Christian Groups and “Rescuing” Sex Workers

There have always been Christian groups who speak about sex work as sinful, but now there is an increasing trend toward seeing sex workers as victims who must be rescued. These groups tend to see sex workers either as fallen women (because of course, they don’t recognize how many sex workers are not women) who need to accept Christ and end their sinful ways, or they see sex workers as victims of trafficking.

Groups like Exodus Cry brand themselves as anti-trafficking, with sensationalized headlines of articles they write and a framing of all forms of sex work as sexual assault. To someone uneducated about the realities of “prostitution”, their framing seems believable. Sex workers are painted in a negative light in most media we appear in, and often end up dead. We are treated as disposable by much of society, or as deeply traumatized people who must have been forced into our work. Even atheists who come across groups like Exodus Cry may be taken in, because one has to search for the overt Christian messaging, outside of their name.

Instead of referring to those of us who sell sex as sex workers who have agency and make choices, we are reduced to being described as slaves akin to those in biblical times. This is particularly interesting, given that the Bible condones slavery in various instances, but I suppose these groups have chosen to ignore that or interpret it differently. When you frame the sex industry as being entirely populated by people who are trafficked any forced, it is much easier to convince others that you are doing the right thing in making it illegal. After all, other forms of worker exploitation are illegal, aren’t they?

The issue is thus: the issue of human trafficking does not exist because of the “legality” of certain actions. Rape is already illegal. Kidnapping is already illegal. Forcing someone to work for you is illegal. Threatening someone is illegal. These things are all crimes, some less enforced than others.

Sex trafficking is also not as common as they would lead you to believe. Exploitation is a serious issue in the sex industry, with the vast majority of sex workers starting to sell sex due to poverty. Being desperate for money due to extreme poverty, on top of being criminalized so that sex workers are under constant threat of arrest, sex workers become targets in the US for all sorts of exploitation. The way to resolve this is to remove the threat of arrest (shouldn’t these organizations want that, if they believe sex workers are victims?) and to eradicate poverty. Poverty is the driving force for people to engage in sex work, yet instead of acknowledging that a caricature of a trafficker is created to instil fear.

Where I live, in the UK, selling sex is legal. However, because various things surrounding selling sex are illegal, such as paying for security or working from the same premises as other sex workers, it is still very dangerous. It is unsafe for us to be public about our work for fear of losing our homes, because a landlord could legally be seen as profiting from our prostitution if they accept rent from us. Instead of fighting for what would actually help us, Christian “rescue” groups want to add to this danger by making it illegal for clients to pay us for sex at all.

In the US, selling sex is illegal with the small exception of specific licensed Nevada brothels. While these groups publicly discuss sex trafficking, the actual legislation they are trying to enact is not to make it illegal to buy sex or to sell it. A bait and switch is occurring. You are lured into supporting their organisation with the belief that it is helping victims of sex trafficking, without realizing that much of their work is trying to remove all pornography from the internet and to close all strip clubs. Prostitution is the easiest immediate target because it has the most stigma attached and people are most likely to already be against it. Sex workers become leverage to censor the entire internet to meet fundamentalist Christian standards.

The issues they discuss are real. The more marginalized someone already is, the more likely they are to participate in sex work. Trans people, immigrants, black and indigenous people, gay or bi people, are all more likely to participate in sex work, especially those who occupy several marginalized identities at once. This is because we are more likely to end up in financial desperation because we face discrimination when looking for jobs and are often kicked out of home – thus making us poorer. The poverty is what pushes us into sex work.

If poverty is what pushes us into sex work because we have no other option, and the poverty is not resolved but sex work is criminalized, that fixes nothing. We still don’t have other options, so we continue to sell sex in the same numbers, only now we’re in more danger when we do so. The more illegal it is, the less able we are to ask for help or ever pull ourselves out. Ultimately, this is what these groups want. It’s not about helping sex workers, it’s about making us have to hide in the shadows, and banishing all of sexual expression there afterwards.

Once Exodus Cry have pulled you in with their initial fear-mongering about trafficking, then they start to suggest that porn is somehow a factor in increasing trafficking. Their literature on the site is full of anecdotes from people who have faced horrific abuse, told in graphic detail, followed up by a suggestion that pornography contributed to that occurring. If they can convince you of a link, even people who understand that sexual expression is important won’t argue that it’s more important than stopping sexual assault. Problem is, they’re lying. Porn includes a lot of sexually violent content made by performers, but this is a case of the media imitating life rather than the other way around. Rape isn’t increased by pornography. Sexual assault existed long before porn, to an even larger degree in many societies without in than exists now in much of the world. Violent porn can have a negative impact on how people feel about sex, but we resolve this with education rather than censorship.

There is also an assumption being made that all porn is equal in violence or exploitation, when this is not the case. A shift towards porn created by performers themselves, paid for from verified sex workers so that you can be sure that content isn’t stolen, would be far more logical as an approach. To ban all porn would mean no-one could express themselves sexually at all, even post a nude photograph online for their enjoyment. Those who make online porn independently because they need the money would instead be driven to do in-person work instead and put themselves in more danger. With nowhere to advertise online, we are forced to rely on “pimps” and managers, because there is no other way for us to find enough clients. Taking away the ability for sex workers to exist online will only make our lives more dangerous.

Christian groups won’t even admit that paying for porn is more ethical that consuming stolen content, and instead choose to treat all pornography as the same. Porn created based on the performers’ own comfort and violent porn where the performers are treated poorly (maybe with the content even being re-uploaded so they never see the money) are the same is nonsense. To act like filmed sexual abuse is the same thing as either, however, is even more insidious.

Since I started sex work I have received texts from various groups telling me that I need to turn to Christ and stop selling sex. Some of the people who message me will text a link to their Christian group’s anti-trafficking website and even suggest that I join their church. Others will suggest that I exit sex work by taking an offer to live in their Christian community housing where I will be fed and clothed in the short-term if I adhere to their “exit program” for prostitution. One thing all of this groups have in common: none are offering me the material help I need. I already have a roof over my head. Though I use sex work to pay the rent for it, securing a home is not my main issue, nor would I be willing to submit to Christian indoctrination to be able to avoid that rent. Living there, prayer, joining a church… none of this will change that I need to make money in the long-term, and that selling sex is my best option for any financial stability.

Jesus is not going to save me. Money will.

Since churches are tax-exempt, why don’t these Christian groups put their money where their mouth is and start giving money to sex worker mutual aid groups. If you want people to leave prostitution, acknowledge that the main factor pushing us into it is financial need, and give us money so that we have no need to.