Sex Work and the Law in the Media
11 February 2020
Saxon Mullins announces the official opening of the Advocacy at the Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy Initiative at a panel discussion in Melbourne. The Initiative is a collaborative network of researchers and advocates aiming to change community attitudes about sexual consent and assertively promote best practice in rape and sexual assault law reform.
Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy Initiative website
23 December 2019
Former longstanding Victorian Labor premier John Cain dies. In the 1980’s John Cain’s government led the world in sex industry regulation by legalising brothels.
Read more ABC News
6 December 2019
Australia’s only sex work radio show, Behind Closed Doors wins Best New Show at Melbourne community radio station 3CR. Sex Work Law Reform Victoria
Listen to Fiona Patten interviewed on ‘Behind Closed Doors’ discussing Victoria’s upcoming 2020 sex work inquiry.
28 November 2019
Victoria Police say sexual servitude and human trafficking not a major problem in Victoria’s illegal brothels.
Listen to ABC Melbourne Radio interview
22 November 2019
Sex workers accuse police in Queensland of ‘entrapment’. Victoria has a similar ‘licensing’ system of sex work laws that compromise sex workers’ ability to implement safety measures.
Read News.com.au story
14 November 2019
National Australia Bank treated me like ‘garbage’, sex worker says. Read news article on the Investor Daily website.
18 October 2019
Liberal Democrats MP David Limbrick expresses his views on sex work regulation while being interviewed on Australia’s only sex work radio show ‘Behind Closed Doors’. Hear two sex workers interview Mr Limbrick on the ‘Behind Closed Doors’ podcast page.
10 September 2019
Victorian crossbench MP David Limbrick of the Liberal Democrats calls out National Australia Bank in parliament for engaging in ‘financial discrimination‘ against sex workers and sex industry businesses. Financial discrimination occurs when banks refuse to provide services to sex workers. It is a surprisingly common practise across Australia.
Some banks have been sending letters to sex workers notifying them that their accounts will be cancelled and they need to go elsewhere. I'm not asking the government to regulate this, but I'm happy to call it out. NAB, I'm looking at you.
Posted by David Limbrick MP on Monday, September 9, 2019
31 August 2019
Article uncovers first photo of Madame Brussels, the red light queen of 1880’s Melbourne. Historian reveals a vibrant brothel scene in 19th Century Melbourne.
28 August 2019
Disability rights group Disabled People’s Organisations Australia releases a Joint Position Statement calling on the National Disability Insurance Agency to develop a comprehensive sexuality policy to continue reasonable and necessary support for sexual expression through NDIS funding.
31 July 2019
California legislates to protect sex workers from arrest if they report violence.
31 July 2019
Alleged racial profiling and discrimination against sex workers alive and well in New South Wales.
11 July 2019
Tribunal orders disabled woman can spend NDIS funds on sexual services, but the judgement avoids the term ‘sex worker’. NDIS intends to appeal a decision it deeems ‘does not meet community expectations’.
22 June 2019
What happened after Aussie sex workers were kicked off American websites? ABC technology reporter Ariel Bogle interviews Gala Vanting from Scarlet Alliance, Dean Lim from 3CR’s Behind Closed Doors, Estelle Lucas from Red Files and the team from Assembly Four
30 May 2019
Article ‘This Sex Worker Who Was Sexually Assaulted Didn’t Think She Would Be Believed. Now Her Client Is Going To Jail’ by Gina Rushton.
1 May 2019
ABC Article ‘What sex industry workers think of One Nation’s Steve Dickson ‘strip club scandal’ by Gala Vanting.
3 April 2019
ABC Article ‘Aussie sex workers hope legislative tide is turning in their favour’
28 March 2019
Article by sex worker critiques decriminalisation campaigns and the laws in place in New Zealand and New South Wales. By Nada Zenith DeCat.
11 January 2019
SBS TV Documentary ‘Original Sin: Sex’
Chock full of quirky, provocative archival footage, and with insights from top academics like biological anthropologist Helen Fisher as well as standout celebrities from Andy Cohen to Margaret Cho, and Ann Coulter to Dr. Ruth Westheimer, this episode takes us on a rapid-fire survey of the technologies that have revolutionized our relationship to sex.
View on SBS Online (sign in required)
