Author: SWLRVWebsiteEditor

SWLRV attended a City of Port Phillip council meeting on Monday evening, at the lovely South Melbourne Town Hall (which features in the new Phryne Fisher film). We were there because Deputy Mayor, Cr Tim Baxter, was putting forward a motion to reassert the council’s support for decriminalisation. Moved by  Crs Baxter and Gross, the motion was carried. The wording of the motion is at the bottom of this post.  

We are, of course, heartened by this. The City of Port Phillip has the second highest number of private escorts living within its boundaries, the greatest number of street workers are based there, and it boasts the largest number of licensed brothels. It’s good to know they are looking out for local sex workers.

Getting the support of local government is critical in the fight for decriminalisation; council submissions to inquiries and reviews carry weight, and not all councils are as supportive as the City of Port Phillip when it comes to supporting sex workers. Given that state governments are responsible for sex work legislation and that changes to law are made at this level, what is the stake local councils have in decrim? Basically, councils spend money on sex work-related activities, from implementing local or by-laws, e.g., deciding where brothels can operate according to planning restrictions, to providing amenities used by street-based sex workers. 

In 2017, the South Australian parliament considered a decriminalisation bill, the 13th tabled in that state. Submissions were called for, and three councils had a say: all of them had some objection to the bill, with one council opposing it outright.  The bill was defeated yet again in 2019.

The Victorian Government launches a Sex Work Review website. The website reminds us that the department responsible for the review is the Department of Justice and Community Safety. The relevant Minister is the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Marlene Kairouz (pictured).

https://www.vic.gov.au/sexworkreview

A review is slightly different from an inquiry, and there are no formal terms of reference with this review. However, the website clearly outlines the scope of the review. Sex workers wait in anticipation for what comes next. 

Australia’s only sex work radio show, Behind Closed Doors, on Melbourne radio station 3CR, airs an interview with Lisa from SWLRV and Fiona Patten. Since launching the show in April 2019, the hosts have hoped to have Fiona on their show. Mission accomplished. 

It’s an exciting time as sex workers anticipate what 2020 will bring. Fiona Patten discusses the details of the sex work review and the inadequacy of Victoria’s now outdated sex work laws. 

https://www.3cr.org.au/behindcloseddoors/episode-201912051800/victorian-sex-work-law-reform-inquiry-2020

Hours after The Age publishes an article on sex work violence, Labor publishes a press release announcing a sweeping review of sex work to commence in early 2020. Fiona Patten MP will head the review, which will consider all aspects of the sex industry. 

Labor’s Platform to refer the matter to the Victorian Law Reform Commission did not eventuate, with the government instead opting for this Review, which isn’t connected to the Victorian Law Reform Commission.

However, Fiona Patten is a wonderful person to head this review and we hope for good outcomes. 

Investigative journalist with The Age, Farrah Tomazin, publishes an article, “Sex workers are sick of rapes, assaults and want protection” online and in print. A number of sex workers tell their stories of violence and of their unwillingness to go to police. The article talks about Labor’s Platform on sex work, quotes Sex Work Law Reform Victoria, and includes stories from three of the sex workers in our group. What is more scary, being a sex worker and telling your story to the police, or telling your story to the media?

The article marks the third time in just over 24 hours that an event has added additional pressure on Labor to act on sex work issues. 

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/sex-workers-are-sick-of-rapes-assaults-and-want-protection-20191126-p53ebz.html

Northern Territory Decriminalises Sex Work

Media announces a huge win in the Northern Territory as a bill to decriminalise sex work passes. The Northern Territory is now clearly years ahead of Victoria on sex work law reform. How will Daniel Andrews’ government down in Victoria respond?

Crossbencher Motion on Sex Work

Meanwhile in Victoria, with days until the Parliament closes down for Christmas, crossbencher David Limbrick decides to read in a motion calling on Labor to deliver on its platform to refer sex work the Victorian Law Reform Commission. A strong supporter of sex workers’ rights, this is not the first time Mr Limbrick has raised the issue of Labor and sex work within the parliament. This is significant, because each MP is only permitted two Motions per year, and as such, they usually reserve a Motion for a topic of personal significance. 

Mr Limbrick’s Motion represents another layer of pressure on Labor to act.

The Northern Territory releases a report, “Inquiry into the Sex Industry Bill 2019“, which largely endorses sex work decriminalisation in the territory. This marks a significant step towards decriminalisation in the Northern Territory.

The Age senior journalist and investigative reporter Farrah Tomazin meets with a number of sex workers to hear harrowing stories of violence, some unreported to the police. Sex workers from our group bravely tell their stories. We hold hands and close our eyes, pausing before walking into the building as we develop our inner strength to tell our emotional stories of surviving violence. The personal becomes the political. 

Exhausting! Between November 2018 and November 2019, we ran around Melbourne and regional Victoria meeting and lobbying 49 MPs and their electorate staff. Upper and Lower House, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Greens, crossbenchers, Ministers, backbenchers … We never stopped talking sex work. Our key message was a call to review Victoria’s outdated sex work laws. 

Sex workers from a range of backgrounds from SWLRV had vital conversations, both in parliament and in electorate offices in all corners of greater Melbourne; from Frankston to Werribee to Diamond Creek. What did we do on the long train journeys? Call and email yet more MPs to secure more meetings. We developed a real appreciation for Labor’s new public transport infrastructure in the form of brand new train stations.

We met supporters, critics, and a large group of MPs who just didn’t know what to think. Lobbying on the cheap, we caught public transport, trains, buses, lots of trams and V-Line. And we battled rain, awful winds, cold weather.

And after all of this, still no movement from the government on delivering a sex work review. Beginning to lose hope. 

The  team of sex workers at Behind Closed Doors, a weekly sex work radio show, interviews crossbencher David Limbrick.

https://www.3cr.org.au/behindcloseddoors/episode-201910171800/politician-david-limbrick-sex-work-laws

This episode marks a new direction for the show, as it now combines light commentary and personal stories with content about the political and regulatory issues surrounding sex work. It is yet another mechanism by which Victorian sex workers are raising the profile of sex work regulation in the media.