Sex and the Market

What an irony: the practitioners of the world’s oldest profession are still bound to justify that theirs is indeed… a profession. “Sex work is work,” an assertion in the face of the popular stigma surrounding prostitution, has nonetheless become an international slogan to unify sex workers from around the globe. National and trans-national organisations are now able to bring forth the cause of millions of workers. But few would rejoice when assessing today’s scene. This week, LILA Inter-actions starts a new series focusing on the areas where sexuality and economy intersect: Sex and the Market. Its first debate attempts a studied look at sex work and its regulations. Nalini Jameela, author of The Autobiography of a Sex Worker, defends prostitution as an occupation of dignity, in times marked by the lack of a deeper understanding from the public and the state. Luca Stevenson, from the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe, calls for the consultation of sex workers in policy-making, and underlines how legalisation is not the final step to answering these challenges.