Overview of ICOP

Overview of ICOP:
the International Conference on Prostitution Los Angeles
March 9 - 15 1997

The ICOP was in fact, two conferences. The three day pre-conference, which was open to sex workers and their close supporters, was hosted by Coyote Los Angeles and the Network of Sex Work Projects. The main conference was hosted by Coyote Los Angeles and the Center for Sex Research at the California State University. During the Conference there was an evening of performances by sex workers, a conference lunch and a grand Hookers' Ball.

Pre Conference

People arrived throughout Sunday and Monday for the preconference and lots of old friendships were revived, new ones made and faces were put to names at last. The conference began with small groups by the pool or in the restaurant, spa or "hospitality suite". By the end of the exhausting week which was to come many delegates looked back at this time as the highlight of the conference.

On Tuesday, Jo Doezema and Paulo Longo of the NSWP facilitated a three-hour session to set the agenda for the next two days. Eighteen workshops were planned. The list of workshops was probably similiar to one the NSWP might have composed in advance, but this session was conceived as an exercise in democracy and equal opportunity. Everyone had the chance to suggest a workshop topic and outline their ideas for its content. We probably wouldn't do this again because it was gruelling to have a three-hour, 150-person session. The search for innovative process continues. Suggestions?

Brett and Jo worked into the night to timetable the workshops and amazingly by 9:30 the next morning all workshops were well underway (except for a slight hiccup when "personal issues" relocated itself, and lost its facilitators who had suggested the topic).

The workshop topics were:

Sex Workers and the Academy
Codes of Ethics
Whore to Whore propaganda
Personal Issues
Occupational Health and Safety
Law Reform
The Business of Sex
Male Sex Work
Tansgender Sex Workers
Relationships Between Activists
Access to Heath Care
The Next ICOP

Sex Workers and Supporters

There was scope for each session to be declared sex workers only and it was clear that most of the supporters present would co-operate with those decisions. About half of the sessions were sex workers only. Unfortunately it was easy to lie and a couple of people obviously did. Rather than make unpleasant scenes they were simply ignored. It annoyed people but without the administrative capacity to check people out it is difficult to target people as liars even when it's pretty obvious. Hopefully next time there will be an adequate infrastructure to preregister people and close the conference to all others.

Logistics

On arrival at the hotel it was immediately clear that, for one reason or another, delegates would have to overcome a number of difficulties to make the conference a success. The hotel staff were rude and unco-operative and the hotel prices for food and accommodation were way beyond the reach of most delegates. Alternatives were scarce because the hotel was in a remote corner of Los Angeles. Translators which had been promised did not arrive and there were not adequate funds for the sponsorships from developing countries.

Within hours the sex worker delegates met and a conference-organising team was mobilised. An alternative restaurant for breakfasts and lunches was set up which even made a profit to cover some of the deficits. Volunteers sold books, posters and tickets to the Hookers' Ball, organised room sharing and dealt to the best of their ability with translation. The mobilisation was truly remarkable. It proved something we already knew about the ingenuity and resourcefulness of sex workers.

No one could forget Anne and the New Zealand team's breakfasts and lunches, Brett's secretarial feats, Jo's simultaneous presidency of the food subcommittee and facilitation of the planning session, Leeza's and Lee's treasury team, Ali's handling of registration chaos and Helen who translated to Spanish for more than twelve hours a day for at least five days. And that's not to mention at least a dozen others who simply did what was necessary and who have every right to be annoyed if their name doesn't appear here (Shane, Delores, Steve, Carol, Anne, Paulo, Eve, Vic, ...).

As more sex workers arrived throughout the next days and saw the phenomenon their immediate response was to contribute cash -- it was common to see people pay $10 for their morning cup of coffee and bowl of cereal.

The question remains -- why do we as a group only control an under-funded network rather than a country or even the world!

The Entertainment

The famous, inimitable Carol Leigh, the Scarlet Harlot of San Francisco, organised a night of entertainment by sex workers on Thursday night. It featured Annie Spinkle who did her famous bosom ballet, Shannon Bell Jade Blue and Akira and many more.

There was total agreement that it was a superb night of top-quality performances. "As good as anything I have paid $50 to see in a professional theatre," were the words of one happy audience member. Another happy audience member was Carol's proud mum.

The Hookers' Ball saw some of the greatest costumes ever assembled. Unfortunately neither the pasta or the music were as exciting. Those who convened at the bar agreed for the thousandth time that week that hookers do it better -- "it" meaning everything! If only Anne and the New Zealanders had been in charge of the hotel kitchen that night and the Scarlet Harlot and friends on stage!

The Awards Luncheon

An awards luncheon was held on the Saturday of the conference. The Centre for Sex Research gave awards to several Americans including Margot St James, the founder of the US sex workers rights movement and Norma Jean Almodovar the conference organiser who received a well-earned standing ovation. Coyote LA gave awards to various people from around the world who had contributed time and money to the conference. A special award for bravery went to a Nicaraguan woman who had been detained, not once but twice, by US immigration officials in Maimi. She had returned to the queue after her first interrogation and search only to be ordered out again for the entire performance to be repeated, by which time she had missed her flight and was stranded. (This being just one example of the marginalisation of the Latin Americans who still had not been supplied a translator.)

Dr Jocelyn Elders, a former US surgeon general, spoke at the lunch. She suggested that the US laws should be reviewed which delighted everyone and especially the US delegates.

Strangely no award was given for the most prolific shopper but had it been the much loved Claudia Colimoro of Mexico would certainly have won. There are several very happy children in Mexico now, and Los Angeles is suffering a severe toy shortage.

The Grand Finale

Frustration with the academics was rife throughout the conference. Norma Jean had done her best to negotiate the best deal for sex workers but it just wasn't forthcoming. No group bore the brunt of the insensitivity of the Centre for Sex Research more than the Latin Americans. Translators failed to materialise, sponsorship funds were scarce and their input was confined ( or ghettoised) to a single session entitled "Sex Work outreach/projects in Latin America." Matters came to a head when the conference chair burst into that session to tell them to wind up fifteen minutes earlier than the scheduled time of midday, so hotel staff could pull down the dividing walls to prepare the room for the closing plenary which was sheduled to start at midday.

This would have meant abandoning the presentation from Nicaragua -- a clear symbol of contempt and disregard for a woman who had already been harrassed by immigration and deprived of translation. He was outraged that they refused to vacate the room on command. Rather than acknowledging the mistake in the program (that allowed no time to adjust the space as required) and delaying the plenary by fifteen minutes, he insisted on beginning the final session at midday in a crowded adjoining room.

When the Latin Americans finished their session and vacated the room a few minutes after noon, they sent a message to the crowded plenary that the walls could now be removed and they were ready to join the plenary. His reply, through the microphone was to tell them that they were not welcome -- they could "GO TO HELL."

The Latin American delegates and supporters invaded the stage. It was time for Dr. Bullough to experience being forcibly silenced. Instead of closing to the self-congratulatory tune of academics, it finished with a whole lot of jostling and a series of chaotic and angry declarations by the Latin American sex workers. Sex workers from all countries joined the Latin Americans. The moment passed, a grand exit was made and the police arrived only to find a gang of peacefully truimphant sex workers outside the room which was now occupied only by a few shaken academics. The last word had been had -- IN SPANISH BY SEX WORKERS.

The downside of this action is that no resolution was passed. The Centre for Sex Research officials went to great pains to tell us that no resolution could be passed while they were in charge -- God forbid that they be associated with a resolution which advocates basic human rights for sex workers. Any resolution would have to be passed after the official closing and would have no status to do with the conference or the university. So it seems to many of us that it doesn't matter that it wasn't passed. Here it is anyway.

Concensus Statement of
Coyote LA and the Network Of Sex Work Projects
International Conference On Prostitution,
Los Angeles March, 1997

That governments and relevant non government agencies recognise that providing sexual services is a valid commercial and occupational activity sex workers have a right to the same civil and human rights as other citizens including the right to self determine both collectively and as individuals.
Legal and social persecution of sex workers, and others involved in commercial sex, perpetuates rather than solves problems associated with commercial sex and must be ended immediately
That governments and relevant non government agencies take immediate action to create an environment of law and policy which gives sex workers and their families full civil and occupational rights including access to justice, economic development, health and safety and freedom of expression and movement.
Allocate resources to sex worker self organisation and networking

The delegates of this conference recognise that to successfully implement better law and policies institutions need guidance and support from sex workers and agencies which are already involved in supporting sex workers rights. We therefore offer to contribute our skills and knowledge to processes which aim to change the legal and social staus of sex work and sex workers.

The Next ICOP

Everybody wants another ICOP! But where, when and how ? Two workshops held during the conference to discuss possiblities. These are some of the points which were made.

Future conferences must:

Be organised by a group of sex workers from a range of countries and language groups
Be adequately funded so that logistics ( travel, accomodation, programmes, food) are not a problem and adequate numbers of sex workers from developing countries and resource poor settings can be sponsored
Be controlled by sex workers
Have adequate translation (which means simultaneous, professional translation)

It would be good if a future conference could be:

held in a developing country
held in a country in which English is not the primary language
held in a country in which there is a strong, local sex worker network who could host the conference
held in a country in which resources, such as enthusiasm and money, are available for the conference
held in a country with low prices, good weather and nice beaches! (Sorry northern Europe.)

It was agreed that it is in the interests of sex workers' control and ownership of our lives, work and issues to oppose any group outside our network (such as a university department or political interest group or even sex workers from one country acting by themselves) hosting another global conference on prostitution to which we are invited only as paying guests.

Several countries and organisations within the Network are keen to explore the possibility of hosting the next ICOP. Like a competition for the Olympics each has gone away to gather their resources to battle for this dubious priviledge. We learned a lot from this conference. The main lesson is that we can do anything we set our minds to. Anyone who would like to help join one of the existing groups to raise a bid, add a bid from their country or form a supporting group for fundraising etc. can do so by contacting one of the NSWP representatives listed below. The following are the current suggestions.

South Africa: changes there have inspired the world. Capetown has great beaches, great weather and SWEAT says Shane Petzner of SWEAT.

Australia: sex workers have piled up the victories in Australia. Sydney has great beaches, great weather and SWOP/Scarlett says Leeza Pride of SWOP.

Brazil: sex was invented in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro has great beaches, great weather, great music and Davida/NOSS says Gabriella Leite of Davida and Paulo Longo of NOSS.

Reports from the workshops of both the preconference and the main ICOP will be posted shortly -- watch this space!

Thanks to all who made the preconference wonderful and the ICOP bearable.

-- Cheryl Overs

Cheryl Overs (UK)
CherylOvers@dial.pipex.com

Leeza Pride (Australia)
sera@ozemail.com.au

Paulo Longo ( Brazil)
silvio@centroin.com.br

Shane Petzner (South Africa)
sweat@iafrica.org

Andrew Sorfleet (Canada)
handyman@walnet.org

Jo Doezema (UK)
antislavery@gn.apc.org

Conference Reports...