THE 156th annual TUC Congress will take place this week in Brighton. This event is a pivotal celebration of the hard-won rights of workers, which are increasingly imperiled by the lasting impacts of Covid-19, economic uncertainties and the rise of neoliberal policies. 

These challenges make trade unions more essential than ever. The feminist activists at FiLiA UK look with hope to the trade unions, expecting them to resist the growing effort among labour-related circles to promote what they call “the decriminalisation of sex work.” 

The title of this policy may seem innocent to the layman, who interprets the “decriminalisation of sex work” as an effort to protect vulnerable women from legal persecution. However, this wording is manipulative and conceals three major falsehoods propagated by the global pimp lobby: that prostitution is simply a kind of work; that “decriminalisation of sex work” aims at helping people in prostitution; and that legalising the sex industry will improve their lives. None of those are true.

First and foremost, prostitution is not “work.” UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem described prostitution in her latest report as a “system of violence, inequality and discrimination, which affects a woman’s ability to achieve equality.”  

Alsalem’s choice of words is accurate; to survive economically, the average woman in prostitution is forced to tolerate sexual access to her body by five to 20 strangers daily, just because they paid for it. No other job in the world involves the client using the worker’s intimate organs, while the worker must endure penetration, pinching, bodily fluids, unpleasant odours, and often also verbal, physical and sexual violence. 

The death rates in prostitution are alarmingly high, compounded by unwanted pregnancies and severe physical and mental harm — none of which should ever be dismissed as mere “occupational hazards.” 

Dr Melissa Farley’s research, conducted among people in prostitution across a wide range of countries, found that this population suffers from PTSD at rates similar to treatment seeking combat veterans, rape victims, battered women seeking shelter, and refugees from state-organised torture. No trade union representative could conduct a risk assessment or enforce health and safety measures that would adequately protect those in prostitution from inherent abuse and violence. 

Secondly, the call for the “decriminalisation of sex work” is not a random idea but rather a part of an organised global effort. The full name of the policy is “Decriminalisation of All Aspects of Sex Work,” which legitimises the abusers and the profiteers — the punters and especially the pimps. 

The claim that this approach helps women in prostitution by normalising their “stigmatised occupation” is a lie — not only because there is no need to legitimise the abuser to support the abused, but also because most women in prostitution do not seek to normalise their detrimental circumstances. What most prostitutes want is a way out of prostitution. 

Since prostitution itself is not illegal in Britain, and since there are other ways to improve existing protections for women without criminalising them, it is clear that the “Decriminalisation of Sex Work” is aimed at achieving one thing: helping pimps obtain business licences.

Thirdly, the claim that legal brothels would grant people in prostitution the right to organise and access labour rights is a lie. In countries like Germany, New Zealand, parts of Australia, the Netherlands and Switzerland, where brothels are already legal, we do not see a flourishing of “workers’ rights” for women in prostitution achieved through unionisation or the application of labour laws. 

Even in these countries, women who can avoid prostitution don’t enter into it. As a result, the majority of those involved in prostitution are undocumented migrants and other victims of exploitation, creating a vast black market. Those who are legally involved are overwhelmingly classified as “independent contractors” who rent rooms from brothel-owners. The pimps seek licences, not the legal responsibilities of an employer. The people in prostitution bear the burden of taxes but do not benefit from labour law protections. 

If the “no holds barred” prostitution sought by decrim lobbyists is legalised, all forms of prostitution — legal brothels, street prostitution and trafficking in minors and undocumented migrants — will inevitably expand. This normalisation of an inherently abusive practice would devastate societal views of women and further erode their rights at a time when violence against women is already endemic. 

The legal mega-brothels in countries like Germany do not offer prosperity to the women trapped in them; instead, they commodify their bodies and expose them to humiliation and violence. In a society where prostitution is normalised, pimps could establish brothels anywhere, even next door. The managed prostitution zones in Holbeck, Leeds, turned the area into a hub of criminality, making it a place where no-one wanted to live.

The good news are there are many meaningful actions trade unions can take to support vulnerable women instead of aiding pimps. They can collaborate with feminists and survivors to bring the Nordic model to Britain — a legal framework that protects victims and penalises their abusers, already successful in nine other jurisdictions. 

Unions can also partner with employers to help prostitution survivors gain training and employment in legitimate, fair-paying jobs. The focus should be on empowering the most vulnerable and providing them with the opportunity to rebuild their lives with dignity.

Most union members would recoil at the idea of themselves, or their loved ones being forced into prostitution due to economic hardship. Trade unions should be championing equal pay and conditions for women, not promoting the dangerous notion that prostitution is just another form of work.

Despite ongoing efforts, women continue to be paid less than men for work of equal value. Trade unions must intensify their fight against this injustice and ensure that women’s demands are central to their mission. This does not include endorsing the harmful and misogynistic idea that “sex work is work.”

Luba Fein is anti-prostitution lead for women’s rights charity FiLiA UK (www.filia.org.uk) and Helen O’Connor is a trade unionist and former nurse.