Tag: prostitution
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Reviewing Amnesty International’s Position on Prostitution: A Survivor-Centred Perspective
Before the formation of Women Speak Tasmania, members were already active in campaigning against the decriminalisation of prostitution and advocating for the rights and safety of survivors. Isla MacGregor played a leading role in Tasmania, working alongside Simone Watson and the Nordic Model Australia Coalition (NorMAC) to promote the Nordic Model. Together, they lobbied policymakers,…
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Where Does Women’s Legal Service Tasmania Stand on Prostitution?
Women Speak Tasmania recently noted that the Women’s Legal Service Tasmania website displays a modified Pride flag incorporating a red umbrella symbol. Many Tasmanians would understandably not recognise its meaning. The red umbrella is not a generic diversity symbol. Internationally, it is the political emblem of the sex-industry legalisation movement and has been used in…
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A New National Settlement on Prostitution: It’s Time for Principled Leadership and Restoration — and a National Apology
AAWAA has been part of a coalition of Australian feminist organisations that has submitted a formal letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Women, advancing a substantive case for comprehensive national reform to prostitution law and requesting a National Apology for women and girls harmed and criminalised by past and present policies. A…
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Protect Women and Girls from Prostitution – Letter to PM Anthony Albanese and Minister Gallagher
Dear Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Gallagher, Re: Urgent need for a new national approach to prostitution law to protect women and girls, plus a call for a National Apology for all those exploited in prostitution We are a coalition of independent feminist organisations representing groups from across Australia and united in our persistent alarm…
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Reviewing Tasmania’s Prostitution Framework: Strengths, Weaknesses & How to Improve
Tasmania’s legal framework around prostitution offers a mix of protections, restrictions, and blind spots. Drawing on the recent UN Special Rapporteur report (A/HRC/56/48) on prostitution and violence against women and girls, here’s a breakdown of where Tasmania stands well — where it falls short — and how the UN’s recommendations could guide improvements. Pros —…
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Analysis of the UN Report by Reem Alsalem titled Prostitution and Violence against Women and Girls (A/HRC/56/48)
The Special Rapporteur’s report treats prostitution not as ordinary labour but as a system of gendered violence and exploitation driven by male demand, poverty and structural discrimination. It recommends the abolition/Nordic approach — criminalizing buyers and profiteers while decriminalizing and supporting victims — combined with strong measures against digital facilitation and AI-enabled pornography. How the…
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Calls for Review of Tasmania’s Sex Industry Laws after Prostituted Woman Murderer in Launceston
The murder of prostituted woman, Jingai Zhang, in Launceston on Boxing Day 2020 should be a wake-up call for those regulating the sex industry in Tasmania. ‘We have been reliably informed that activities in the sexual services business in which Jingai Zhang was engaged were in contravention of the Tasmanian Sex Industry Offences Act 2005’,…