1. Sex work is inherently violent
This is the core argument for anti-decriminalisation feminists. We do not contest that levels of violence are high. Sex work in the UK has the greatest risk of occupational homicide for women, with a murder rate of five times that of other female workers.
But to propose outlawing prostitution on this basis is to impose a moralistic double standard. Agriculture is the UK's most dangerous industry, with 167 deaths over the past year. No one proposes that farming be banned. Two women a week are killed by their partner or former partner, but we have yet to see a feminist hazard warning against marriage. Instead there are calls, rightly, to better protect labourers in the field and women in their relationships. Why should the route to safety for sex workers be any different?
Ask your feminist dissenter: should we be allowed to work together for safety?
Stigma and criminalisation make sex workers vulnerable. Illegality frames everything we do. The activity of selling sex is legal in the UK but everything that enables it – from sharing a flat to soliciting on the street – remains illegal. So we either work alone, in hidden spots, or risk a criminal record. Violent men prey on women in such conditions, conditions fostered by everyone who feeds stigma or supports criminalisation. So ask your feminist dissenter: should we be allowed to work together for safety? If she is unmoved or disinterested it will be a short conversation.
