Join Scot-PEP, SWARM (Sex Workers Advocacy and Resistance Movement) and Decrim Now for a day of panel discussions focusing on: sex worker’s labour rights, how decriminalisation can help in the struggle for sex worker safety, sex work & migration with a film screening of Crossings.

What to Expect

This is a public event where sex workers and allies can come together to speak on how their work intersects and how we can organise collectively in the struggle for sex working labour rights. We aim to bring awareness to the issues faced by sex workers whilst building alliances with other progressive movements. It generates a special opportunity to learn about the significance of decriminalisation for sex-worker safety from both international and local perspectives.

Childcare is available at the venue. Bus pass/ local travel money is available for those who wouldn’t be able to attend otherwise. For fuller access information please see below. If you’d like to come but something makes that difficult for you, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Cloudberry via cloudberry@arika.org.uk

Programme of Events

12 – 1pm

Panel Discussion – What impact do different legal frameworks around sex work have on sex workers and our safety? An opportunity to hear various international perspectives & get up to speed on the differences between legalisation and decriminalisation, the Nordic model and what happens in New Zealand etc. With representatives from SWAI (Sex Workers Alliance Ireland), fuckforbundet (Sweden), PION (Norway), Umbrella Lane (Scotland) and STRASS (France)

1 – 2pm

Lunch

2 – 3pm

Panel Discussion – Sex work is work. Hear from Union and sex work activists – GMB, IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), UVW (United Voices of the World) – about the process of how their unions came to take a stance in favour of decriminalisation in solidarity with sex workers. A chance to explore in detail how you or your organisation can stand with sex workers.

3 – 3:30pm

Break (Tea, coffee & snacks)

3:30 – 5pm

Film screening and Panel Discussion

Crossings: The Stories of Migrant Sex Workers | 40mins | Dirs. Istvan Takacs Gabor and Peter Sarosi | 2018 | Serbia, Spain, France, Norway, Ukraine | English subtitles

This sex-worker produced documentary tells the untold stories of people from five European countries (Serbia, Macedonia, France, Spain, and Norway) who come from very diverse backgrounds but have something in common – all of them are migrants who sell sex. By sharing their experiences as women, men, migrants, LGBT people, single mothers, Muslims, Roma and sex workers, they challenge the sensationalist portrayal of all sex workers as “prostituted women” and “trafficking victims”.

Following the screening we will hold a panel discussion on the intersections between sex work and migration with representatives from Ubuntu Women Shelter (Scotland), SWAI (Ireland) and more panel participants with insights in this area.

A Safer Spaces Statement for the event can be read here as part of the discussion thread on the Facebook event. With thanks to SWARM, Abolitionist Futures and Sisters Uncut for sharing their safer spaces documents to help us to adapt this for this event.

Accessing the Events

Again, if you’d like to come but something makes that difficult for you, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Cloudberry via cloudberry@arika.org.uk

Venue Access
The ground floor (where the event is taking place) is fully wheelchair accessible with a wheelchair accessible toilet.

Upstairs where the childcare is taking place is only accessible via two flights of stairs, which have a handrail.

Bathrooms
Kinning Park Complex have two public toilet blocks on the ground-floor, both with single stall toilets. During the 26th May both toilet blocks will be gender neutral & available for everyone to use.

Bus Pass Money
We will have bus pass/local travel money available for people who wouldn’t be able to attend otherwise.

Child Care
Free childcare will be provided by PVG registered childminders. Pre-booking is not required but if you are able to let us know in advance it would be very useful.

Travel
KPC is opposite Kinning Park underground station, less than a 5-minute walk/wheel from major bus routes, close to cycle routes, and has easy access on/off the M8.

Underground – KPC can be reached by underground, being located across the road from the Kinning Park underground station. There are two flights of stairs that connect the concourse and the platforms.

Bike – KPC is close to cycle routes and accessible by bike from many parts of the city. We also have covered bike parking spaces for your bike when you arrive.

Bus – KPC is at the end of Cornwall Street, off Paisley Road West, which is a main bus route. Please check bus company timetables for details. Buses along Paisley Road West include:
Arriva – 36, 36E, 38, 38E; McGills – 38; First – 9, N9, 54, 54c, 56, 56a, 90, 121, 153

Coming from either direction, the bus stop outside the District Bar is the easiest landmark. From the Paisley direction, Cornwall Street is the second right in front of you. From Glasgow city centre it is the second right behind you.

On Paisley Road West the corner of Cornwall Street is marked by the Bellrock Bar and on the opposite side of Paisley Road West by the Grapes Bar.

Or you can follow signs for Kinning Park Underground Station and walk through Plantation Park. KPC is the three-storey red-sandstone building with big windows, on the right-hand side of the smaller white prefab nursery building. The entrance is around the back.