Sex Work
2020: The year in UK activism
People power — We recall month by month what has been a tumultuous year in the fight for social justice.
Written by: Ben Smoke
In Scotland, sex workers are battling for their rights
#NotEqualNotSafe — Campaigners are fighting back on plans from the Scottish government to make buying sex illegal, highlighting the grave danger it would cause to sex workers.
Written by: Megan Wallace
How QAnon is weaponised against sex workers
The real threat — Adult performer and writer Sovereign Syre explores how sex-trafficking conspiracy theories such as QAnon are really just a rehash of age-old anxieties wielded against sex workers.
Written by: Sovereign Syre
In South Africa, sex workers are calling for justice
#SayHerName — The pandemic has wrecked the livelihoods of sex workers around the world. But in Cape Town – where racism, gender-based violence and police brutality are already rife – the struggles are even more acute.
Written by: Daisy Schofield
Anti-prostitution ‘feminism’ has no place in a pandemic
People are in danger — With no protection or support to deal with the coronavirus crisis, sex workers are more vulnerable than ever. It’s time to put aside your personal politics, argues Molly Smith.
Written by: Molly Smith
How webcams revolutionised pornography and sex work
Content life — A new exhibition examines how cam culture changed the way we communicate, and sparked a new wave of online content.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In Bolsonaro’s Brazil, sex workers are in serious danger
‘Some of us will die’ — As Jair Bolsonaro’s fascistic grip tightens around the country, there are fears that even the most basic of protections will be stripped away – leaving sex workers more vulnerable than ever.
Written by: Peter Yeung
Sex work allowed Isa Mazzei to embrace her outsider status
Behind closed doors — Last year, the award-winning writer took Hollywood by storm with a psychological horror based on her own experience in the sex industry. Now, ahead of the release of her debut memoir, she’s looking back on how her time as a cam girl saved her at her lowest point.
Written by: Lydia Morrish
The criminal lawyer who was outed as a sex worker
How to rebuild — Nadia Guo’s professional reputation was wrecked by Canadian tabloids, forcing her to rebuild her life from the bottom up.
Written by: Victoria Chan
The lost freedom of East London’s strip pubs
The disappearing city — Strip pubs are an integral part of East London’s past – but shifting attitudes and rising rents are eating away at their freedoms, and casting doubt over their future.
Written by: Jessica Furseth
