BBC Radio Ulster documentary on sex trafficking
Today at 12.30pm BBC Radio Ulster are running a programme on sex work in Northern Ireland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b052mlxq
I'm mentioning this because a couple of months ago, Andy Pag from the BBC posted here, asking for escorts and clients to talk to him for a documentary.
What he didn't mention was exactly what the documentary would be about. It turns out it's called ''Vice Girl or Victim?'' and the tagline on the BBC site is:
''Lynne sells sex in Belfast to pay off debts to those who got her into the country. Will new legislation help the girls recruited into this industry? Andy Pag reports.''
On Andy's twitter, the preview was:
''Human trafficking, snakeheads and the women forced into the sex trade .. @andybutshorter previews his docu on @BBCgmu & @BBCRadioFoyle tomo.''
A four minute trailer aired yesterday. It included an interview with a Chinese woman who had been forcibly trafficked, a second who may have been and an entirely misleading statistic on sex trafficking in the North.
What could have been an honest examination of sex work from the viewpoint of escorts and clients, is instead looking like it's going to focus on trafficking. Just for the record, there wasn't a single case of sex trafficking for prostitution in the North last year. I kind of doubt that will be mentioned.
Personally I'll reserve judgement until I've heard the programme, but there does seem to be a real reluctance to show the everyday side of sex work for the vast majority here.
The programme is at 12.30pm and will run for 30 minutes.
2014 in Northern Ireland:
Number of reported attacks on sex workers 70
Number of sex trafficking cases ZERO