Posted on 06/25/2003 1:16:35 PM PDT by shaggy eel
Sex law worries mayor
By ANNA WALLIS
Unemployed Palmerston North women may be forced to become prostitutes if Work and Income posts sex-industry vacancies, Mayor Mark Bell-Booth says.
But his claims have been disputed by Work and Income.
In a stinging criticism of the new legislation the mayor argued that women being forced into prostitution was a logical conclusion of the recent legislation.
The new law was discussed at a Palmerston North City Council planning committee meeting last night.
"Within days we saw owners of brothels asking Winz (Work and Income) why it wouldn't post job adverts on its job board," Mr Bell-Booth said.
"Can we expect women in our town to be required to take jobs in brothels in order to avoid losing their benefits?" He said brothels "could equally argue along with EziBuy that their jobs should be posted on Winz's bulletin board".
"I think this is something the legislators who passed this didn't think through."
But, Work and Income national commissioner Ray Smith said earlier this month that it would not be advertising or referring clients to vacancies in the sex industry.
"(We) have no legal requirement to advertise any vacancies - we advertise jobs as part of our efforts to help our clients into sustainable employment."
He said Work and Income had in the past declined to advertise vacancies in massage parlours, commission-only sales and network marketing jobs.
Legislation was not intended to normalise prostitution, but rather to protect current sex workers.
Mr Bell-Booth was critical of List MP Ashraf Choudhary for abstaining from the vote, which saw the law passed by 60 votes to 59.
"I think it is sad that it was a member of Parliament from our local community whose vote played an important part in bringing this into being."
Mr Bell-Booth said while the council had responsibility for signage, prostitution was not a business that required much in the way of signage.
"All you need is a light bulb coloured red."
Cr Lynne Pope was critical of the comments the mayor hade made about Dr Choudhary.
"All MPs voted on this issue. No one should be singled out for comment in that way."
She claims there were 36 brothels in Palmerston North.
"The police aren't sure, but I was told that by a policeman last week. It's only anecdotal."
16 November 2003
By SARAH LANG
State-funded bodies are hoping to get taxpayer money to train prostitutes to service disabled clients.
An inquiry into the idea by government departments has the support of Labour MP Georgina Beyer, a leading supporter of efforts to decriminalise prostitution.
Agencies caring for the disabled, including IHC and CCS, and the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective have set up a group called Touching Base to address the sexual issues of disabled people.
The group is considering seeking government support but is wary of attitudes towards disabled people and sex workers.
Claire Ryan, an IHC educator involved in Touching Base, said disabled people had previously visited prosititutes but the law change now meant the sex industry could openly discuss the needs of those customers.
She was developing guidelines for IHC on sexuality, including protocols for visits to sex workers, so staff knew the boundaries and would not attract criticism.
Training prostitutes interested in working with the disabled was important as they needed to be more aware of client needs.
"Agencies struggle," said Ryan. "They say they support the clients 100%, but with sexuality they hope it will just go away."
Sex workers felt more able to come forward and express their interest since the law change, said Ryan.
"One sex worker asked me, maybe some would like to have a bath? It's the whole sensuality aspect. Many disabled people hardly get touched at all."
Ryan said it was important disabled people had access to information on how to contact sex workers and what a visit involved.
Prostitution reform had meant a lot of disabled clients felt better about what they were doing, she said.
Before the law change, care workers risked being charged with brothel-keeping.
Saul, a Kiwi sex worker who lives in Australia, specialises in providing services to the disabled. He set up Touching Base in Australia and brought it to New Zealand.
Prostitutes working with the disabled needed to learn more skills in case they ran into problems, said Saul.
He said some sex workers "don't want to go there".
"But it can be an amazing experience," said Saul.
"You can be innovative, lateral thinking and more creative in your work. It's often more meaningful too. Sometimes someone's saved for months to come and visit you."
Sue Bradford, Green MP and spokeswoman for disability issues and prostitution reform, said disabled people felt the same urge for sex as other people.
"For some people it's the only way they'll have any physical closeness with another human being."
Beyer said she wanted to see details of the scheme but the proposal had merits that were worth exploring.
Philip Patston, a disabled Auckland man and disabled rights advocate, said the law change meant disabled people could arrange to see sex workers without risking their disgust.
He hoped care workers would now be more likely to arrange visits.
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