Red Film Project -Nottingham 23rd/29th Nov & 17th Dec

2016-11-232016-11-09 by rc377

The Red Project is back after the success of the pilot edition held in Leicester in 2015, the project is taking to the road. Funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund, the event is delivered in partnership with POW Nottingham, in collaboration with New Art Exchange and Nottingham Contemporary. The aim of the project is to raise awareness amongst the general public and healthcare professionals of the stigma and violence experienced by sex workers.

The Nottingham Red Project is a short film season providing an insight into the lives of those who work in the sex trade. The event features three British and two Italian films (with English subtitles) from the 1960s to the present day. As the Red Project is a journey across the UK, it is also a journey across time and space.

This edition opens at New Art Exchange on 23^rd November at 6:30pm with a screening of Personal Services by Terry Jones, which is followed by a Q&A session with Dr Rosie Campbell from Beyond the Gaze (Leicester University)/ Co-Chair Sex Work Research Hub and Daniela Scotece, CEO POW Nottingham.

From Tuesday 29^th November the programme continues at Nottingham Contemporary for three weeks, ending on 17^th December (International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers, also known as

Red Umbrella day). Each film will be accompanied by a Q&A session, during which audience members can pose questions to guest speakers made up of sex workers, activists and researchers. The aim of these sessions is to expand on the issues raised by the films and to offer new perspectives on the lives of sex workers.

Tickets for the opening night and film screenings are FREE, but booking is recommended as spaces are limited. Book online at: https://nae.cloudvenue.co.uk/nottinghamredproject or call on 0115 924 8630

For more information, go to www.nottinghamredproject.co.uk or Twitter @NottRedProject.

Sex worker online survey now live! Please help!

2016-12-192016-11-09 by rc377

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We are excited to announce that a really important element of the Beyond the Gaze Research the sex worker survey for internet based sex workers went live on 7th November 2016 and will be open till 23rd January 2016.

The survey is designed for sex workers of all genders working in adult services, including escorts, webcammers, providers of erotic massage, BDSM and other sexual services. It focuses on sex workers’ use of online and digital technologies, working conditions and job satisfaction, safety, privacy and reporting crimes, and how the UK laws could better protect sex workers.

The survey does not collect any identifying information and is completely anonymous. We have permission from the University ethics committee and work within strict ethical guidelines to protect the privacy and anonymity of all people taking part in our research. The survey should take no longer than 15-20 minutes to complete.

The results of this project will be used to inform policy and practice in order to improve working conditions and services to sex workers using the Internet in their work. Project outputs will include a range of briefings informed by the research findings, the development of a toolkit for good practice guidance on providing appropriate models of internet outreach & working with online sex workers and enhanced safety info for online sex workers.

help

If you are a sex worker please help us and take part in the survey. To do so go to the survey through the following link: https://leicester.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/btg-sex-worker-survey. This survey is being advertised through various online platforms, networks and projects, so please only complete the survey once. Also please spread the word to any friends or colleagues who work in the sector. Help make this the biggest ever survey so we have a strong set of data and voice for sex workers to influence policy and challenge stereotypes.

prizedraw

Anyone who completes the survey will be eligible to be entered into a prize draw. There are three prizes of £50 vouchers to be won. If you wish to be entered for the prize draw, you will be asked to provide your email address, which will only be used for this purpose and will be deleted once the draw has taken place after the survey closes at the end of January 2017.

Great if you could respond as soon as possible. The survey will be live till the end of January 2017 would really value your help. Thanks for taking part!

If you would like more information about the survey or the project please contact Dr Rosie Campbell (rc377@leicester.ac.uk; call or whatsapp 07834148333).

Customer Survey- Big Thanks!

2016-11-09 by rc377

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Our customer survey closed at the end of October 2016 and the response was phenomenal! Indeed the number of responses at over 1300 means it is the largest survey of cusotmers of sex workers in the UK carried out to date. The survey is now being analysed and a summary findings briefing with be published on our website in 2017. So keep an eye out for that.

But most importantly we want to say a big thank you to all those people who completed the survey and all those platforms, forums and individuals who promoted the survey. We could not have done it without you.

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BTG Customer Survey – Date extended to 31st Oct 2016

2016-09-12 by rc377

As part of the wider Beyond the Gaze participatory action research project into the working practices, safety and regulation of internet based sex work. The Beyond the Gaze team are carrying out an online survey of the customers of internet based sex workers in all sectors of internet enabled sex work (escorting, BDSM, webcamming, and other sectors) and all genders (male, female, transgender, none binary).

The survey has been live for some weeks now and we have had a brilliant response with just under one 1000 customers completing the survey so far. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELPED US OUT SO FAR AND TO THE PLATFORMS & INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE PROMOTED THE SURVEY!! MASSIVELY APPRECIATED!

We want to get the sample of people contributing even larger and so have extended the completion date until 31st October 2016! So if you are a customer of escorts/sex workers who advertise on line or via apps, or if you purchase webcamming services, are a customer of a professional dominatrix or purchase services from people in other sectors of internet enable adult entertainment services. Please Help Us Out & contribute to this important study of internet based sex work by completing our anonymous and confidential survey.

The research project ‘Beyond the Gaze’ is the largest study to date of internet based sex work and is being carried out by an experienced team of researchers at Leicester and Strathclyde Universities, who have many years experience of carrying out research with people working in adult services/sex industry including their customers. It is a legitimate and important UK wide study which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and is exploring the use of online and digital technologies in the sex industry. Go to our website to find out more about the research and the team who are carrying it out http://beyond-the-gaze.com/ twitter: @BeyondtheGaze As part of this research we are seeking the views and experiences of customers through an online survey which should take no longer than 10 minutes. The survey is anonymous and no identifying information is requested. The survey does not collect any identifying information, it is completely anonymous, has permission from the University ethics committee and we work within strict ethical guidelines to protect the privacy and anonymity all people taking part in our research.

Please go to the survey at the following link; https://leicester.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/customersbeyondthegaze

If you work in any of the sectors of the sex industry/adult entertainment and utilize online platforms, apps etc to advertise or provide your services please spread the word in your networks and amongst your customers about the survey, if you feel that is appropriate. We really value the support the research is getting from sex workers!

If you want any further information about the survey please email: Prof Teela Sanders tlms1@leicester.ac.uk

Now Live! Online Survey for Customer’s of Internet Based Sex Workers

2016-07-18 by rc377

If you are a customer of escorts/sex workers who advertise on line or via apps, or if you purchase webcamming services, are a customer of a professional dominatrix or purchase services from people in other sectors of internet enable adult entertainment services. Please Help Us Out & contribute to an important study of internet based sex work.

If you work in any of the sectors of the sex industry/adult entertainment and utilize online platforms, apps etc to advertise or provide your services please spread the word in your networks and amongts your customers about the survey, if you feel that is appropriate. We really value the support the research is getting from sex workers!

Please go to the survey at the following link; https://leicester.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/customersbeyondthegaze

The survey is open initially until 31st August 2016 (BTG team will then take stock reviewing how many people have taken part). We’d really value you input! Thanks for considering this and hopefully for taking part.

If you would like more information about the survey or the project please feel free to contact: Professor Teela Sanders on tlms1@leicester.ac.uk

Move to University of Leicester for Leeds University Beyond the Gaze Team Members

2016-06-30 by rc377

The members of the Beyond the Gaze Team based at the University of Leeds, Professor Teela Sanders and Rosie Campbell will move to the Department of Criminology at the University of Leicester on the 1st July 2016! The team members at Strathclyde University Professor Jane Scoular, Stewart Cunningham and Dr Jane Pitcher remain based at Strathclyde. The methodology and work plan of the ‘Beyond the Gaze’ project will not be affected and will continue as normal and the project is now a collaboration between University of Leicester and University of Strathclyde.

To all who have contributed to the research to date we want you to know that the ethical practice standards and obligations we as a research team work to remain the same, as do the data storage/ protection standards, with University of Leicester taking on responsibility for those.

A big thank you to the University of Leeds, School of Sociology and Sociology, for being such a supportive home during the first months of the project and to the Department of Criminology, University of Leicester for welcoming the project so warmly!

British Society of Criminology Conference- July 2016

2016-06-28 by rc377

Prof. Teela Sanders will be presenting at the British Society of Criminology Conference, taking place 6th-8th July 2016 at the Nottingham Conference Centre. Her presentation is entitled ‘New trends in crimes against sex workers: digital crimes, doxing and exposure’. For more info about the conference and how to registrar for the conference go to; http://criminologyconference.com/ Teela will be discussing issues of violence and risk for those who are specifically working through the internet, drawing on empirical findings from a Wellcome Trust survey of internet based sex workers. She will explore new trends relating to digital crimes in the context of work which was considered by research participants as yielding high levels of job satisfaction and control of their working conditions. The ‘new’ types of crimes facilitated through digital technologies such as text and email harassment and the concept of ‘doxing’ by clients are discussed as areas for further understanding and practice/policy solutions. She will flag up the ongoing Beyond the Gaze participatory action research project which is further exploring trends in such crimes against internet based sex workers.

Parallel Session ‘Sex work & new technologies’ – Prospol Meeting

2016-08-162016-06-27 by rc377

18th-21st September 2016 COST Action Prospol Meeting, University of Zagreb:

Rosie Campbell & Prof. Jane Scoular will be chairing a parallel session on ‘Sex work & new technologies’, which is taking place as part of the COST Action Prospol Meeting in Zagreb, Croatia. They will also contribute to the session by presenting initial findings from Beyond the Gaze, specifically from interview with internet based sex workers. COST Action Prospol is ‘Comparing European Prostitution Policies: Understanding Scales and Cultures of Governance’ which is part of ‘European Cooperation in Science and Technology’.

http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/isch/IS1209

International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe

2016-06-27 by rc377

The International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) has now been in existence for over ten years. When first established it held the watershed ‘Conference on Sex Work, Human Rights, Labour and Migration’ 15 – 17 October 2005 in Brussels where the ‘The Declaration on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe’ was endorsed. On the 10 year anniversary of the declaration ICRSE published a report on 10 years of sex workers’ rights activism and advocacy in Europe and Central Asia. This report identifies the main trends affecting sex workers in the region, particularly the increased criminalisation of sex work, targeting either sex workers, clients or third parties. Also it looks at the continued conflation of sex work, migration and trafficking; and the criminalisation of “vulnerabilities” and poverty. To access the report go to;

http://www.sexworkeurope.org/news/general-news/december-17-launch-10-years-report-sex-workers-rights-europe-and-central-asia

Over the decade ICRSE has achieved a lot, working hard to advocate for the rights of sex workers in Europe. It has produced lots of useful resources for example on 1st May 2016 ICRSE published a community report on ‘Exploitation: Unfair labour arrangements and precarious working conditions in the sex industry’ to dowload this report go to; http://www.sexworkeurope.org/news/general-news/may-day-icrse-launches-community-report-exploitation-sex-industry

To access other resources go to the ICRSE website; http://www.sexworkeurope.org/resources

To learn about how you can become a member of the network follow this link; http://www.sexworkeurope.org/join/icrse-membership-agreement

The Power of the Word – the strength of instant connection

2016-11-092016-05-17 by rc377

OUR FIRST GUEST BLOG POST by Matt-at-Lotus

I received a telephone call on Christmas Day, it went something like this:

“Hi there I’ve just been reading your website. I’m calling to wish you a Happy Christmas”.

“Aw that’s lovely, thank you”

“I’m a straight Christian, I used to be homophobic”

“Okay”

“I notice from your website that you call what you do a caring profession and I agree. I used to have the wrong view of what escorts do, but I see that you work with everybody, regardless of what they look like or anything. I am a member of a pro-gay Christian group and am going to tell them this. I think you come across as very genuine”

“It’s lovely to hear that Sir thank you very much, I really appreciate it”

The conversation went on for some minutes with the gentleman telling me about the Bible and his views on sex work and homosexuality. The underpinning to everything he said to me was acceptance, understanding and compassion. He also demonstrated incredible insight, so far as him recognising that he used to be homophobic and that in the past he had a pre-conceived idea as to what sex workers did – without actually knowing what we do at all. Nothing unusual but what prompted his call? Why did he feel able to reach out to me instantly?

An online presence

A website can be huge in volume and extensive in the information you share with your audience. Whilst it might be there primarily to drum up business and to enable you to pay your bills – there is a lot more going on here. It can also be, as in this case, a means of education and direct communication. A medium wherein you can discuss absolutely anything from safer sex to spirituality to talking about history. I do all these things with my website but here’s the thing – I didn’t realise what effect this was having in the ‘real world’. Not until this encouraging call from a complete stranger.

This reminded me of the power of words and the incredible and instant response from online communication in a digital age. There’s an element of immediacy about this which possibly gave this gentleman the subliminal nod that it was okay to call me. Would he have responded so spontaneously had he read an article in a magazine? Maybe. The point is though, that the online world (and word) is instant. If you change your mind – you can delete it and start again. If you want to be brave enough to be yourself you can put it out there and see instant results, whether this is your intention or not.

There are of course down sides to online advertising and personal websites, but I will cover this at a later date in another blog post for Beyond the Gaze on personal websites pros and cons for sex workers. What I am saying to you here is really simple – know that you can make a difference in the world merely by sharing your story. The business of sex is very personal. It’s intimate. It stands to reason that our advertising can be the same. It is up to us how we word this, who we reach out to and who we ultimately book an appointment for but let’s just take the business out of the situation for a moment and say this:

Never give up – you never know who you’re inspiring.

Matt-at-Lotus is a sex coach who can be found at www.sexcoaching.london. He has over twenty years experience in the adult industry and works with sex workers and the general public on sex, relationships and marketing.

*Some details have been changed slightly to protect privacy.

Please note all our blogs are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Beyond the Gaze Team.