Prostitutes on air

Red Light Radio
5UV (531 AM), Mondays 10-11 pm
Produced by P.J. Rose and the Red Light Collective
Reviewed by Penny Saunders "Loved ya since I knew ya,
I wouldn't talk down to ya ...
I've told you once, won't tell you again,
It's a bad way." — From "Roxanne" by the Police It seems that everyone has a word or two to say about prostitutes these days: politicians, concerned parents, paternalistic police, movie directors and even rock stars. Everyone gets their say — except for the sex workers themselves. Red Light Radio is a weekly show run by sex industry professionals who are tired of being told "It's a bad way". Going to air every Monday night for 13 weeks from December 4, it challenges the stereotypes about prostitution by presenting the many different facets of the sex industry and revealing what exactly is involved in the exchange of sexual services for a negotiated payment. Helen Vicqua from the Prostitutes' Association of South Australia revealed, "Prostitution is different for everyone. People have myths and fantasies in their minds about what happens in the transaction ... and then there's the reality." Expect the unexpected! With guest appearances by the highly informative yet marvellously frank Dr T.Y. (Trust Your) Lust, well-travelled transgender worker Luke Streetwalker, and the mysterious "Lady of Easy Virtue", Red Light Radio may well stretch your fantasies to the limit. P.J. Rose, the producer, believes that the show plays a number of roles in Adelaide. First, it provides a means for sex industry workers to communicate amongst themselves, to share news and views, announce safety information about the "ugly mugs" — clients who are violent or badly behaved. The show allows workers to present positive notions of sex work in a culture dominated by unrealistic and unrepresentative images of prostitution. Second, as Rose commented in the first show, "Whatever your personal thoughts or feelings about prostitution, the fact is that no law anywhere at any time has succeeded in stopping prostitution. Prostitution happens and we're here to talk about how." Red Light therefore presents the facts about prostitution, without taking any moral stands. This is particularly important in South Australia. As Rose says, "Current South Australian law tells us that sexuality which happens in a brothel is bad enough to go to jail for. Most brothels in South Australia are run by women, and most brothels provide a safe place to work because the worker has the company and protection of other workers on premises. In South Australia, the provision of sexual services for negotiated payment between consenting adults, that is prostitution per se, is not illegal. What is illegal is to keep a brothel, to be on premises frequented by prostitutes and to consort with known prostitutes." The law pushes sex workers in South Australia into the more hidden, isolated and potentially more dangerous forms of sex work such as escort work to hotels and private homes. Red Light Radio hopes to make the public aware of how the state's legal system discriminates against sex workers and to pressure for progressive law reform. Sex workers are safe sex and sexual health experts! Red Light Radio will allow you to discover the "tricks of the trade", all in the privacy of your own home. On air workshops will include an introduction to the safe sex kit, safe bondage and discipline, hooker hygiene and more. The Red Light Radio Collective is made up of sex workers, members of the Prostitutes' Association of SA, the Sex Industry Network and friends and supporters of the sex industry.