SIN Select Committee Submission Guide.pdf - Social Media

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SIN Promoting the health, rights, and wellbeing of sex workers in South Australia. By sex workers, for sex workers. 220 South Road, Mile End South Australia 5031 Ph: (08) 8351 7626 info@sin.org.au A Select Committee of 5 Legislative Council members has been assembled to address the Statues Amendment (Repeal of Sex Work Offenses) Bill 2020. The Select Committee has put a call out to the public for submissions to be forwarded to its members. This document has been created to deliver guidance and information in order to write your own submission. How to write your own submission. A guide: _________________________________________________________________________________ What is the Repeal of Sex Work Offences Bill? The Repeal of Sex Work Offences Bill is an Act that has been introduced to South Australian Parliament by Greens MLC Tammy Franks. The Act, if passed, would remove all mentions of “prostitution” and “brothels” from the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 and the Summary Offences Act 1953 – the Acts which currently detail the criminalisation of adult consensual sex work in South Australia. This means that, amongst other changes, engaging in and living on the earnings from sex work would no longer be considered a crime, and sex work would fall under (and be protected by) the same workplace regulations as other businesses. What is the Select Committee? The Select Committee is comprised of a group of MPs from the Legislative Council (Upper House), who are tasked with investigating an issue such as an upcoming Bill, gathering evidence on that issue, and then presenting their findings to the rest of the House when completed. This Select Committee is taking a particular interest in the actions and involvement of the SA Police in the sex industry. Submissions to the committee may detail lived experiences, thoughts, and opinions regarding SAPOLs role within the sex industry and the effects their role has (or may have) upon sex workers. It is not the Committees job to vote on or change the Bill – but their findings may inform and influence the MPs who will be voting on it later. This is why it is important that submissions are made to the Committee during this stage, as personal testimony from sex workers, clients, allies and organisations will inform their research on the sex industry in South Australia. We know that criminalisation is not working, it creates harmful barriers to sex worker health and safety, promotes police harassment, and creates an environment where sex workers are afraid to report crimes against us. Now is the time for us to speak up about these issues and make our voices heard. This is the second time that a sex work law reform proposal has been brought before a Select Committee; the first instance resulted in a recommendation for decriminalisation – and SIN, with your help, is hoping to replicate this recommendation this time around! Who can write a submission? Anybody can make a submission to the Select Committee - we are encouraging anybody who supports the decriminalisation of sex work to write and send in a submission. How to write a submission Talk about your personal experiences – If you are a sex worker, how does working under criminalisation affect you? What barriers or issues have you faced because of criminalisation? What would change for you if it were no longer a crime to do sex work? Even though this Select Committee is taking a dive into the workings of SAPOL within the sex industry, you do not have to focus your submission upon the Police in order to be validated, powerful, or heard. If you are writing as a peer, your story is your own, and your voice is unique. Submissions can be any length, it is entirely up to the writer; and remember, even a short submission can pack a punch. Possible talking points: • Have you ever had a bad experience with police where you felt unsafe or harassed because you are a sex worker? • Have there been times where you have avoided making a police report for a crime committed against you, because you felt that you might be dismissed, or even charged for doing sex work? • Maybe you just generally feel stressed and unsafe as a sex worker in SA, knowing that you could be arrested, fined, and given a criminal record for engaging in a job that you are consenting to do. • Maybe you just want to be able to pay tax and run your business with the same protections as anybody else! • What would life be like for you if sex work were decriminalised, how would your health, safety and life be improved? Past submission examples: We have hosted some of the publicly accessible submissions made for the 2015 Decriminalisation Bill in a Dropbox folder linked here, they are a great example of the different kind of submissions and talking points that can be made. Feel free to use them as inspiration – but please do not copy them word for word. Do I have to use my personal details? You can request that your submission be anonymous by contacting the committee secretary (see the end of this document for contact details). You can also write your submission under a pseudonym if you would like. If you do not wish to write your own submission, you are welcome to share your story with SIN and, with your consent, we will do our best to include it in our submission – this can be done completely anonymously. Can I get help or advice with writing my submission? Yes! If you would like any assistance in writing your submission, or if you have any questions about the bill or the committee process, please get in touch with us at SIN. You can contact the office on (08) 8351 7626 from Tuesday – Friday 9:30am-5pm, or email Chloe at socialmedia@sin.org.au When is the deadline for submissions and how do I send mine? Any person or organisation wishing to make a written submission to the Committee, or to register an interest in presenting oral evidence, is invited to do so by Friday, 7 May 2021. As mentioned, there is also an option to present an oral submission to the Committee – if you are interested in doing this, please get in touch with us at SIN and we can help guide you to do so. Written submissions and expressions of interest should be addressed to: The Secretary to the Committee, C/- Parliament House, GPO Box 572, Adelaide 5001 by telephone on (08) 8237 9490, or e-mail at rswo@parliament.sa.gov.au . Copies of the Bill are available on request from the Committee Secretary or can be accessed at www.legislation.sa.gov.au