Sad news about Jasmine Petite

[Grumpy Cow]

Not really lighthearted blather or babble but not sure where to put this.  Very sad to hear about the brutal murder of Jasmine Petite, a very outspoken intelligent Swedish sex worker who I followed on Twitter.  She faced a long term struggle with the Swedish courts who decided to award custody of her children to her violent ex because of her sex work.  She received no support when she reported her violent ex to the authorities and instead was told the real underlying problem was her being a sex worker and that she was in fact ?self-harming?.  After countless threats from her ex and numerous court battles, Jasmine recently got to see her children.  However, she was brutally murdered by her ex yesterday.  This shows the reality of the Swedish Model.  Political dogma overrides the safety and needs of sex workers.  This is why we have to keep lobbying and acting against any abolitionists who cite the Swedish Model as a success.  It stigmatises sex workers and puts us in danger.  That is the real underlying threat we face of the likes of Rhoda Grant and other lobbyists.  She might have been unsuccessful in introducing her bill to criminalise the purchase of sex in Scotland this time but we can't really be complacent. 

[ana30]

The swedish model makes "punting" illegal but "whoring" legal. In other words: It's legal to sell sex but it's illegal to buy it. Grumpy cow I don't understand your point. -All my condolences to her family- but what has this got to do with Jasmine Petite being murdered by her violent ex?  Or am I missing something here?

(http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-confused004.gif)

[Caledonia]

She could have been a brain surgeon and her ex would still have made her look like dirt and still have killed her. The guy obviously has serious anger/mental problems.

[Grumpy Cow]

Sorry for being bit unclear.  Jasmine was a very outspoken activist and member of the Rose Alliance who was stigmatised by the Swedish authorities for being a sex worker.  Instead of receiving help from the authorities being the victim of a very brutal ex, she was actually told that her real problem was not her  violent abusive ex-partner but the fact she was a sex worker and she was told that working as a prostitute represented her ?self-harming?.  She was also accused by the authorities of ?romanticising sex work?.  Instead of getting help after reporting her violent ex, she lost custody of her children and received no support.  He repeatedly threatened her yet she received no protection.  Instead of protecting her from a very violent abusive man, the entire focus was on her profession.  She was actively penalised for being a sex worker who refused to tow the official line that sex work is oppression to woman.  Instead she was victimised and went through countless court battles to be able to see her children which put her in ever increasing danger of her violent ex.  She was patronised and refused help because of her profession.  This is what her murder has to do with the Swedish Model.  It made her vulnerable because she received no support or protection but instead was punished.  She was actively stigmatised under a law that seeks to protect women from male oppression but instead faced a long battle to protect her children from a violent ex.  He got away with abuse and she was deemed an ?unfit? mother for being a sex worker.  Eventually this state sanctioned abuse led to her murder.     

Her profession is very topical and an important issue in the whole sad saga!  It favoured and state sanctioned the abuse her ex inflicted on her, belittled her suffering and punished her   

[Sarita]

I saw this earlier on twitter. Utterly horrific and of course her profession is completely relevant to her murder.

[lailah terri]

How awful! Such sad news.

[LouLou37]

Yes, I agree - of course her profession is very relevant to her murder.

The "Swedish Model" is purported to support vulnerable Sex Workers,  or any Sex Workers, not penalise them for their work!

Exactly what the fuck happened here then? Refused support and help because of her work, children taken, clearly from what I have read the authorities refused to take her seriously because of her work.

This is what the Swedish Model causes - STIGMATIZATION. The very opposite of what it's supporters, Rhoda Grant etc propose.

How many Sex Workers in Sweden do you think will stick their heads above the parapet and ask for help from any agencies or report any crimes against them now? I certainly wouldn't in their case.

RIP 

[ana30]

"The swedish law to criminalize clients: A failed experiment in social engineering"

This makes a very interesting read with many valid points (IMO).

rightswork.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Issue-Paper-4.pdf

[Grumpy Cow]

That is a very good report and among the information put forward to dissuade various abolition lobbyists from trying to enforce the Swedish model in the UK.  No surprises that none of that research or objections by sex workers were listened to.   This is why Jasmine?s murder is a really poignant and heart-breaking reminder about what happens when there is state sponsored active discrimination of sex workers.  The Swedish state did not physically murder Jasmine but its extreme bias and victimisation of Swedish sex workers sends a clear message to abusers that sex workers are ?fair game?.  So this is not merely a private matter but a very political issue and an international tragedy.  Some people I spoke to were really apathetic and disinterested in the recent attempts by Rhoda Grant to push a similar bill through in Scotland.  Some commented what Scotland had to do for example with England.  It?s really unwise to think that this would not be a wider issue.  Scotland for a start seems to be a testing ground for various legislative and once approved in one part could be rolled out UK wide.  We are so lucky that we can legally carry out this job.  I?m not saying we don?t still get stigmatised but at least we got a fighting chance to report dangerous clients to the police without generally have to fear some backlash or reprisal by the authorities.         

[inna]

Justice for Dora! Justice for Jasmine!
Justice for all sex workers who are victims of violence!
 
WHAT: International Day of Protest against the violent abuse and murder of sex workers.
 
WHEN: Friday 19 July 2013 3:00-4:00pm
 
WHERE: Swedish Embassy, 11 Montagu Place, London W1H 2AL, London.
 
CONTACT:      London protest, contact: Cari Mitchell, English Collective of Prostitutes, 07811 964171/020 7482 2496, ecp@prostitutescollective.net, Sex Worker Open University, swou@gmail.com.
International protests called by the International Committee for the Rights of Sex Workers, Luca Stevenson, 07 821 540 004, info@sexworkeurope.org.
 
Following the murders of two women, Dora ?zer and Petite Jasmine, on the 9th and 11th of July, sex workers, their friends, families, and allies are coming together to demand an end to murders and other violence, criminalisation and stigma. Demos, vigils, and protests in front of Swedish and Turkish embassies or other symbolic places have been organised in 25 cities ? for more info see: jasmineanddora.wordpress.com.
 
On 11 July, Petite Jasmine, a sex worker in Sweden, was murdered by her ex-husband. Her good friend and colleague Pye Jakobsson, Rose Alliance, commented:
 
?Our board member, fierce activist and friend Petite Jasmine has been brutally murdered. Several years ago she lost custody of her children as she was considered to be an unfit parent due to being a sex worker. The children were placed with their father regardless of him being abusive towards Jasmine.
 
He threatened and stalked her on numerous occasions; she was never offered any protection. She fought the system through four trials and had finally started seeing her children again. Yesterday the father of her children killed her.
 
Ms Jakobsson also commented on how the 1999 Swedish Sex Purchase Law which criminalised sex workers? clients, has increased discrimination and stigma against sex workers and led to tragedies of this kind:
 
?The law builds on the idea that women who sell sex are weak and exploited. Sex workers have been reduced to ?victims? by professionals, politicians and others in authority. Abuse and discrimination has increased as a result, including police raids against sex workers in their own home. More sex workers are being judged as unworthy mothers and losing custody of their children with devastating consequences. Jasmine always said ?Even if I can?t get my kids back I will make sure this never happens to any other sex worker?. We will continue her fight. Justice for Jasmine!?
 
 
On 9 July, Dora ?zer, a trans sex worker was murdered in Turkey. She was the 31st trans person to be killed in Turkey since 2008. Protests were held in Adana, Ankara, Diyarbakir, Eskişehir, İstanbul and İzmir, some of which were met by police in gas masks. Kemal Ordek, chair of Red Umbrella Sexual Health and Human Rights Association comments:
 
?"Dora Ozer was murdered by one of her clients on 9th of July in Kusadasi, Turkey. Our advocacy actions over the last seven years, to highlight the high level of murders targeting trans sex workers in Turkey, have alarmed the Turkish Government. The response has been ignorance and more oppression. Trans sex workers face systematic and widespread discrimination in education and employment which push them in the sex industry. Even though sex work in Turkey is not illegal in theory, every action related to sex work is illegal. This creates risky environments for every sex worker. Police violence and sexual and physical violence from clients and gangs is rampant. Unless sex work is decriminalised in a way to protect the labour and human rights of sex workers, these murders will not stop. End discrimination towards trans women, ensure safety in the sex industry!"
 
In the UK, sex workers face an epidemic of rape and other violence. Sex workers in London are 12 times more likely to be murdered than other women. What are the police doing about this? Forming task forces, not to protect sex workers, but to arrest women. Raids, prosecutions and imprisonment of sex workers have soared further undermining safety.[ii] In some areas, nearly every woman working on the street has a conviction for soliciting and an Anti-social Behaviour Order (ASBO) imposed on her. Breach of an ASBO carries a five year prison sentence.[iii] Even when sex workers come forward to report violence we face arrest.[iv]
 
Decriminalisation was introduced in New Zealand in 2003 with verifiable success: sex workers felt more able to report violence and attacks were cleared up more quickly.[v] Politicians should be looking to New Zealand not Sweden for leadership in any efforts to change the law.
 
Safety First! Decriminalise now!
 
 
https://jasmineanddora.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/justice.jpg
 
 
Full interview with Pye Jakobsson about the murder of Petite Jasmine at http://titsandsass.com/the-bloody-state-gave-him-the-power-a-swedish-sex-workers-murder/
________________

Silence on Violence, GLA member Andrew Boff, 2012.
[ii] http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/sex-workers-feeling-threatened-by-crackdown-on-prostitution-near-olympic-site-7609024.html

[iii] http://prostitutescollective.net/2013/07/10/action-alert-stop-the-prosecution-of-a-woman-falsely-accused-of-prostitution-who-faces-prison-for-breaching-an-anti-social-behaviour-order/

[iv] http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/16/change-law-prostitutes-crime-violent

[v]  http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy/commercial-property-and-regulatory/prostitution/prostitution-law-review-committee/publications/plrc-report/documents/report.pdf