I will not be supporting Jess Phillips to become the next leader of the Labour Party because she campaigns for regulatory models that severely hurt sex workers. She has also shown scant regard or respect for the wishes of those within the sex industry.

#thread

Phillips advocates for the ‘Nordic Model’ of criminalising clients, despite overwhelming evidence that this tactic actually increases levels of violence against sex workers.

You can read why it’s so dangerous & the research that evidences it here https://genderate.wordpress.com/2016/02/21/why-the-nordic-model-sucks/amp/

Amnesty International, the World Health Organisation, the Lancet, and sex worker rights groups all support and advocate full decriminalisation of sex work. This model is used in New South Wales & New Zealand & has been shown to improve working conditions & reduce exploitation.

When Jeremy Corbyn spoke for decriminalisation of sex work, Jess Phillips tweeted this.

In July 2018, Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham, called a debate to discuss the need for a US style law which would see the removal of online advertising platforms for sex workers in an effort to eradicate online trafficking.

During this debate, Phillips interrupted Victoria Atkins to tell her to use the term ‘prostitutes’ instead of ‘sex workers’, the term people in the sex industry have asked to the used.

During this debate, there were over 100 sex workers outside protesting the proposal - they were completely ignored & not one sex worker was consulted about such proposals.

Insisting on using language that is rejected by the very people she claims to want to help, because it contributes to violence against them, is at least very worrying and at worst wilful and deliberate stigmatisation.

Phillips is the vice chair for the The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade (APPG on Prostitution). The APPG published their report on ‘pop up brothels’ in May 2018. The report cherrypicks sources & excludes important evidence.

It was widely criticised by UK academics researching sex work. You can read those criticisms, as outlined by the sex work research hub, here https://www.swrh.co.uk/academic-articles/swrh-response-to-the-appg-report

This is someone who claims to be speaking as a ‘feminist’ but ignores, marginalises, and speaks over the very women she claims to be helping. She uses language she knows is stigmatising and that sex workers have asked her to stop using.

She helped produce a ‘report’ that values ideology over evidence & was so poorly researched that academics throughout the uk put their names to an open letter that pointed out is numerous errors.

This is not someone I want to see leading the Labour Party.