Priorities for the minority? Street-based sex work and Partnerships and Communities Together (PACT)

Abstract

The 2006 Coordinated Prostitution Strategy recommended local 'needs'-based responses to target street sex work, and to this end consultation with members of the wider community-an approach that has also been more recently recommended by the current Coalition government in 2011. This article draws on empirical data collated over two years in the city of Cardiff, Wales. It focuses on Partnerships and Communities Together (PACT) meetings as a primary pathway for police/public consultation, and highlights how despite a lack of community representation at PACT, street sex work can become a community priority to be addressed with a punitive response. However, a public opinion survey carried out with 205 Cardiff residents suggests the wider community are more tolerant and very concerned about the safety of street workers. In conclusion we suggest that PACT priorities can misinterpret and misrepresent the views and opinions of the community.

‘It’s better than daytime television’: questioning the socio-spatial impacts of massage parlours on residential communities

“…O'Neill et al, (2008), in their research on community tolerance to on-street sex work in England and Wales, identify several responses, ranging from sympathy with sex workers to the desire to exclude them. However, dominant community voices obscured more conciliatory views (also see Sagar and Jones, 2012). Brooks-Gordon (2006: 62) included an apt quote from a police officer; it is the 'squeaky wheel getting the oil' and therefore regulatory policy is skewed, because community representation is unbalanced.…”

Students in the Sex Industry: Motivations, Feelings, Risks, and Judgments

“…A commonly used definition of “sex work” is the process of offering a sexual act for money or material goods ( Comte, 2010 ). As written by Sagar et al (2015a) , in its broader definition, it may include indirect sexual exchange, such as lap dance and striptease, while in its narrower definition, it refers to direct sexual intercourse only. Several types of sex work are differentiated in the literature with respect to the type of execution such as “indoor” vs. “street” prostitution ( Morton et al, 2012 ) or “voluntary” and “forced” sex work ( Tyler and Johnson, 2006 ); however, literature focusing on forced or survival sex and sex trafficking should be differentiated from sex work carried out for economic purposes ( Deshpande and Nour, 2013 ).…”

“…In comparison to sex work in general, student sex work remains under-researched in Germany, and reports of first-hand experiences from the people directly involved are lacking. Student sex work is a widespread phenomenon all over the world ( Roberts et al, 2007 , 2010 , 2013 ; Betzler et al, 2015 ; Sagar et al, 2015a ). Roberts et al (2013) studied the prevalence of student sex work in the United Kingdom and estimated that around 6% of all university students are working in the sex industry.…”

‘I’m Not a Bloody Slave, I Get Paid and if I Don’t Get Paid Then Nothing Happens’: Sarah’s Experience of Being a Student Sex Worker

“…It is estimated that around one in 20 university students are currently involved in some form of sex work in the UK (Sagar et al, 2015b: 7). Given drastic increases in tuition fees – which are now over £9000 per year for undergraduate courses and on average £11,000 for postgraduate degrees – coinciding with rising costs of student living, it is unsurprising that students are motivated by financial pressures to enter sex work (Roberts et al, 2013; UCAS, 2018a, 2018b).…”

“…Decisions to enter and stay in sex work are not simply financial but are often more complex and multifaceted (Colosi, 2010). In comparison to other part-time jobs, students cited flexibility, the potential for higher income and thus fewer working hours, increased autonomy, fun, excitement and anticipated sexual pleasure (Sagar et al, 2015b). Yet, as the sex industry is diverse, encompassing a broad range of labour processes and relations – from direct sex work, pornography, erotic dancing, telephone sex work and webcamming, among others – there is no ‘one’ sex work(er) experience (Hardy, 2013; Weitzer, 2010).…”