K. Morris's Blog, page 786
March 28, 2014
The Nordic Model Of Prostitution Law Reform Is A Myth A Post On “The Conversation” Argues
A very interesting article on The Conversation by May-Len Skilbrei, Associate Professor at University of Oslo and Charlotta Holmström, Assistant Professor at Malmö University, entitled “The Nordic Model of Prostitution Law Is A Myth”.
—
The “Nordic model” of prostitution is often heralded for being particularly progressive and woman-friendly, built on a feminist definition of prostitution
as a form of male violence against women.
France
has moved to adopt a Nordic-inspired approach; policy makers are
urging
the UK to do the same. But the idea of such a model is misleading, and in no way tells the whole truth about what is going on in the region where it supposedly
applies.
We recently gave a talk titled “The Nordic model of prostitution policy does not exist”. The aim was to provoke reflection and a discussion, but also to
tell the truth about prostitution policies in the Nordic countries.
We have researched Nordic prostitution policies since the mid-nineties, and in particular headed a large comparative
project
on Nordic prostitution policies and markets in 2007-2008. In our work, we examined how Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden approach prostitution
through criminal justice and welfare policies, and reviewed the evidence for how these policies impact Nordic prostitution markets and the people who work
in them.
We found that the differences not only between, but also within, the Nordic countries are too great for there to be anything like a shared “Nordic” model
– and that the case for their success is far more fraught than popular support would suggest.
Only Sweden, Norway and Iceland have acts unilaterally criminalising the purchase of sex. Finland has a partial ban; Denmark has opted for decriminalisation.
The “Nordic model”, then, is in fact confined to only three countries.
These countries’ laws prohibiting the purchase of sex are often
depicted
as ways to redistribute the guilt and shame of prostitution from the seller to the buyer of sex. However, this was by no means the only argument for their
introduction. Contrary to many common
feminist appraisals,
these laws do not in fact send a clear message as to what and who is the problem with prostitution; on the contrary, they are often implemented in ways
that produce negative outcomes for people in prostitution.
In truth, while these laws have attracted flattering attention
internationally,
the politics and practices associated with them are very complex. In particular, they are sometimes applied in conjunction with other laws, by-laws and
practices specifically aimed at pinning the blame for prostitution on people who sell sex, particularly if they are migrants. For these and other reasons,
the Nordic countries’ approaches must be judged with caution – and none more so than the most popular example, the case of Sweden.
Where Sweden leads
Sweden often attracts particular attention in discussions of how to deal with prostitution, not least since reports from the Swedish government conclude
that the law there has been a success.
It has often been
stated
that the number of women in visible prostitution in Sweden has decreased since the Sex Purchase Act (Sexköpslagen) was introduced in 1999; the Swedish
police
describe
the act as an efficient tool for keeping trafficking away from Sweden. The law has broad support among the general public in Sweden, and this has been
interpreted
as a result of the law having its intended normative effect on opinions of prostitution. But given the available evidence, none of these points is fully
convincing.
The claim that the number of people involved in prostitution has declined, for one, is largely based on the work of organisations that report on specific
groups they work with, not the state of prostitution more generally: social workers, for example, count and get an impression based on their contact with
women in street prostitution in the largest cities. There is no reason to believe that other forms of prostitution, hidden from view, are not still going
on.
The oft-cited 2010
Skarhed report
acknowledges this – but still concludes that the law is a success based on the number of women in contact with social workers and police. Men involved
in prostitution, women in indoor venues, and those selling sex outside the larger cities are therefore excluded from the scope of the report.
This excessive focus on street prostitution handicaps many
accounts
of the law’s implementation, which tend to simply repeat Swedish authorities’ claims that the Sex Purchase Act has influenced the size of the prostitution
markets. They ignore the fact that since 1999 or so, mobile phones and the internet have largely taken over the role face-to-face contact in street prostitution
used to have – meaning a decline in contacts with women selling sex in the traditional way on the streets of Sweden cannot tell the whole story about the
size and form of the country’s prostitution markets.
Meanwhile, the Swedish Sex Purchase Act is often
said
to be an effective tool against human trafficking. The evidence for this claim is weak; Swedish authorities have backed it up with
something said
in a call intercepted by the police. The official data that does exist is vague;
some authors
have also pointed out that the act may have raised prices for sex, making trafficking for sexual purposes potentially more lucrative than ever.
There is also scant evidence for the claim that the law has had its advertised effect on the perception of prostitution and people in prostitution. Even
though
surveys
among the general public indicate great support for the law, the same material also shows a rather strong support for a criminalisation of sex sellers.
This contradicts the idea that the law promotes an ideal of gender equality: instead, the criminalisation of sex buyers seems to influence people to consider
the possibility of criminalising sex sellers as well. This rather confounds the idea that the “Nordic model” successfully shifts the stigma of prostitution
from sex sellers to clients.
Values in practice
Ultimately, prostitution laws targeting buyers have complex effects on people far beyond those they are meant to target. In addition to this complicating
factor, the Nordic countries also police prostitution using various other laws and by-laws. Some of these regulations do, in fact, assume that the women
who sell sex are to be punished and blamed for prostitution. This goes to show that one should be careful in concluding that Nordic prostitution policies
are guided by progressive feminist ideals, or that they necessarily seek to protect women involved in prostitution. The most telling example of this the
way the Nordic countries treat migrants who sell sex.
In Sweden this is embodied by the
Aliens Act,
which forbids foreign women from selling sex in Sweden and is used by the police to apprehend non-Swedish or migrant persons suspected of selling sex.
This reveals the limits of the rhetoric of female victimisation, with clients framed as perpetrators: if the seller is foreign, she is to blame, and can
be punished with deportation.
In Norway, we see similar gaps between stated ideology, written policies, and practice. Even though it is completely legal to sell sex, women involved in
prostitution are victims of increased police, neighbour and border controls which stigmatise them and make them more vulnerable. The increased control
the Norwegian police exert on prostitution markets so as to identify clients includes
document checks
on women involved in prostitution so as to find irregulars among them. Raids performed in the name of rescue often end with vulnerable women who lack residence
permits being deported from Norway.
Taken together, the Nordic countries’ ways of approaching prostitution have been presented nationally and understood internationally as expressions of a
shared understanding of prostitution as a gender equality problem, an example of how women’s rights can be enshrined in anti-prostitution law. But after
looking closely at how the laws have been proposed and implemented, we beg to differ.
For the original article please visit, http://theconversation.com/the-nordic-model-of-prostitution-law-is-a-myth-21351).
March 27, 2014
Dreams
Snorting, their hoofs pounding, horses vast and black chase, pursue, hunt me down. Dark creatures unleashed at night to gallop through my head.
In day light the black mares are stabled where none dare go, in the dark depths of the brain. Hidden, padlocked behind steel doors they wait, patiently for darkness. Night cometh, like ghosts they glide through locked doors. No, need to wake go away, thrashing trying to escape, baring down, snorting. All the years, childhood fears, death, vengeance, nightmares, must awake.
March 26, 2014
March 24, 2014
Download A Free Novel by C.B. McCullough
Check out this free book promotion. I am off to download my copy now, Kevin
Originally posted on McCullough Writes:
Available for free download: C.B. McCullough’s debut novel,
The Fallen Odyssey
(2013).
Read this epic fantasy adventure on your Kindle for free.
The Fallen Odyssey
From C.B. MCCULLOUGH comes a thrilling adventure for young adults and experienced readers alike.
From Amazon.com:
When seventeen-year-old Justin Holmes wakes from a strange, amnesic slumber, he finds himself in an unknown land, far from his rural Pennsylvania hometown. With no memory of how he came to be in this world of vast grasslands, sky-scraping mountains and double moons, his only choice is to cling for dear life to some unlikely allies: an eccentric old hermit, and a cold-blooded, duplicitous mercenary.
When unwillingly recruited to help rescue a kidnapped young woman, Justin is swept off into the wild on a dangerous mission, all while struggling to learn what twist of fate has landed him in this bizarre alternate dimension.
Questions and mysteries abound…
View original 87 more words
March 22, 2014
Dark Corners And Brutality
An interesting review of “Lost Girls” in which the author, Robert Colker details the murder of 5 young sex workers and the police’s lack of interest in protecting sex workers from violent clients. The author of the article leans towards the view that the best way to protect prostitutes is by criminalising the “Johns” (clients. The majority of the comments following on from the piece endorse the Nordic model under which the client who pays for sex is criminalised while the sex worker is not. However a number of other commenters, including sex workers believe that the article lacks neutrality and is a thinly veiled pro-criminalisation of the client piece of propaganda. Such criminalisation will not help sex workers but will render their occupations more dangerous these commenters contend.
For the article please visit http://observer.com/2013/07/getting-off-easy-how-prostitutes-became-the-new-expendables/
Kevin Morris is an author. For his Amazon author’s page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
March 21, 2014
An Act Of Violence
“Why did you do it Marco?”
The skinhead made no answer. His tattooed right knuckles spelled out the word hate while the left hand was emblazoned with love.
“This is a new low for you Marco, dragging an elderly man out of his wheelchair and kicking 7 bells out of him. Why did you do it? Was it just a bit of fun” The Inspector said leaning across the desk.
“Inspector you’re intimidating my client. Your body posture is threatening”.
Inspector Mark Bishop fought back the urge to tell this young lawyer, barely out of university what he thought of her. With a baleful glare in her direction the Inspector leaned back in his chair.
“Anything to say Marco?” the Inspector asked.
“It wern’t me”.
“Really, there are CCTV pictures which look remarkably like you. Do you have a doppelganger?” Sargent Liz Thomas asked.
“Whats a doppel, whatever you said?”
“A look alike Marco. If it wasn’t you laying into Michael Jennings then whoever it was, they are a dead ringer for you” Liz said.
“This isn’t your style Marco. Selling E to clubbers and a bit of coke, you’ve got form for that but, seriously I’m having problems getting my head around why you attacked a defenceless disabled man” the Inspector said.
Marco picked at his fingernails.
“Did he owe you Marco? Was he slow in paying up? Is that what this is all about?” the Sargent asked.
“Inspector/Sargent, I must protest. You are intimidating my client”.
“Intimidating your client?” the Inspector said raising his eyes towards the ceiling, “How do you reach that quite frankly bizarre conclusion?”
“You and your Sargent are subjecting my client to 20 questions without providing him with the opportunity to reply”.
“I would be only to delighted if your client would confess the blatantly obvious, that he attacked a defenceless disabled man. We have the CCTV footage so, Marco why not admit that you assaulted Michael Jennings?” Inspector Bishop said.
—
The girl’s wine glass clattered against the plate.
“Are you OK Vickie? You look like death warmed up. Look you’ve spilled wine over my lovely new table cloth. Red is impossible to get out”, Mrs Smyth tutted.
Mr Smyth continued to read aloud from the local paper appearing not to notice that anything was amiss in his family circle,
“Michael Jennings remains in hospital, in a serious but stable condition. Anyone who witnessed the attack or has any information is asked to call 101 and ask to speak to Inspector Mark Bishop or Sargent Elizabeth Thomas. Alternatively people can call Crime Stoppers anonomously”.
Vickie rose from her chair.
“Where are you going darling?” Mrs Smyth asked.
“I don’t feel well mum. I’m going to lie down”.
Shit there where so many texts. She haden’t realised just how many messages she had exchanged with that creep Michael. Delete, delete, delete.
Vickie cast her mind back to all the crime dramas she had watched. Couldn’t the police recover data even if it had been deleted. She seemed to remember one detective saying that the only way to be 100 per cent sure that information had been destroyed involved smashing the device into tiny fragments with a sledge hammer. Did dad own such a thing? Delete, delete, god how many of the bloody things where there?!
n
Jamie retched into the kitchen sink. The pictures of that guy’s face made his stomach churn. Suffering Jesus what had Marco been thinking of.
“Frighten the guy but no physical Marco. All I want is for him to give us our money”.
“Yeah man, just scare him shitless but no vilence, I understand”. Jamie shuddered at the recollection of Marco’s yellow teeth and the stench of his breath. He vomited again at the remembrance of the smell.
“Look Marco, I know this isn’t your style. Give me the names of whoever put you up to this and it will go better for you in court. I’ll tell the judge you co-operated” the Inspector said.
“I advise you not to say anything Marco” The solicitor said.
“Look they ‘ave me on CCTV, aint no point in saying I wernt involved”.
“Inspector I’d like some time alone with my client please”.
Marco continued unperturbed,
“This bloke, Jamie I sell him a bit of E, no ‘ard stuff, just E. Anway he says this bloke owes him money, can I ‘ave a word with ‘im. Persuade ‘im to pay up like. Anways I’d been drinking, mixing it with coke so I was all hyper. I asked the bloke to be a good boy an pay the money ‘e owed but ‘e told me to fuck myself. I saw red, pulled ‘im out of ‘is chair and kicked the shit out of ‘im”.
“Do you know why Michael owed Jamie money?” the Sargent asked.
“Jamie fancies himself big time. Thinks ‘e’s a real ‘ard gangster. ‘e’s got a girl, Vickie who ‘e pimps out. 18 or 19 I think but looks much younger. Anyways Michael saw Vickie regular, usually payed cash but, cos Jamie and Vick trusted ‘im they allowed Michael to transfer cash into Jamie’s account sometimes, when he didn’t have enough at home. Anyways last time Vick did an overnighter”. The inspector interrupted,
“An overnighter?”
“Yeah, an overnight bookin, Vick spent the night with Michael. ‘e promised to transfer the money but it never ‘appened. Vick kept texting but no answer. Jamie went round to Michael’s house, trying to look scary but ‘e just laughed in Jamie’s face so Jamie asked me for help. ‘E gave me £60”.
“You disgust me, £60 to beat up a man in a wheelchair. Whether he owed money or not Michael didn’t deserve that” the Sargent said.
“If I ‘aden’t been so out of me ‘ead I wouldn’t laid into ‘im like that. I just meant to scare ‘im, ‘onest truth”.
“Whats Jamie’s surname? Do you have an address for him?” the Inspector asked.
“Yeah, sometimes I’d deliver stuff there. ‘is last name is Roberts”, (the solicitor put her head in her hands, it was, obviously a hopeless case).
“So whats the address?” the Sargent enquired.
“22 The Heights, Croxford Road”.
“And Vickie’s?”
“I donno thats gods ‘onest truth”.
“We can get that from Jamie” the Inspector said.
Jamie opened his fourth can of Fosters. He had reached that stage of intoxication where everything in the world looks rosey but through the happy haze the battered face of Michael swam periodically before his eyes.
Shit, why had that idiot Marco beaten the crap out of Michael. He had specifically told him “no violence. Frighten the living daylights out of him but don’t, whatever you do lay a finger on the guy. £500 was a lot of money but Jamie knew he could afford to lose it. OK he was pissed off big time with Michael, however he could have refused to send any more girls and put the word around the other local pimps to steer clear of him. Christ he should have done that rather than asking that fucking cretin Marco to sort things out.
Why wasn’t Vicki answering her damn phone. Jamie tried yet again,
“Hi, this is Vick, leave a message and I’ll get back to you”.
“Vick, call me back, its urgent”.
The doorbell rang. Jamie placed his can on the coffee table and headed for the front door.
“I’m Inspector Bishop and this is Sargent Liz Thomas. May we come in sir?”
Jamie stood aside allowing the 2 detectives to enter.
“Nice place you have hear sir” the Inspector said looking enviously at the grandfather clock in it’s oak case and the shelves full of first editions.
“Its my parents”.
“Of course it is sir. You’re a student I understand?” the Inspector said dropping into an armchair.
“Yeah, I’m studying chemistry”.
“I’m impressed. I was always hopeless at science”.
“You are either an artist or a scientist”.
“How about a pimp sir? What qualifications do you require for that calling?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about”.
“Do you know a young lady by the name of Victoria Smyth?”
Jamie thought fast. The police obviously knew that he was acquainted with Vickie so it was pointless to deny the connection.
“Yeah I know Vickie, she is in the same class as me studying chemistry”.
“Do you know a Mr Michael Jennings?”
Jamie paused pretending to consider,
“No the name doesn’t ring a bell. No wait”,
“Yes sir?”
“Isn’t he that poor guy, the one in the wheelchair who got attacked on Frith Street?”
“Yes sir, but you don’t know him. Is that right?”
“No, I have never met the bloke”.
“Can you explain then sir how money from Mr Jenning’s account has found it’s way into your savings account with Barclays because I am, quite frankly struggling to comprehend how that happened, given that you have never met Michael Jennings” the Sargent said.
The colour suddenly drained out of Jamie’s face.
“Jamie Roberts I am arresting you on suspicion of being involved in the assault on Michael Jennings and on suspicion of living off immoral earnings. You do not need to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention now something which you later rely on in court. Do you understand?” Jamie nodded numbly.
“Will he be OK? I never meant this to happen. Jamie said that Marco was just going to have a chat with Michael, persuade him to pay up. I swear I never knew it would end like this” Vickie gasped out through the sobs which convulsed her slendour frame.
“Michael will survive but you are in this right up to your neck Vickie. The best way to help yourself is to tell us everything you know” Sargent Beth Williams said.
“There is nothing to tell really. Like lots of students I took out a student loan but it wasn’t enough so I took out another and another. Soon I was drowning in debt. I felt suicidal. I’d known Jamie for a while and I asked his advice. He suggested that I become his whore. We had a good laugh about it. I didn’t take it seriously at that time but, a few days later, after a few drinks in the student bar Jamie brought up the subject again. Have you ever been desperate Sargent? truly desperate? Fearful that a loan shark is going to break every bone in your body if you don’t pay up?”
The Sargent shifted uncomfortably.
“No I thought not. Its really easy to sit in judgement on others with your mortgage and ability to pay the bills isn’t it Sargent?”
“we are here to discuss a crime not the Sargent’s personal life” Inspector Gill Cowper said.
“The first guy I saw it was horrendous. He stank of piss. I threw up but after a while you get used to selling yourself. Anyway I started seeing Michael. He seemed a nice enough guy but the last booking he just wouldn’t pay, either he didn’t have the money or he just wanted a free shag. I really don’t know why. Jamie said that he would get Marco to have a quiet word, no violence just put the fear of god up him but the bastard went over the top and kicked shit out of him.
“What the fuck?!” Inspector Mark Bishop exclaimed.
“Michael doesn’t want it to be known that he consorts with prostitutes and as this would come out in court he isn’t pressing charges. Without the testimony of Michael the Director of Public Prosecutions won’t prosecute” Sargent Liz Thomas explained patiently, for the third time.
“Sometimes I wonder what its all about Liz”. Suddenly her boss looked very old.
“I know sir” Liz said placing a gentle hand on his arm, “Fancy a drink?”
The 2 colleagues left the police station together, crossed the road and entered the pub opposite, to drown their sorrows.
March 19, 2014
What Is This?
I was surprised to discover that my site, newauthoronline.com shows up in the following RSS feed reader, http://newauthoronline4.rssing.com/chan-10990029/all_p15.html. I am pleased on the basis that any publicity is good publicity, however, from looking at the site it appears that site owners register their websites and can request the deletion of a site if this was not the case. I have no problem with my blog appearing, for the reasons given above. I am, however sure that I didn’t register my channel.
For fellow bloggers you may wish to check whether your site appears here. I haven’t contacted the website to register my channel as I can’t see the benefit of doing so but perhaps others can see an advantage which I am missing.
March 16, 2014
How The Blind Dream
My friend John sent me the following link to an article in National Geographic regarding how the blind dream, http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/02/26/how-the-blind-dream/. Having lost most of my vision at approximately 18-months-old as a consequence of a blood clot on the brain I was interested to read the results of the research which included both sighted and non-sighted participants.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the study for me was the finding that blind people appear to experience more nightmares than sighted people. Such nightmares included being hit by a car and losing their guide dog which are, as the author of the article states very real threats if you happen to be blind. Next time I meet up with my friends all of whom are sighted I’ll be sure to ask them about their dreams although certain types of dream are, no doubt better glossed over …
March 14, 2014
Departs Stage Left
I was saddened to read in today’s Daily Telegraph of the death of Tony Benn, the veteran Labour politician at the age of 88. Whether one agreed with Benn’s politics or not he was a powerful speaker and I have memories of listening to his oratory on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions? I also recollect sitting in the college library leafing through “Writings On The Wall” edited by Benn, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writings-Wall-Socialist-Anthology-1215-1984/dp/0571133355. A political giant has gone to that country from who’s bourne no traveller returns and politics will be the less vibrant for his departure.
