A&E Exploits Sex Workers

 Shame Alert!


A&E's line of misery based reality TV programming actually MAKES misery instead of just documenting. I admit, I've watched some A&E shows in the past (Hoarders is one of my favorites), however this is a new fucking LOW.


THIS ARTICLE (http://www.buzzfeed.com/arianelange/t...) explains the basic premise: the show is based on helping victims of human trafficking and offering sex worker rehabilitation. The show STARTS with a screen saying that if the women (who work mostly as prostitutes). But here's the problem- since no one on this show had any training to spot or approach victims of human trafficking, they end up with mostly INDEPENDENT sex workers. So, the government money that they were going to use to help these women is earmarked for "trafficking victims" not just your run of the mill sex worker, so even though A&E promised to help these women, many of them received NO help, NO housing assistance, and NO job training."


A producer says “I did experience some of the ladies who called me and said, ‘Will you pay my rent?’” she told BuzzFeed News on the phone. “A lot of them have their hands out.”


WAIT A FUCKING SECOND...


So you got these women "off the streets" where they were making their living, and promised to help them get out of the sex trade. Then you proceeded NOT to help them, and acted like these bitches just want hand outs, when you TOTALLY FAILED TO PROVIDE THE HELP YOU PROMISED?


That's not asking for a hand out, that's asking for COMPENSATION.


So basically this whole thing just pisses me right off. It's not bad enough that street workers and prostitutes are exploited in their own trade, are marginalized, and treated as disposable people, but now it's totally cool to film their lives, promise to help them, and then FUCK them over?


DAMN, A&E. Even most disgusting assholes PAY for fucking a prostitute. :-/


Remember, feminism that excludes sex workers isn't feminism.


xox

Harley