Is Phl ready to legalize sex work?
Sexual trafficking and “sex work” – what’s the difference?
The first is forced on those who engage in it while the second is voluntary, and sex workers want their livelihood legalized.
A forum at the University of the Philippines for its Alternative Class Learning Experience (ACLE) last week stirred an online debate on whether sex work should be legalized in the Philippines.
Those against it say the Philippines is no place for legalization of sex work as exploitation exists especially among people who are forced into prostitution due to poverty.
But sex workers like Trixie and Diana (not their real names), who attended UP Babaylan’s forum on Oct. 17, differentiated sex work and sex trafficking to defend the job.
For them, sex work is not forced on those who engage in it, and gives them an opportunity to augment their meager income in their mainstream jobs. This is different from sex trafficking where victims who are hoping for better job opportunities are usually lured or forced into
sex work, they explained.
“When I entered sex work, I knew it was really work, it was voluntary, nobody forced me (to do it). That’s the difference with trafficking as far as I know. In trafficking, you are forced. In my case, ginusto ko ’yun,” Diana said during the forum.
Diana admitted she was able to raise her four children as a single mother because of her earnings in sex work.
For Trixie, the financial gains in sex work were enough for her to start a business of her own.
“Real talk. Kulang pambayad sa tuition minsan. Kulang sahod. Sa likod nun, nagagawa natin ang mga bagay na ’yun. Nakapagonline business ako dahil dun sa sex work. Kung hindi ako nagsex work, ewan ko kung nasaan ako, baka nasa labas,” Trixie said.
Sex work, after all, is not just about sexual intercourse. Some clients just want company or someone to talk with, the sex workers disclosed.
Daisy even takes pride in helping an estranged couple get back together by giving advice to her client, who booked her for an intimate conversation.
In fighting to remove the stigma attached to the job, the two sex workers said they, too, need to be respected and not discriminated against.
“Kaya gusto nating ma-recognize sila as sex workers, para maproteksyunan ’yung dignidad at respeto nila. Tao rin ang sex workers. They also have rights,” said Leslie Tolentino, project coordinator of Action for Health Initiatives Inc., which assisted the Baguiobased Philippine Sex Workers Collective (PSWC) in forming a Manila chapter.
An audience member, who is a graduate student at the university, said she decided to become a sex worker as her statement in owning her body.
“I am a sex worker and a feminist. It’s a way to fight the patriarchy by taking charge of your own narrative, your own agency,” she told the sex workers during the forum.
Sharmila Parmanand, a scholar who has done research on the Philippine Sex Workers Collective (PSWC)’s fight for recognition, told the forum via web cam that it is “patronizing” to judge sex workers for being in the trade.
“We are putting a burden on sex work that we are not putting on other workers… We need to compare this with other alternatives — these women and men working in worse-off jobs. But why do we put the burden on sex workers? We are putting the burden on the wrong people,” said Parmanand, a candidate for a doctorate in Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge in England.
“Recognizing sex workers would create “a space (for them) to take charge and advocate for themselves and not shut them down when they’re talking about an alternative perspective,” Parmanand added.
“We should not call sex workers anti-feminist. Robbing them of their authority is anti-feminist. Feminism isn’t just about choices, it’s about informed choices,” the scholar stressed.
Into a frenzy
Twitter went into a frenzy during the forum, with netizens opposing the idea that sex work should be legitimized in the Philippines, where poverty is a key factor in driving the less fortunate into the flesh trade.
“ACLE, USC (the University Student Council) and Babaylan are promoting ‘sex work’ in UP Diliman. Sex work is NOT work, folks. Don’t be duped by this. It’s prostitution and we’ve been fighting against it for centuries. The exploitation and objectification of women is never empowering. It is an enemy of the people,” tweeted activist Alexia Fuentes. Gabriela Youth also issued a statement saying legalizing sex work turns a blind eye on the country’s history with sex work, such as the sexual slavery involving comfort women during the Japanese occupation, as well as the prostitution rings in Subic and Olongapo that housed US military bases.
“Prostitution is a byproduct of a system that perpetuates the class exploitation and gender oppression of women, a system that is rotten to the core. Let us not confuse prostitution as an empowering path to women,” the militant group said.
“Let us work towards the true emancipation of all women by changing the rotten system. Let us end the oppression of women by creating a society that will value women for her true worth and contribution to society, not by the sexual pleasure or profit she brings unto others,” the group added.
Critics also shared on Facebook a Guardian article titled “The dangers of rebranding prostitution as ‘sex work,’ ” in which activist Kat Banyard argued that there is sexual abuse in sex work, and it is impossible to commodify sexual consent.
Another netizen, meanwhile, chose to strike a balance between the two positions.
“Prostitution, or the exchange of sexual services for money or favors, has two types: willing (sex work) and forced/coerced (sex trafficking). We can recognize and fight for the human rights and dignity of sex workers and be against sex trafficking at the same time,” doctorate student Lysander James Montilla Doble tweeted.
Prostitution is a crime in the Philippines. Under Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code, women who, for money or profit, habitually indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct are deemed to be prostitutes.
“Any person found guilty of any of the offenses covered by this article shall be punished by arresto menor or a fine not exceeding (P200) and in case of recidivism, by arresto mayor in its medium period to prision correccional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from (P200 to P2,000), or both, in the discretion of the court,” Article 202 read.
Article 341 covers white slavery and imposes the penalty of prision mayor in its medium and maximum period upon any person who, in any manner, or under any pretext, shall engage in the business or shall profit by prostitution or shall enlist the services of any other for the purpose of prostitution (as amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 186 increasing the penalty for white slave trade).
Other countries including Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and New Zealand have made prostitution legal. A report by the World Population Review estimates that there are 42 million prostitutes globally.
The issue of prostitution has also been tackled in relation to the problems of poverty, trafficking, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.