Fuck the Swedish Model.

By that, btw, I don't mean these delightful chickadees from First Time Tied, a Swedish Bondage site (though they are lovely, awwww! so precious).

I mean the laws around prostitution that are continually tossed around here in the UK as the ideal we should be working towards. Every time a politician talks about whoring, it's about the Swedish Model, and how well it's working. Mmmk. Having spoken to Swedes about it, it's NOT working, not at all.

"Anyone who for remuneration procures a temporary sexual relationship will be guilty – if their action is not punishable by some other offense according to the penal code – of purchasing sexual services, and will be sentenced to fines or prison for not more than six months."- translation of the law from here, which is a good run down and, well, I don't want to reiterate- just check it out :)

Reading through a lot of the discussions around the Swedish Model, I can't believe we're even having this argument still, to be honest. How can the Poppy Project support the Swedish Model when, in Sweden, the prostitutes that are suffering the worst consequences are the illegal immigrants? The trafficked women the Poppy Project is supposed to be helping? It blows my mind.

Again and again, these discussions seem to ignore the problems with vague language. As an American, I am perhaps excessively sensitive to vague language. Our politicians often make a lot of noise about "change" or "patriotism" without ever really going into detail about what that means to them. There's a reason for this. It's easy to work people up when you use these words, but harder when you specify. It becomes easier for your opponent to rip into your argument if you use specific language. Also, it becomes more obvious how educated you are about your topic- one of the reasons I despair in US politics, as neither has proven to me, when they say they have a plan, what that concretely MEANS.

So when I hear stuff like "remuneration", I want to know what, exactly, that covers. Cases in Sweden have apparently covered non-monetary things like drugs or furs- so what about trips, education costs (oh, the number of sex workers out in SF looking for "financial aid"... thanks, America) or fancy dinners? Expensive shoes? Purses?

"Temporary sexual relationship"? Ok, every single word in this is actually very vague. How long is temporary? If you have a regular john, is that ok, then? Sexual in what way? Is BDSM sexual enough to be arrested for? Foot fetishism? Phone sex? And relationship... wow, I mean, I get into these discussions about what "relationship" means to my sweeties and I ALL THE FUCKING TIME, and that's socially! Imagine then how confusing it must be to define it thoroughly enough to make legal judgements?

See how this gets murky?

Never mind the fact that I can tell you, as a woman who, I guess, is technically a migrant sex worker- I've worked in the US, where buying AND selling sex is illegal. Let's set aside for a moment the discussion of privilage and ethnicity- I acknowledge that I am middle class, white, comfortable in my body as female, and, in California anyway, legal to do other forms of work. So let's not bicker about all that, and just compare for a moment the difference in experience for such a woman in San Francisco, where prostitution is illegal, and London, where it's legal under certain circumstances.

The clients I had in California treated me differently. I had to be on my guard a lot more often. I worked out of a hot tub establishment because it was what I could afford, rent-wise, and I felt better having guys around who knew what I was up to and would come help me if something went wrong. I could not call the police. I couldn't fully give consent to a client because I couldn't be explicit or communicate fully without fear that the "client" was actually a policeman ready to arrest me. There was no SMS messaging system to check up on me. And the clients... well, most of them were respectful, but the kindest among them pitied me, and the worst among them stalked and threatened to kill me. Keep in mind, when, as a prostitute, you fear the police, you are put in an incredibly vulnerable position. The police, time and time again, have proven to be the cruelest victimizer of prostitutes and other sex workers. The Swedish Model means that mostly the assholes will continue to be clients. Say what you will about the ideals you have for it, that's the reality. That's why I work here.

See, in the UK, I have, not one, but multiple groups I can contact for legal, medical, and emotional help. I can explicitly spell out on my site and in emails and phone calls what I will and will not do, which prevents ugly debates in person. I can call the police for help. I can report a rape and have it... well, more respected, anyway, than in the States, where I would be laughed at and sent home without being given the opportunity to report, because I'm a sex worker. I mean, hell, there's a Union, even, which, if given enough power/respect/political oomph could very likely offer up some ways to help trafficking victims AND sex workers who have come into the profession willingly.

Anyway. I have to somehow make this into a better, more academic-sounding submission to the F-Word. Probably means less cussing. But for you guys, that's my initial thoughts about the Swedish Model. Maybe it looks pretty on the outside, but... no substance.