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Related: About this forumFrench minister for women ‘lets down’ voters by focusing on that silly little prostitution issue
http://feministcurrent.com/5662/french-minister-for-women-lets-down-voters-by-focusing-on-that-silly-little-prostitution-issue/
Ugh. The Guardian and Jezebel both published manipulative stories within the past 24 hours about how the French minister for women supposedly let down Muslim voters by focusing on ending prostitution. Because, you know, violence against women is such a marginal issue.
Both sites use this quote: Criminalised clients means murdered prostitutes as a way to manipulate readers into believing that criminalizing exploitative men is somehow detrimental to women. A more accurate way to represent the fact that prostituted women are subjected to violence on a daily basis would be to say that, in fact, it is pimps and johns (oh but clients just sounds so much tidier, doesnt it?) that murder (and abuse and beat and rape and exploit prostitutes). BUT WHY BOTHER WITH ALL THAT.
France has taken an abolitionist perspective with regard to prostitution and is therefore looking at adopting legislation similar to other progressive countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Iceland wherein johns are criminalized and prostituted women are decriminalized (sometimes referred to as the Nordic or Swedish model). And horror of horrors! The minister for women, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, is actually following through on that. Whats that? A minister for women who cares about womens rights? I know, so crazy, right?
The Guardian calls her naive and Jezebel frames the whole thing as a silly waste of time, writing that Vallaud-Belkacem should be focusing on more meaningful reforms. I dont know what they think a minister for women should be focusing on instead of equality and womens rights or why its necessary to pit the work to end prostitution and violence against women against lifting the burqa ban it seems unnecessary, but anything to pit women and womens issues against one another, I suppose. Thats the best way to keep women down. That and telling them that prostitution empowers them
...
Ugh. The Guardian and Jezebel both published manipulative stories within the past 24 hours about how the French minister for women supposedly let down Muslim voters by focusing on ending prostitution. Because, you know, violence against women is such a marginal issue.
Both sites use this quote: Criminalised clients means murdered prostitutes as a way to manipulate readers into believing that criminalizing exploitative men is somehow detrimental to women. A more accurate way to represent the fact that prostituted women are subjected to violence on a daily basis would be to say that, in fact, it is pimps and johns (oh but clients just sounds so much tidier, doesnt it?) that murder (and abuse and beat and rape and exploit prostitutes). BUT WHY BOTHER WITH ALL THAT.
France has taken an abolitionist perspective with regard to prostitution and is therefore looking at adopting legislation similar to other progressive countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Iceland wherein johns are criminalized and prostituted women are decriminalized (sometimes referred to as the Nordic or Swedish model). And horror of horrors! The minister for women, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, is actually following through on that. Whats that? A minister for women who cares about womens rights? I know, so crazy, right?
The Guardian calls her naive and Jezebel frames the whole thing as a silly waste of time, writing that Vallaud-Belkacem should be focusing on more meaningful reforms. I dont know what they think a minister for women should be focusing on instead of equality and womens rights or why its necessary to pit the work to end prostitution and violence against women against lifting the burqa ban it seems unnecessary, but anything to pit women and womens issues against one another, I suppose. Thats the best way to keep women down. That and telling them that prostitution empowers them
...
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French minister for women ‘lets down’ voters by focusing on that silly little prostitution issue (Original Post)
redqueen
Jul 2012
OP
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)1. good for the French minister for women
a lot of people want to believe, even with given proof, that legalizing prostitution is the answer and everything is wrapped up in a "pretty woman" bow. not a reality. but, the reality to ignore reality is mighty strong.
redqueen
(115,164 posts)2. When they resolved to deal with prostitution by using the Nordic model
I think a lot of people didn't take it seriously.
Obviously they were serious, and they aren't as susceptible to PR for the industry as some propagandists would like to think.
The portrayal of this effort as somehow preventing the administration from dealing with issues of secularism vs religious customs is laughable... and it makes this attempt to pit women against each other so transparent. Pitiful.