BY ELENA JEFFRIES
PERTH — Following the campaign against the WA Prostitution Control Bill 2003, the fight for sex workers' rights faces a new challenge, with the forced closure of both SWOPWA (the street sex worker outreach project) and the sex-worker organisation Phoenix.
In a push initiated by Perth MLA John Hyde, these government-funded organisations have faced extreme scrutiny through parliament and financial audits in the last two months.
This comes shortly after the demise of the Prostitution Control Bill 2003, which would have created a Prostitution Control Board — which would have overseen all services to sex workers. The bill was vehemently and militantly objected to by sex-worker advocates, organisations and individual workers.
In the first week of April, this campaign was vindicated by announcements that the Liberals and the Greens (WA) would block the bill in the Upper House.
This win has been short lived, however, as all services to sex workers have since been closed, in a vindictive move by the government which indicates what their full plans may have been if the bill had been passed.
On April 30, the government publicly flagged a full audit of Phoenix, in response to a media "expose" of a Phoenix-produced pamphlet advising sex workers how to find and maintain regular clients.
On May 5, the government and health department began the audit and demanded the withdrawal of the pamphlet. The same week Hyde told the media: "Sex-work advocates have got to get back to looking after the health of sex workers instead of playing politics."
Then, on May 13, during a budget debate about arts funding, Hyde criticised a sex-worker arts project run by SWOPWA and funded by Community Arts Network: "The residents were upset the [web] site promoted the area as one where street prostitutes could be found."
He called for an audit into the funding SWOPWA receives. Di Lanou, SWOPWA spokesperson, said: "He is just talking tough to drum up support for the Gallop government's new prostitution laws... and fails to understand the deeper meaning behind some of the [art] work."
The health department instructed SWOPWA to close the web site, but it may still be accessed at <http://members.iinet.net.au/~whch/swopwa>.
The same week, Perth media ran a story about Phoenix assisting sex workers to get onto the dole. Janelle Fawkes, Phoenix spokesperson and Scarlet Alliance president, said, "It is clear the knives are out for both Phoenix and SWOPWA".
"When I was commander of the central police area I was a big supporter of Phoenix", health minister Bob Kucera said on May 31. He added, however, that was "disappointed" with its "recent directions". Pheonix campaigned strongly against the proposed tough sex worker controls in the bill.
On June 7, Kucera announced Phoenix would lose all its funding, claiming the "service spent outside the rules" and that "even some street walkers would find their material offensive".
He subsequently admitted in parliament that he made that decision before the audit had even been received by his office. He made the decision on the basis of viewing the Working for a Living magazine Phoenix publishes, calling it pornographic.
With both Phoenix and SWOPWA defunded, there is a huge gap in services for the 3500 sex workers in WA. The Sex Worker Action Group has called a protest outside the health minister's office (Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, West Perth) at 11am on June 20. Come along or email your messages of support to <qt4babs@iprimus.com.au>.
From Green Left Weekly, June 18, 2003.
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