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posts about #standinginforsexworkers more → 
Ashley Dupré Is Not Your Average Prostitute
New York, 6:25 PM
Tue Nov 10
74 posts in the last 24 hours
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Ashley Dupré Is Not Your Average Prostitute |
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11/19/08
if drinking, drugs and a sexual assult are the "start to life as a sex worker" -- then at least 90% of the women I know would be working girls.
non-trafficking sex work and trafficking sex work are not the same thing. Comparing Dupri with a law in the UK about trafficked sex workers is so fucked up. this language needs to be distanced if any harm reduction is going to be done.
11/19/08
Unless the man trafficked the girl himself, it seems pretty hard to prove that he knowingly engaged with a trafficked girl.
It seems this is more a feel good law rather than one that is actually enforceable.
11/19/08
1. Woman A was trafficked / has a pimp
and
2. This man paid for sex with Woman A,
then you have a crime. You only have to prove knowledge for the rape conviction.
11/19/08
"In addition, it will no longer be a defense that a man unknowingly had sex with a trafficked woman, and such men will face stiffer fines and penalties than ever before. If a man is found to have knowingly had sex with a trafficked woman, he won't face prostitution charges - he'll face rape charges, which is frankly, the only right legal response. "
Is it just me or is that saying two opposite things or is at least a non sequitur.
As I read your comment I would say yes you have a crime - engaging in prostitution unless the john knew the girl was trafficked, then rape.
If it is actually that any john can be charged with rape, even if he has no idea she is trafficked then it seems like it could be very.... controversial. (not sure of what word exactly to use.)
11/20/08
@preetalina: Not exactly, but close. In the speeding scenario, you're pleading ignorance of the actual law. And "ignorance of the law is no defense." But in this scenario you're pleading ignorance of an element of the crime - you knew that sex with a trafficked woman is illegal but you didn't know she was trafficked. The law is strict liability, which makes it clear that there will be no defense on the grounds of ignorance of that element. A closer comparison is a common strict liability crime in the US, statutory rape. You can't say "he looked 18" or "she told me she was in college" and get off - sex with minor = crime, whether you knew he was a minor or not.
Sorry for the late replies. Got outta work early yesterday!
11/19/08
11/19/08
Recent immigrants who work the SHIT jobs that wear out their bodies and put them in dangerous situations aren't exactly making a "choice," either. So why is sex work so special?
11/19/08
Aren't you essentially pimping yourself for any job you don't like? I've worked shitty restaurant jobs and been treated horribly, stolen from and degraded by bosses. I also worked in the sex industry and NEVER had any of that happen.
I don't understand why people put sex work into a special category...I've never been abused etc so perhaps I don't understand that angle. But not everyone values sex in the same way.
I've done freaky weird crazy shit for money but have no qualms about it. Other people, yeah they might be appalled but they also might be appalled by all the bs that went into working in nightclubs in NYC too...
11/19/08
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11/19/08
And many of the people in those crappy, dirty, dangerous jobs are more "trapped" than she'll ever be.
I'm not sure who is mistaking "sex" for "love" in a prostitution transaction. Probably the same number of people who would confuse "coal mining" and "love."
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On the other hand, I do think that capitalism and patriarchy go hand-in-hand, at least in the U.S.and there are many parallels between those who are privileged and those who are bottom-barrel under both.
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11/19/08
The average sentence served for rape in the UK is under 8 years.
I applaud the thought behind this but without actually enforcing the laws it will simply be ignored...
11/19/08
Any sex workers want to chime in on taxes, hypothetically, of course?
11/19/08
11/19/08
D'ya think she's withheld enough to cover the back taxes?
I mean, even if she's been a smart cookie and put some cash away, that would be under scrutiny, and it's probably not like she can divest her 401k to cover it with the market like this...
11/19/08
And I find it sad that the American media would much rather harp on this hooker's 15 minutes for another 15, when they could be spending the resources on exposing some of the other deep seeded crap of sexual exploitation here. But that's not as sexy, so...
11/19/08
The thought of a man knowingly fucking a trafficked woman or child makes me absolutely sick. Charging them with rape is the least we can do.
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11/19/08
Yes, the smug rationalizations are so insightful.
Therapy: Ur doin it wrong!
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11/19/08
Long story short, I was really interested to hear the "John's" perspective, simply because it isn't something I'd ever expect to hear on a news program, but in the end he just grossed me out.
Kudos to England for making this a strict liability offense!
11/19/08
The problem with this law in the UK is that it's basically inevitable that a man who uses prostitutes regularly will be using trafficked women sometimes. Open borders with European countries mean we have lots of legally resident Eastern Europeans, some of whom may turn to (choose?) prostitution, as opposed to legal employment. There are also, however, large numbers of women working as prostitutes who will have been trafficked here.
11/19/08
11/19/08
speaking of the mann act, i recommend "Sin in the Second City" for anyone interested in the history of prostitution & human trafficking in the US (esp. the Mann Act). good book, even if people give you weird looks when you tell them you're reading a book about prostitution...
11/19/08
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11/19/08
I've been involved in some seedy shit, including being paid with drugs/$$ for.....stuff that I don't want to get into here. And yes, the root of this was self-destructiveness, depression, drugs, etc. But...I won't pretend for a moment that I am ANYTHING like the thousands of women and girls with no other choices.
Yeah, it was sad, but I did have other choices and if I'm honest I was just making the selfish decision to fall deeper into the hole.
11/19/08
So I guess what I am saying is, while Ashley Dupre is not your average sex worker, I think it's important to point out her experiences, *in her own words*, to counter the claims that being a prostitute is all about loving sex and money and being empowered by it all.
11/19/08
and by people, I mean women, by the by. we commodify and fetishize women's bodies - and the male-dominated definition of sexuality, i.e. my peen goes in someone's orifice and the act is accomplished - to the point where this seems like a "choice," as opposed to an extreme option. That's shitty too, IMHO.
11/19/08
I don't deny that this woman may be in pain, but also....I don't know, maybe I am just projecting here...
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