Today in Parliament, Abigail passed a motion commending the organisers of Sex Work: A Social History Walking Tour for demystifying and destigmatising sex work in NSW, an industry deserving of respect, dignity, legal protections, fair pay, and safety.
Abigail said:
I move:
(1) That this House notes that:
- Vivid Sydney has been hosting “Sex Work: A Social History Walking Tour” led by writer, performer and Kings Cross local Vashti Hughes and the Inner City Legal Centre’s Managing Solicitor Katie Green;
- the tour tells the legal and social history and the contemporary challenges of sex work in Kings Cross, including the history of criminalisation of sex work, decriminalisation in 1995, police brutality, Sydney’s lockout laws, the Covid-19 pandemic, the politicisation of the industry by society, the path to full decriminalisation of all types of sex work, and the layers of discrimination, challenges and violence sex workers in NSW still face to this day; and
- speakers on the tour include Joanna Megan, the CEO of the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP NSW); Julie Bates AO, sex worker rights activist and principal of Urban Realists Planning & Health Consultant; Chantell Martin, a dedicated community advocate; Charlie Murphy, sex worker and staunch activist; and Wendy Machin, Clinical Services Manager at the Kirketon Road Centre.
(2) That this House commends the work of those involved in organising “Sex Work: A Social History Walking Tour” and sharing the story of sex work in NSW with the public and demystifying and destigmatising sex work, and affirms that sex work is work, and all workers regardless of the industry they work in deserve respect, dignity, legal protections, fair pay and safety.