Ruth Jacobs's Blog

Originally posted on Ruth Jacobs:
Guest post by Kate Photo credit: Justin Grimes, Flickr A rainy night in Belfast. Cold and wet with a wind whipping round the corners of the barren streets where women used to stand. How things have changed. A decade ago, even on such a horrible early winter’s night, there would have been activity, but the…

Originally posted on Ruth Jacobs:
Could you share how you became involved in the sex workers’ rights movement and why it’s so important to you? There are so many moments that have added up to my becoming an activist. When I was sixteen a District Attorney declined to prosecute my father for abusing me and…

Sex trafficking has been used as a smokescreen in a moral crusade to end prostitution. Justice Minister David Ford does not believe criminalising the purchase of sex will reduce trafficking. He believes criminalising the purchase of sex will endanger sex workers...

From The English Collective of Prostitutes Pushing prostitution further underground will not abolish it nor help sex workers. It will endanger sex workers’ lives and livelihoods. Consenting sex is not a crime. Criminalising clients will not stop prostitution; it will push it further underground, making it more dangerous and stigmatising for sex workers. Most sex workers…Read more Sex Workers Oppose Northern Ireland Bill and End Demand Campaign to Criminalise Clients

Originally posted on Research Project Korea:
Interview with sex workers’ rights activist Laura Lee at Stormont Parliamentary Buildings, Belfast. © 2014 Matt Lemon Photography | Please read the copyright notice What is Clause 6? Clause 6 is part of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Further Provisions and Support for Victims) Bill in Northern Ireland, proposed by…

From The English Collective of Prostitutes SAVE THE DATE Canada’s court strikes down the prostitution laws but the government bypasses its ruling! Organising to retain & implement our path-breaking victory   22 September 2014  7pm-9pm Crossroads Women’s Centre, 25 Wolsey Mews, London NW5 2DX In December 2013, Canada’s Supreme Court struck down the prostitution laws because […]

Can you tell me about your new book Criminalising the Purchase of Sex: Lessons from Sweden? My book deals with the outcomes of Sweden’s sex purchase law, a law that criminalises the purchase of sex and that has been hugely internationally influential. In the book, I present the results and analysis of fieldwork and research […]

Marcia had been serving a 27 month sentence for solicitation of prostitution and corrections officers had left her out in the sun in a metal cage in searing heat until she collapsed. Soon after, in hospital her life was ended when the Director of Arizona Department of Corrections removed her from life support.

Originally posted on Ruth Jacobs:
Red Parasols line El Tiradito at SWOP-Tucson’s 2013 International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers EventPhoto Credit: C. Elliott Could you share how you became involved in the sex worker rights movement and why it’s so important to you? It honestly was Twitter for me. I was a sex…

Originally posted on Ruth Jacobs:
Guest post by Carol Leigh http://vimeo.com/98282879 Trailer from Collateral Damage: Sex Workers and the Anti-Trafficking Campaigns This work is dedicated in Loving Memory to Andrew Hunter, who held my (virtual) hand through this process, encouraged me and provided an abundance of information and material. FANTASIES THAT MATTER. IMAGES OF SEXWORK IN…