Victoria Derbyshire Male Sex Work Item With Victimological Slant

[James]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-42265838

At the point I was contacted, the only faces that would be visible in this piece were the heads of victimology-oriented charites. The rest was talking heads and drug/rape victim sex workers, so I agreed to give an interview. 

[Rab]

Read it this afternoon, well done for taking part (and nice photo, that's one for the personal website).

I wouldn't want to downplay those issues raised in the article or downplay anyone's experience of sexual assault, but yeah, your side of the story seemed to be over pretty quickly.
There's things in the article that aren't clear, like when it says 12% of male sex workers had been sexually assaulted in the past five years - is that sexually assaulted in the course of their work? or does that also include in their private lives away from work? and how does that figure compare to non-sex-workers' experience of sexual assault?
And the article feels all jumbled up, focusing quite a lot on the 5% of male sex workers who work on the street alongside figures from Beyond The Gaze, which was a study about internet-based sex work.

And there's something a little irritating that you (James/Daniel) are held up as being a 'good' escort, not having "unsafe sex and 'chem sex'... But many others put themselves at risk of harm."

[SkinTrade]

On 13/12/2017 at 11:41 AM, James said:

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-42265838

At the point I was contacted, the only faces that would be visible in this piece were the heads of victimology-oriented charites. The rest was talking heads and drug/rape victim sex workers, so I agreed to give an interview. 

I was watching Victoria Derbyshire as I usually do in the morning, not knowing that feature was coming up so naturally it got my attention!

Without any disregard or respect for victims of assault of course... I felt the entire piece was predominately negative - and portrayed male sex work as a largely negative phenomenon. Disappointing to say the least.

" victimology-oriented charites. "  - that's a good description. As far as a I am aware (maybe I have been misinformed, but I've come across them over the years) "The Men's Room" is an organisation that serves a pretty small niche of sex workers, based on in Manchester -and information on what it provides to male sex workers in general is difficult to obtain and they seem to operate in almost secrecy despite the apparent funding they run on.

[Craig]

"There is no such thing as bad publicity"...I thought that you'd at least wear a teeshirt with your website address on it !!

As for the report, rather sanitised, but then it was on the BBC.

I wonder how many more studies / reports that there can be / will be on male prostitution ? I must be contacted at least twice a year asking if I'd take part in some kind of study. A handful of these will be a client thinking he's going to get a free session and the rest just seem to be asking the same old questions and, I assume, coming up with the same old answers. Still, I suppose that these studies keep people in employment, give the do gooders a warm glow but do these studies actually accomplish anything?

 

[SkinTrade]

Just to clarify - after doing a bit more research I stand corrected on "The Men's Room" - they do a very important job looking out for the most vulnerable young men involved in sex-work (largely street-based, marginalised often homeless younger men)  aka the stereotypical "rent boy".

Yet another depressing article... 

Rape and child exploitation: the major problems facing male sex workers in Britain

Anyone here agree with that personally speaking for themselves? out of interest?

Speaking with my former-youth worker hat on... there is a major discrepancy here in terms of vulnerable minors, and question if it's correct to even class these  individuals as "workers" at all? Legally anyone who is made to work against their consent (given by them or defined by law) is classed as an "exploited person".

The recent news items have taken the summary points of "Beyond the Gaze" (which hasn't even been published fully yet) and turned it into snappy headlines.