<html>
<head>
<style>
.hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;
padding:0px
}
body.hmmessage
{
FONT-SIZE: 10pt;
FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma
}
</style>
</head>
<body class='hmmessage'>
<BR><BR>> Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 22:52:44 +0000<BR>> From: joy_helbin@hotmail.com<BR>> To: joy_helbin@hotmail.com<BR>> Subject: Fwd: RE: ECP CAMPAIGN FOR DECRIMINALISATION<BR>> <BR>> jennifer wrote:<BR>> <BR>> I am not going to engage in a lengthy and endless debate about women<BR>> supposedly being able to 'freely choose' to enter prostitution. But,<BR>> since you raise some interesting questions I will answer them. <BR>> <BR>> No human being ever died because they were unable to have partnered <BR>> sex.<BR>> Whether or not a man (and it is overwhelmingly because of male <BR>> demand a<BR>> constant supply of women and girls must always be made available) is<BR>> able to engage in partnered sexual activity is not a requirement of<BR>> human rights. There are innumerable ways in which a man can sexually<BR>> satisfy his needs without having a partner. Many women do not have<BR>> sexual partners but I have yet to hear calls for more prostituted men <BR>> to<BR>> be made available for women's sexual pleasure. Ideally, yes all women<BR>> and men should have the right of engaging in partnered sexual activity<BR>> whenever they wish, but at the same time women like men must have the<BR>> same rights of sexual autonomy and agency. This means that no one has<BR>> the right of overuling another human being's right of sexual autonomy<BR>> and ownership. To give an example, it was widely held that once a <BR>> woman<BR>> married she automatically became the sexual property of her husband. <BR>> The wife did not have the right of refusing to engage in sexual <BR>> activity<BR>> with her husband. Therefore no one and it is predominantly men who <BR>> are<BR>> fuelling the demand for a never ending constant supply of women and<BR>> girls, should be made available in order that an individual (primarily<BR>> men) can achieve sexual pleasure and satisfaction. This is sexual<BR>> slavery.<BR>> <BR>> Prostitution is an abuse of all women's and girls' human rights <BR>> because<BR>> it reduces women and girls to sexualised commodities. No woman was<BR>> placed on this earth in order to fulfil men's sexual needs, despite<BR>> claims to the contrary. Innumerable women and girls working as<BR>> prostituted women have stated over and over again they wish they could<BR>> escape this life of sexual slavery. Are women just three holes and <BR>> two<BR>> hands? The reason why some men marry is because they believe once<BR>> married, they will have unlimited sexual access to a woman's body. <BR>> But<BR>> it was only within the last ten years or so that marital rape was<BR>> criminalised, prior to that marriage for women entailed the husband's<BR>> right of unlimited sexual access to the woman's body and she was<BR>> effectively reduced to a commodity or his property. <BR>> <BR>> The fact many men engage in 'one-night stands and/or have sexual <BR>> affairs<BR>> outside of marriage are complex issues but it does not detract from <BR>> the<BR>> fact women and girls are human beings not the sexual property of men. <BR>> <BR>> I am totally opposed to the libertarian belief women should become<BR>> prostituted women because it is supposedly empowering; a job; or it is<BR>> pleasurable. Yes, a few women working in prostitution are able to <BR>> earn<BR>> large sums of money and yes they are able to control the type of johns<BR>> who use their bodies, but the vast majority of women and girls do not<BR>> want to work as prostituted women. This type of argument was often <BR>> used<BR>> to excuse slavery, wherein wealthy white men and women would claim the<BR>> black woman and man had a 'happier life' as a slave because all their<BR>> needs were taken care of by a supposedly philanthropic white male. In<BR>> reality of course, black women and men were slaves, they were not <BR>> free,<BR>> their lives were subordinated. So why then is it still as acceptable <BR>> in<BR>> certain circumstances for men to buy women's bodies in order to obtain<BR>> sexual release. One of the reasons is about power, the belief that <BR>> men<BR>> as a group should have the right to buy women's and girls' bodies. <BR>> <BR>> Prostitution is not only about men having sexual access to women, it <BR>> is<BR>> also about male power over women. <BR>> <BR>> Sweden took a very courageous stance in criminalising the male buyers <BR>> of<BR>> prostituted women. Finland, Norway and now Bulgaria too are looking <BR>> at<BR>> criminalising men who buy prostituted women. Yes, the trafficking of<BR>> women and girls into sexual slavery has been reduced in Sweden and yes<BR>> those male traffickers are now taking women to other countries. Yes,<BR>> the fact Sweden has criminalised men who buy prostituted women does <BR>> not<BR>> end the global issue of women sex slaves but it is a start. One could<BR>> easily argue when slavery was widespread that just one country<BR>> criminalising slavery would end slavery but a stand has to be made<BR>> somewhere and Sweden is to be applauded for making this stand and<BR>> recognising women and girls are human too. Should abolitionists then<BR>> have challenged the widespread belief that slavery was acceptable? <BR>> Should racism be challenged even though racism is still endemic? <BR>> Should<BR>> male violence against women be condemned even though it is rampant? <BR>> Why<BR>> should we concern ourselves about prostituted women, since apparently<BR>> nothing will change. But the same could be said about slavery and<BR>> racism - nothing will change. Instead what has happened - slowly very<BR>> slowly, attitudes have changed. Ingrained bias and the belief there<BR>> must always be women available for men to sexually abuse will be a <BR>> very<BR>> difficult issue to change because at the core is the belief men as a<BR>> group have the right of sexual access to any woman or girl. However,<BR>> standing by and doing nothing ensures the sexual slavery of women and<BR>> girls continues unchecked. Sweden did not become a 'bystander' <BR>> instead<BR>> it took a very courageous step and publicly stated prostitution is an<BR>> abuse of women's human rights. No ifs and no buts.<BR>> <BR>> Yes, the majority of Swedes do believe men should be criminalised for<BR>> buying women and rightly too. But claims that just because a majority<BR>> are in favour does not necessarily make it right can be used with<BR>> regards to murder, theft, deception, fraud etc. One needs to look<BR>> beyond this and ask why is murder, theft, deception, fraud and rape<BR>> wrong. Why are such acts criminalised. The answer is because human<BR>> beings rights are abused. Are not women and girls human too? The<BR>> reason why the fact the majority of Swedish people believe it is right<BR>> for men to be criminalised for buying women's bodies is because the<BR>> Swedes accept that women have rights too and one of them is the right <BR>> of<BR>> ownership and control of their sexualities. No man has the right in<BR>> Sweden to buy women's and girls' bodies in order to rape and sexually<BR>> abuse them. <BR>> <BR>> Much valuable research has been conducted by Melissa Farley and her<BR>> colleagues on the immense psychogical, and physical harm prostituted<BR>> women endure because of having to sexually service innumberable men. <BR>> Many prostituted women contract STI's, Aids, become infertile, suffer<BR>> severe medical problems and of course experience post traumatic <BR>> stress. <BR>> They also suffer an erosion of their identities as human beings. <BR>> Sexually servicing men daily, often for years, causes many prostituted<BR>> women to dissocate themselves and they come to accept they are simply<BR>> the 'whores, sluts, prostitutes' etc. which the men call them. They <BR>> are<BR>> no longer autonomous human beings but just sexualised commodities. <BR>> Similarily black women and men when they were enslaved were reduced to<BR>> dehumanised things. Is this what all women are then - just <BR>> dehumanised<BR>> beings - whose sole purpose in life is to provide sexual services to<BR>> men? I think not. Morality or religion does not enter into this -<BR>> prostitution is the global abuse of women's and girls' human rights <BR>> and<BR>> we must continue to challenge excuses, justification and claims that<BR>> women want or will be empowered if they become prostituted women. The<BR>> dvd Not for Sale provides extracts of women's experiences as <BR>> prostituted<BR>> women. Not one of these women said they would have liked to remain in<BR>> prostitution.<BR>> <BR>> There is innumerable evidence that prostituted women overwhelmingly <BR>> say<BR>> they want to exit and would if only they could access help and <BR>> support. <BR>> Sweden has not only criminalised male buyers it has also actively put<BR>> into effect support mechanisms and help for prostituted women. Such<BR>> action is not patronising to prostituted women, instead it seeks to <BR>> help<BR>> them and enable women to live lives free from male sexual violence,<BR>> helps them to perceive themselves as human beings with rights and most<BR>> importantly of all informs them they are not 'dirty sluts,' whose sole<BR>> purpose is to be receptacle of men's hatred and sexual violence.<BR>> <BR>> JENNIFER<BR>> <BR>><br /><hr />Get free emoticon packs and customisation from Windows Live. <a href='http://www.pimpmylive.co.uk' target='_new'>Pimp My Live!</a></body>
</html>