait and keep lobbying with phonecalls, letter writing, responding to media and trying to generate our own positive media. We keep watch and yet remain proactive. As to the stages of how a Bill progresses….

This Green Bill (draft Bil) closed for public comment on Friday 29 July 2011.

It then goes to the WA Cabinet for approval

Then the Attorney General will introduce the approved Bill into Parliament, where it will be debated in both Houses, ie the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

It is then the decision of Parliament whether this Bill will become a law of Western Australia, as both Houses of Parliament will be required to pass and approve the Bill.

This process varies for each bill and therefore a time frame cannot be provided.

Once this Bill is approved by Parliament and assented to by the Governor of Western Australia, it will come into operation on a day that will be fixed by proclamation in the Government Gazette.

NAUWU will keep you informed!

We’d like to send out a special thank you to Saul Isbister, Julie Bates and Scarlet Alliance. Without their work and allowing us to publish just a tiny piece of the massive amount they’ve done, we wouldn’t be the group we are both locally as NSW sex workers and as a wider national sex worker family.

Sex workers oppose end of residential brothels ABC News 08.06.11

Australian Media, Media, Sex Work in WA No Responses » Tagged with: Australian Laws, Australian Media, Elena Jeffreys, Legal, Media, Regulation, Scarlet Alliance, Western Australia

Jun 202011

Sex workers oppose end of residential brothels

ABC News
Emma Wynne
Wed Jun 8, 2011

Sex workers say forcing them out to industrial areas is unsafe

Sex workers are opposed to the bill which they say will force them out to unsafe areas

The State Government has called on the Opposition to support a new bill aimed at reducing prostitution in the suburbs.

The draft bill will be introduced next week and will include measures to remove brothels from residential areas.

Attorney General Christian Porter says the Opposition should support the Government’s reforms.

The president of sex workers’ group the Scarlett Alliance, Elena Jeffreys, says the new laws will force sex workers out to isolated industrial areas.

“Laws that put sex workers at risk such as criminalising sex workers in suburbs and expecting them to move into unsafe industrial areas are unjust,” she said.

“They’re against the human rights of individuals who do have the right to work from home.”

Ms Jeffreys is urging the Opposition not to support the measures.

“The ALP has a good record on supporting decriminalisation of sex workers, which would mean that sex workers in residential areas are subject to the same rules and regulations as anyone else that is working from home,” she said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/08/3239181.htm

The Sex Industry in Western Australia: A Report to the Western Australian Government

Research and Reports, Sex Work in WA 1 Response » Tagged with: Australian Laws, Decriminalisation, Dr. Christine Harcourt, Julie Bates, Legal, Prof Basil Donovan, Regulation, Western Australia

May 132011

The Western Australian Government has been reviewing its legislative response and policing practices. At the same time that the WA Government was/has been doing this, the Law And Sexual Health Project (LASH) was being conducted and the Health Department of the Western Australian Government quite sensibly contracted the LASH team to compile a report to better inform the debate.

The LASH Project is a joint initiative of the University of NSW and University of Melbourne funded by the National Health and Medical Research Centre (NHMRC) and funded initially by the NHMRC. The aim of the project being to compare health and welfare outcomes for sex workers in the capital cities of three Australian States with different legislative approaches in responding to the sex industry namely:

Sydney, New South Wales (NSW) – largely decriminalised
Melbourne, Victoria (VIC) – licensing
Perth, Western Australia (WA) – prohibition

For more information on LASH, please see this page

The following is the report put together by the LASH Project for the Western Australian Government

The Sex Industry in Western Australia: A Report to the Western Australian Government

This report is important not only to sex workers in WA, but is also a report we refer to when lobbying for legislation in different States. It helps to inform us on the effects of criminalisation/decriminalisation, regulation, health, access to services for sex workers and other important issues that sex workers must deal with on a daily basis.

nothing-about-us-without-us.com

Attorney General Christian Porter’s West Australian Prostitution Bill 2011_ Ongoing letter writing campaign

Criminalisation and licensing is wrong, don’t support Porter’s Bill!

Guide to your rights and responsibilities when dealing with Police, Immigration and Taxation Officers

Prostitution Bill passed in Parliament expected to regulate the industry Perth Now 03.11.11

Prostitution Bill passed in Parliament expected to regulate the industry

Media Campaign: Trafficking and regulation in Australia October 2011

The Sex Industry in Western Australia: proposed law reform and submissions from sex worker activists in NSW

Sex workers oppose end of residential brothels ABC News 08.06.11

Sex workers oppose end of residential brothels

The Sex Industry in Western Australia: A Report to the Western Australian Government

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