Australian brothels miss out on stimulus packages
Tuesday, 02 June 2009, 15:06 IST
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Sydney: Brothels hit by the economic downturn are not getting the breaks that other hard-pressed businesses enjoy, a lobbyist for the Australian sex industry said Tuesday. "It's hard in any environment, but given the current economic climate it's even more unreasonable that sex workers face discrimination," Scarlet Alliance president Elena Jeffreys said on the occasion of International Whores Day. "Discrimination comes from financial institutions," Jeffreys told national broadcaster ABC. "Sex workers who can demonstrate their income and applying for loans or insurance are discriminated against by lenders and insurance agencies who want to charge us more or just simply refuse our loans on the basis of our occupation." She said prostitutes can pay 10 times what other trades-people are charged to advertise in newspapers. Jeffreys complained that people think the sex industry is recession-proof and doesn't need the help that other sectors get when times are tough. "If people have less money to spend generally then that's going to impact the sex industry," she said. The Scarlet Alliance will mark the sex industry's special day with marches and social gatherings around the country.
Source: IANS
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