New Bits (Thursday)

A rather global round-up day, with more positive news than usual.

Sex workers with natural HIV immunity? They're being studied, of course.

Young brides just have a lower quality of life overall -- in most of the world. Not news and not sex work related, but thought I'd share. It's a women's issue.

Debunking the UK Poppy "Big Brothel" report.

Healthy sex life makes neighbors think she's a sex worker.

Robberies like this illustrate the need for decriminalization -- for both parties.

Fish-for-sex leads to rampant HIV. Sex work is far more universal and nuanced than most people think. Especially the abolitionists. What are they going to do -- abolish the need to eat?

High-end sex workers in India. Strangely enough, it is believed that their relative privilege may bring about more positive changes for sex workers.

Malawi to use local beauty salons to distribute female condoms. A fine idea and one that could be easily replicated here in the US.

SWAN will educate sex workers about their human rights over the next several months in Slovakia.

News Bits (Monday)

UK nun who supported sex workers dies.

Sex worker steals a sleepy guy's van. I don't support thievery, but this is funny reporting.

Helen Mirren endorses legal brothels. While this was reported here several months ago, this news piece includes the info that she had spent the night there too. Still, not sure legal brothels are the best answer. (Thanks to a friend for this link.)

Indian journalism has sunk to a new low: four men fake a sex raid and rape two women.

UK Christians pressure papers not to accept adult advertising because they believe it leads to trafficking. Notice that their estimated numbers of trafficking victims do not in any way reflect the recent numbers from Operation Pentameter. People just pull these numbers out of their ass.

Note to Mark Clarke: chasing women down in your car does not help them in any way. Would you like someone to do that to you? Strange that he doesn't seem to care a whit about the customers who surely draw sex workers to the area.

This has nothing to do with anything here, I just liked it.

In the UK, a brothel is a brothel if more than one woman offers sex -- paid or unpaid, actual sex or not. I'm guessing most apartment buildings and college dorms are brothels too. Maybe some bars or concert venues? Certainly all strip clubs are. (This explanation is near the end of the article.) Just a brilliant clarifying of any grey areas.

Last legal brothel in Taiwan closes. (Thanks to a friend for the link.)

Melbourne considering banning alcohol from strip clubs.

Aussie stripper rapes a man at a bachelor party.

woman set on fire after refusing to travel and begin working as a prostitute.

News Bits (catch-up)

Raising awareness among Mongolians who are at-risk of being trafficked. There's a joke in here somewhere, but I can't think of it. I especially liked this part: "It was especially important to educate sex workers because almost all of them knew nothing about TIP and they are at high risk for being trafficked."

Condom ringtone (probably in Bangledeshi). Great idea though.

No, my dear Jonathan, most sex workers probably would not consider your job list to be somehow better than sex work. Sorry. You had crappy jobs.

"We do not want to cook or knit! We are not dying for lack of sewing machines," shouted Elena Reynaga, founder of the Argentine Association of Female Sex Workers and the first sex worker to ever address an International AIDS Conference."

Exactly.

A sad, stupid burglary of a strip club.

Book review: If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs,. Not a work of fiction, apparently.

A politician who realizes the Swedish model doesn't work. Wish she could change others' minds.

Female sexual fantasies, including pretending to be paid for sex. Come on girls, admit you really want the money.

Call-Girl Wives, retro fiction.

Vitter wants to use campaign funds to pay for his wigggling out of the Palfrey trial.

The Phillipines recognizes the Catholic Church is full of it -- at least in regards to AIDS prevention. The country is encouraging condom use.

Sri Lanka's success in fighting AIDS seems to be based on fidelity, though most Sri Lankan women with AIDs got it from their husbands. Still, the country has a really low AIDS rate and provides free treatment to those with AIDS.