The Internet's Most Desired Gay Male Escorts Tell All

[Ben Manchester]

An interesting article on Huffington Post interviews some of America's working men:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/rent-boys-male-escorts-prostitutes-hookers_n_4996212.html

[Cameron Cox]

I thought it was a pretty well balanced and positive article. Great to see lines like 'male escorts are not the emotionally traumatized, drug-addicted "vectors of disease transmission" they’ve long been thought to be' etc

Not sure what the group thinks about it then going on to say "But that’s not to say this group of sex workers doesn't need access to critical care and support." I work in a peer based support organisation for male workers and our experience is that most workers are not in need of care and support but that it is great to know that care and support (especially from peers ie other sex workers) is available if you want or need to access it.

[Rab]

Here's a link to this morning's Woman's Hour (Tuesday 8th April) -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03zy22q

They've had a series of features over the last couple of weeks about prostitution in light of the recent report that suggests that England and Wales adopt the 'Nordic Model' (criminalising those who pay for sex and decriminalising those who sell sex). This morning's edition had two male escorts (one gay, one straight) talking about their work.

There's also links to all the other features they've done in the series.

[Cameron Cox]

Hey Ben

Thanks so much for posting this and great to know that there is opposition to the Nordic Model which many female politicians all around the world are campaigning hard to get put in to law.

Not only does the Nordic model criminalise our clients but it also criminalises all aspects of our work.

This means for example in Sweden where the law was introduced

• it is an offense to rent premises to a sex worker and you can be evicted from a rented house r apartment if you are a sex worker
  
• sexual health services cannot be provided to current sex workers
  
• newspapers and internet sites can be prosecuted for carrying sex worker advertising
  
• a forum like this one would also be illegal as it "facilitates prostitution"
  
• 
  

So basically even if the punters are not scared off by being made criminals it is very hard to escort because everything to do with our work is illegal. In Sweden a sex workers son was even prosecuted for driving his mother to work because he was "facilitating prostitution"

Details on the Nordic/Swedish model here in a presentation given by Rachel Wotton (from http://www.scarletroad.com.au/about/) who has also worked in Sweden as a sex worker