International Union of Sex Workers
Encyclopedia
The International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW) is a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 based trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 for sex workers. It campaigns for the decriminalisation of prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

, and to have sex work 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-defense
Self-defense
Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...

 classes, free legal advice
Legal advice
In the common law, legal advice is the giving of a formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law by an officer of the court , ordinarily in exchange for financial or other tangible compensation...

 and training for members who wish to leave the sex industry
Sex industry
The sex industry consists of businesses which either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment...

.

The union was formed in 2000 partly as a response to actions taken by Westminster City Council
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 and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors...

  in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to try and remove prostitutes from the area. The union publishes a quarterly bulletin entitled "RESPECT!".

The International Union of Sex Workers supports the x:talk Project
X:talk
x:talk Project is a London-based network of sex workers and migrants' rights activists who organise, co-ordinate and deliver free English classes for workers in the sex industry...

, which provides free English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 classes to migrant sex workers in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

They are a member of Backlash
Backlash (pressure group)
Backlash is an umbrella group formed in 2005 to coordinate opposition to the “Consultation on the possession of extreme pornographic material” issued in the UK jointly by the Home Office and the Scottish Executive...

, which was formed in 2005 in order to oppose a new law criminalising possession of "extreme pornography
Extreme pornography
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom that criminalises possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law was enacted from 26 January 2009...

".
Since 2009 Thierry Schaffauser
Thierry Schaffauser
Thierry Schaffauser is a French sex worker and social activist.He initially caused attention as an activist of Act up-Paris. In 2006 Schaffauser cofounded Les Putes - a Paris-based group defending sex workers' rights. He is also the president of the GMB Sex Workers Branch...

is president of the GMB branch, Adult Entertainment&IUSW.

External links

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