interview

In the Booth with Ruth – Jemima, Sex Worker, Writer and Student

Jemima, a sex worker, discusses the advantages of the sex workers’ rights and anti-sex trafficking movements working together.

Ruth Jacobs

Jemima Red Parasols line El Tiradito at SWOP-Tucson’s 2013 International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers Event
Photo 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 worker, but like most isolated by the nature of the work. Whilst I knew the law as it applied to me I was unaware there were people campaigning to change the laws, or that other countries had different systems, many of which were a lot worse than the UK. I started talking to and reading other sex workers writings, and attended a few events. Realising that I was not alone was such a huge moment for me.

The isolation of sex workers, and the way it feeds into our various oppressions, increases stigma, makes it less likely for crimes…

View original post 909 more words

In the Booth with Ruth – Pye Jakobsson, Sex Workers’ Rights Activist from Sweden

Pye Jakobsson, a dedicated activist fighting for the human rights of marginalised groups, discusses the advantages of the sex workers’ rights and anti-sex trafficking movements working together.

Ruth Jacobs

Pye Jakobsson - Sex Workers' Rights Activist

Pye Jakobsson is a former sex worker, presently taking a break from sex work while working in HIV-prevention. Her current roles include Project Manager at Hiv-Sverige/HIV-Sweden, Co-Founder and Coordinator at Rose Alliance, an NGO by and for current and former sex and erotic workers in Sweden, and President of The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), which advocates for rights based health and social services, freedom from abuse and discrimination, and self determination for sex workers.

Could you share how you became involved in the sex workers’ rights movement and why it’s so important to you?

I actually started out in the HIV-rights movement in Portugal in the ’80s. When I moved back to Sweden in 1994 I was quite shocked at the judgmental and infantilizing attitudes there was against sex workers and just started doing activism on my own. I was quite naïve I guess as it was sort of…

View original post 728 more words

Dr Jay Levy, Researcher and Consultant, discusses the outcomes of the criminalisation of the purchase of sex in Sweden

Ruth Jacobs

Dr Jay Levy conducted research in Sweden over several years on the outcomes of the criminalisation of the purchase of sex. His research and political interests include outcomes of sex work legislation and discourse; outcomes of drug legislation and discourse; feminist theory, gender theory, and queer theory; harm reduction, HIV/AIDS, STI, and blood-borne infection policy and law.

Some of his relevant work includes:

Levy, J., forthcoming, Criminalising the Purchase of Sex – Lessons of the Swedish Model (Routledge)

Levy, J., Swedish Abolitionism as Violence Against Women, Sex Worker Open University (SWOU) Sex Worker’s Rights Festival, Glasgow , 6 April, 2013 (published online)

Levy, J., Impacts of Swedish Criminalisation of the Purchase of Sex on Sex Workers, British Society of Criminology Annual Conference, Northumbria University, 3-6 July, 2011 (published online in English and French (translation))

“In the Booth with Ruth – Dr Jay Levy, Researcher and Consultant” Produced…

View original post 32 more words