Friday, August 22, 2008

Anti-Porn Cheat sheet

This is from the One Angry Girl blog - it is a wallet sized cheat sheet for all those annoying pro-porn statements that we hear so often.

Here's the link: http://www.oneangrygirl.net/cheatsheet.pdf

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

More photo's from Monday night's action






McGinty Fly Posting Direct Action




Well a few of us yesterday evening in Northbridge to do a bit of a tounge in cheek fly posting direct action. We took inspiration from OBJECT in the UK and culture jammed RALPH pictures of semi naked sexualised women with Jim McGinty's face. Given that there is an election coming up and McGinty lead the way on the decriminalisation of brothels here in WA we thought he was a prime canditate - after all objectification is like 'SO' liberating for women - so liberating in fact that we thought we'd give Jim a turn.

The slogans if you can't read them say "I feel so liberated when I get my tits out for the boys" and "for a good time call 1900 HOT JIM"

We dressed up in the most 'unsexiest' clothes we could find from the local op-shop, namely boiler suits, caps and jackets - we did look a little like we just stepped out of a Village People video, with bucket in tow, but we weren't detered. These photo's don't have any people action in them as yet - we're going to photoshop gorilla heads on them and post them soon!

Join us on our next action!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Public urged to comment on planning guidelines for prostitution

This is STOP's response to the draft planning guidelines: http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/Results.aspx?ItemID=130572

I am writing on behalf of a group called Sex Trade Opposition Project (STOP). STOP is a group of Perth women who formed last year to oppose the Prostitution Amendment Act 2008. We oppose the decriminalisation of brothels from both a human right and a women’s rights perspective. Please find below our comment on the draft planning guidelines which require local governments to control the location of brothels.
The guidelines state that local government schemes will regulate the use and development of land for sexual service businesses and planning approval will be required for sexual service business. This is inherently problematic, given that most local governments have openly stated their opposition to the legislation and reluctance to grant permission for brothels and sexual service businesses to operate in their area. There is considerable evidence to show that the clientele of even single operators in residential areas causes significant problems. A number of STOP members attended a council meeting at Melville where male punters were coming and going from one residence at all hours of the day and night, causing parking and noise problems to local residents and with reports of men who had been drinking, harassing young girls and women in the street. This will be increasingly problematic not solely in residential areas, but also areas that are non residential, or in fact any public area where women are likely to be. Research had found that when brothels proliferate, which always occurs following the decriminalisation or legalisation of prostitution, that there is a corresponding increase in the sexual harassment and sexual and assault of women in these areas.

STOP wonders exactly what measures the State Government are likely to take if local Governments consider all applications to them for sexual services businesses to be a nuisance or incompatible with the local character. Many have indicated that they will do so, which is unsurprising given that most councillors would consider sexual harassment to be a nuisance and certainly not in keeping with the character of their locality. In fact, the State Government’s own admission that local Government should give consideration to the proximity of sexual services business to ‘sensitive uses’ including child care facilities, indicates there is concern that the clientele of these establishments are unsafe.

STOP advocate for the Swedish model of legislation which more and more countries who’ve seen the endemic of sex trafficking in their borders have now adopted. This model has at its core the principle that the institution of prostitution is violence against ALL women and that legal penalties imposed upon those who purchase or who profit from a person who provides sexual services and at the same time decriminalises the provision of sexual services.

Before the proclamation of this legislation, STOP urge the State Government to consider the implications of this legislation on the women of Western Australia, especially those in the most vulnerable sections of the community who are likely to be drawn into this industry through it’s inevitable expansion. Most of the STOP members would consider themselves to be of the left of politics and be traditional Labour voters, however given the proposed demise of women’s human rights that Labour will be sanctioning with this legislation, if this legislation is proclamed, then we can only hope that Labour will not be re-elected.