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Emma Thompson Tells Trafficked Woman's Story in Art

TresSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

Academy-award winning actress Emma Thompson was so moved by the plight of a Moldovan woman who survived being trafficked for sex, she decided to create an art installation that would help viewers to put themselves in Elena's shoes and bring attention to this growing problem.

"Journey," which will be exhibited in New York City Nov. 10 to 16 in Washington Square Park, tells the story of Elena, a woman from the Eastern European republic of Moldova who, at age 18, was promised a secretarial job in England. Instead, once she got there, her passport was confiscated and she was forced into prostitution.

"Journey" consists of seven shipping containers. Each has a keyhole through which the viewer can peer to see a chronology of Elena's story. The first shipping container depicts Elena's childhood and the loss of her father. In another, the viewer can see Elena approached in a Moldovan marketplace and offered work.

Thompson personally curated one of the more disturbing of the shipping containers which depicts Elena's forced prostitution in England. She had Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell design the clothes she was forced to wear, and when the viewer looks into the keyhole, she sees her face superimposed onto the body of a woman in prostitute's clothing. They wanted the viewer to have an experience of what it meant to lose one's identity. Thompson said that even men "didn't laugh or find it funny. They understood absolutely what it meant."

Thompson met Elena while doing work with UNODC (United Nations Office on Drug and Crime) to help raise awareness about the practice of trafficking women, and it sounds as if she's not only telling her plight, she's giving Elena the voice that was taken away from her. In the last shipping container, Elena tells her story on tape.

Hong Kong Teens Sell Sex For Shopping Money

TresSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0700

"Compensated dating" is a growing and frightening trend among Hong Kong's teenage girls. The term refers to the practice of requiring a man to pay a fee for a date that more often than not includes sex. Shockingly, many teenage girls engaged in "compensated dating" are not selling themselves just to get by - they're reportedly doing it for extra shopping money.

CNN tells the story of Sze, a young woman who would charge $350 for dates when she was 16.

Sze said she started compensated dating because many of her classmates at an all-girls school were doing it. She says she became jealous when she saw the designer clothes, bags and cosmetics they bought with the money they earned through compensated dating.

This story - which sounds a lot like, well, prostitution - is especially troubling because the girls are so young. But, assuming that a woman is of age and that everything is consensual, do you see anything wrong with women using dates, and potentially sex, as a means of income?

South Africa Weighs Legalizing Prostitution For World Cup

TresSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Fans heading to South Africa for the World Cup 2010 are interested in more than soccer. Anticipating that sport tourists will frequent prostitutes while they're in town, health experts are calling on the South African government to legalize prostitution for the tournament. The hope is that testing and registering legal sex workers will reduce HIV infections among visiting fans and South Africans alike.

In South Africa, approximately 50 percent of sex workers are HIV-positive. While this figure might be enough to dissuade cautious would-be customers, experts figure that the party atmosphere, fueled by alcohol, will lead to much promiscuity. In fact, South Africa has been anticipating a surge in prostitution demand for some time now. More than a year ago, police unveiled plans to legalize sex services for the 2010 games, arguing that Germany opened safe and easy "adult entertainment centers" during the 2006 World Cup. These plans have been rejected so far, for reasons including concerns about greater transmission of HIV, but if legalization means screening sex workers for HIV, it could make things safer.

No matter what happens, let's hope South Africa can use the World Cup to raise awareness about HIV testing. If that happens, everybody will walk away from the tournament a winner.

Stranger Than Fiction: Policewoman Moonlighted as Prostitute

TresSugar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Claiming that she couldn’t survive on her policewoman’s salary, Victoria Thorne, 29, became a $170-hour call girl for the Notorious Girls escort agency in Sunderland, England, for years before being caught. Not being particularly discreet about this second job, Thorne posed in her underwear on the agency’s website.

In addition to flouting the law she was supposed to uphold, Thorne also accessed confidential police files to get information on Notorious Girls’ rivals. After a months-long investigation, Thorne was arrested and sentenced to 15 months in jail.

You hear about the occasional rogue police officer who confiscates, say, a cocaine stash from dealers, only to be caught later selling the stuff for profit. I wonder if Thorne’s case will be viewed on par with something like that - or if the sexual nature of her criminal behavior will bring harsher reproach from her fellow officers.

Aside from her rifling through sensitive police files and the fact that prostitution is illegal (yeah, I know, that's pretty bad) - do you think prostitution is as bad as drug dealing?

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Ashley Dupre Says Some Women Act Like Escorts - Agree?

TresSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0700

If you guys haven't been following the blog of Ashley Dupre, the high-end call girl who helped New York governor Eliot Spitzer fall from power, let me catch up you. This week, Ashley called out a variety of people, including "ladies, ladies, ladies" who "just love to judge." Ashely thinks that these women shouldn't be so quick to look down on her past as a prostitute, since many women in NYC act like high-end escorts anyway. Ashley says she sees the following all over New York City:

I know many women who target guys with money and use them to get these things. They toy with them, flirt, go on dates, have sex, and then drop hints about that new dress . . . or being short on rent money - and the guys deliver it.

Do you think Ashley's right on the money or is there's a clear line between prostitution and gold digging?

Stranger Than Fiction: Mother-Daughter Prostitution Ring

TresSugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

So it might take more than two people to make up a prostitution ring, but a mother and daughter in Philadelphia gave it their best shot. With the help of Craigslist, Traci Young, 39, and her daughter Tami Smith, 22, used Craigslist to sell themselves for sex online.

The pair advertised their services as a "mother and daughter tag team." The original offer came with a reasonable price tag: $200 to have sex with mother and daughter at the same time. They were caught when they arranged a meeting with an undercover police officer.

The mother, Traci, was convicted yesterday of setting up the prostitution operation, and daughter Tami has already been convicted and sentenced. Back when she was first arrested, Traci said, "It's a messed up world out there and we have to do this just to get by."

Jury Convicts Man For Rape of Sex Workers

TresSugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0700

The argument that a woman who does sex work cannot be raped did not sway a jury in West Virginia. This week, the jury convicted Thomas H. Gravely of multiple counts of sexual assault on three prostitutes. The women testified that the father of five threatened to kill them as he attacked them, and jurors viewed a taped confession during which Gravely admitted to holding a knife to their throats and strangling them while he had sex with them.

The defendant did not testify, but his attorney gave a dramatic closing argument, calling the victims "tramps" and "whores." He said:

I would be horrified if any of the women in my life were raped, but I'm talking about decent, honorable women. Not whores who have sex with many, many men for money.

The attorney said that convicting Gravely of rape would lessen the dignity of every woman because the sex workers had turned sex into something disgusting. I guess the defense attorney forgot that "every woman" includes sex workers, too. Thankfully, the attempt to dehumanize the victims did not succeed and Gravely was convicted of the horrible crimes.

Italy's Berlusconi: I'm No Saint

TresSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0700

He might be powerful, but Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is "no saint." In the latest chapter of his long story of sex scandals, Berlusconi responds to new audio recordings between himself and a prostitute. He takes the what-did-you-expect approach, saying:

"There are tons of good-looking girls and entrepreneurs out there. I am not a saint, you've all understood that. I hope those at La Repubblica also understands that."

La Repubblica, a left-leaning Italian newspaper, published the recordings earlier this week. In them, Berlusconi allegedly tells a paid escort to wait for him in "Putin's bed," a bed apparently given to Berlusconi as a gift from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. How romantic!

Stranger Than Fiction: Berlin Brothel Goes Eco Green

TresSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

With nary a hill, Berlin is a great city to ride a bike in and with legalized prostitution, it's also a great place to ride a . . . Anyway! Everyone is looking for ways to lighten their carbon footprint, especially when it disguises a marketing campaign. Maison d'envie, a Berlin brothel, is no exception. It's offering a $7 discount on its usual $100 fee to customers who bike their way in.

The recession has hit the prostitution industry so it makes sense that if a green hostel was going to grow, it would bloom in über-eco-conscious Germany. With three to five new customers taking advantage of the deal each day, owner Thomas Goetz said, "It's good for business, it's good for the environment - and it's good for the girls."

Source: Flickr User Mirosim

Do Tell: Would You Date a Man Who Had Gone to a Prostitute?

TresSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:00:00 -0700

I have the major deal breakers most ladies probably do - no mass murderers, kitten haters or men sporting mullets (OK, I might compromise on the last bit if it's an ironic mullet). I wonder if others share another one I have, though: I'm not sure I could ever seriously date a man who'd been to a prostitute.

Although I think prostitution should be legalized, there's something about a man who wants to or has paid for sex that gives me heebies. If he thinks of women as chattel to be bought and sold, how would that reflect on his view of women in general - or me? Perhaps I am being too old fashioned (but then again, I'm not too thrilled with men who go to strippers or get lap dances, either).

What about you - would you date a man who had gone to a prostitute?

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