The International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW) is a United Kingdom-based

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

for

sex workers A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is vo ...

. It campaigns for the

decriminalisation Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the legislative process which removes prosecutions against an action so that the action remains illegal but has no criminal penalties or at most some civil fine. This reform is sometimes applied retroacti ...

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, and to have

sex work Sex work is "the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation". Sex work only refers to volun ...

acknowledged as viable labour. In 2002, members voted to affiliate with the GMB, a general workers union. The union now has official recognition as the sex industry branch of the GMB. Some of the services offered by the union include:

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in tim ...

classes, free

legal advice Legal advice is the giving of a professional or formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law in relation to a particular factual situation. The provision of legal advice will often involve analyzing a set of facts and advising a p ...

and training for members who wish to leave the

sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...

. The union was formed in 2000 partly as a response to actions taken by

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to try to remove prostitutes from the area. They are a member of

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...

, a pressure group formed in 2005 in order to oppose a new law criminalising possession of "

extreme pornography Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a law in the United Kingdom criminalising possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law came into force on 26 January 2009. The legislation was brought i ...

References

* Arthur Ivor Marsh, Victoria Ryan, "Historical Directory of Trade Unions: Including unions in printing and publishing, local government, retail and distribution, domestic services, general employment, financial services, agriculture", ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions vol.5'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006, , p. 330

External links

International Union of Sex Workers

x:talk Project
Sex worker organisations based in the United Kingdom Sexuality in the United Kingdom Lobbying organisations in the United Kingdom Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Sex positivism 2000 establishments in the United Kingdom GMB (trade union) amalgamations {{UK-org-stub

See also

References

External links