The Wire

For seven years now, the Labor Government in Tasmania has been pushing for the legalisation of brothels with the idea that decriminalising the industry would protect Tasmanian sex workers. Now that the Legislative Council has refused to support this bill, attorney-general Judy Jackson, has done an about face – in a major policy reversal, the Government will now push for brothels to be banned in the state. Sex workers are concerned that the criminalisation of brothels will lead to unsafe working practices and an increase in crime and dodgy, illegal operators. President of Scarlett Alliance, a sex workers association, Janelle Fawkes, spoke with The Wire’s Samantha Regione about the Government’s failure to implement their bill, the turn-around in attitude and what this means for sex workers in the Apple Isle.