Michelle Long

Sex work is work!

These photographs sit as part of a visual protest against the precarious position Sex Workers are placed in due to the Nordic Model policy.

The Nordic Model legalises selling sex yet criminalises the purchase of sex. This pushes the industry underground, and as such does not afford Sex Workers their rights to the protection and freedoms that they deserve. Moral ideas around sex, the victimisation of Sex Workers and conflating Sex trafficking crimes with Sex Work laws all act as a catalyst to the dangers Sex Workers may face every day.

Currently Sweden (1999), Norway (2009), Iceland (2009), Canada (2014), Northern Ireland & UK (2015), France (2016), Ireland (2017) & Israel (2020) use the nordic model.

Through this campaign we hope to educate the general public while supporting, empowering and platforming the views of Sex Workers themselves. More can be found at @htttycd.

More information, stories from Sex Workers and support can be found through: The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), SWARM (UK), STRASS (FRANCE), STAR (US).

Resources:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/long-read-how-nordic-model-france-changed-everything-sex-workers/
https://strategictransalliance.org/
https://redyellowblue.org/gbv/vawg/cse/nordic-model/
https://www.nswp.org/sex-workers-speak-out