Lulu Holiday says Ray Stevens needs to do better after his comments on decriminalising sex work
A Gold Coast MP seems to be confused when it comes to sex work, so let’s set some facts straight when it comes to decriminalising the oldest profession
Opinion
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It really is a shame about Ray.
Somehow, our Mermaid Beach MP seems to have missed the memo that it’s 2023.
Recalling the days of the early 1980s, LNP representative Ray Stevens warned this week that decriminalising sex work would somehow turn Hooker Boulevard into a boulevard of hookers.
Now, aside from the fact that he seemed to misunderstand the difference between ‘decriminalisation’ versus ‘deregulation’, does Mr Stevens really need to use derogatory terms for sex workers, most of whom are women?
The point of these proposed law reforms are to ensure the safety of these workers, and while Mr Stevens doesn’t have to agree with their line of work, he should at least treat them with dignity.
Sadly, Mr Stevens’ comments contain an old-school sneer towards ‘scary’ sex workers ‘plying their trade … of promiscuous behaviour’.
But while the veteran MP might have his knickers in a twist, let’s set some facts straight when it comes to sex workers and the law reforms set to pass before the end of this year.
After an independent review, the Palaszczuk Government announced its commitment to decriminalising sex work in April.
Broadly accepting the recommendation of the Queensland Law Reform Commission’s report, Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said the legislation would introduce workplace health and safety laws for sex workers, as well as regulate how and where those businesses or workers operate.
Respect Inc Queensland co-ordinator Lulu Holiday said the entire purpose of the legislation was to better regulate sex work to ensure the safety of workers. She said it would have no affect at all on residents and residential areas.
“The first thing I would say is that Mr Stevens’ statements are ill-informed, disrespectful and have no place in 2023 when women’s safety is rightly recognised as being important,” said Lulu.
“Decriminalisation does not mean no regulation.
“In fact, it means that sex work will be regulated in the same way as other businesses are regulated, including access to workplace health and safety and industrial rights.
“Right now only 10 per cent of sex work is regulated, decriminalisation will mean 100 per cent is regulated.”
Under current laws, sex work is only legal if the worker is operating by themselves or in a licensed brothel, where workers are not paid by the hour but only paid per client, with an average of half their fee going back to the brothel owners.
Lulu said brothels certainly had their place, but they should not be the only avenue available for workers, and some workers felt unsafe if forced to work alone.
Independent sex workers are currently criminalised for: working together in the same dwelling, building or hotel as another sex worker; messaging another sex worker with their current location or when a client arrives and leaves; employing someone to answer phones; using a driver another sex worker uses; what services are offered and what services are not offered.
“Right now, independent workers have to choose between working legally or working safely.
“Decriminalising sex work is not going to change how the industry is already operating … about 60 per cent of workers already operate in residential areas. And has anyone complained that the streets are overrun?
“No, because we value privacy and discretion as do our clients. No one is knocking on random doors looking for sex workers. Almost all of us find our clients, and our clients find us, on the internet. It’s not the 1980s.
“Not only that, all activities on any residential street in Queensland are subject to amenity impact regulations, including sex work activity.
“This is not about bringing brothels to residential areas but decriminalising what is already occurring to make it better for neighbours and safer for workers.
“I think the intention of these comments was to mislead the public and to take the conversation away from safety, which is what decriminalisation is actually about.”
Indeed, when conducting its review into sex work, the QLRC did not recommend brothels being allowed in residential areas, and said the law should respond to ‘reality, not myths’.
“Stereotypes about most sex workers being street workers, victims of exploitation or trafficking, or ‘vectors of disease’ are not supported by the evidence or reflected in the diversity of the sex-work industry,” the report said.
Yet compare those comments to those of Mr Stevens, who said:
“(The reforms) will open the door for criminals exploiting the sex industry, with overseas young women being placed in residential apartments and homes without monitoring and due care,” he said.
“I am sure my communities of Mermaid Beach and Broadbeach will be inundated with promiscuous behaviour in my suburbs and the aptly named Hooker Boulevard in Broadbeach will end up being just that.
“(Sex work) is a business and I am loathe to call it ‘home occupation’.”
Newsflash: it’s already legal for sex workers to operate in a home – they just have to do it alone, with no protection.
It’s 2023, it’s time to support a safer sex industry.
Enough of the debate … Just do it.
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