Open Letter

Created on Monday, 13 April 2020 10:13

On the 13^th of April, the FondationScelles submitted an open letter to the Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men. In that letter, we recognize the effort made by the government to help persons in prostitution by extending residency permits and exit programmes.

>> You can read the full letter in French here.

#Stayathome

Understanding and identifying dissociation

Created on Wednesday, 01 April 2020 16:47

On the difficulty for police, justice and child protection professionals to protect minors in situation of prostitution.

‘I could feel a little like a princess, like someone special… it allowed me to tell myself that it wasn’t so bad after all. I could forget all themoments of violence. Prostitution is really not about sex … it’s really about being reduced to the state of an object, it’s losing your humanity’ explains Andrea, 23, who has been in prostitution since the age of 14. The excerpt summarises the manifestation of a state of post-traumatic disorder (PTSD), often observed in minors in situation of prostitution: dissociation.

>>> Download the expert note: "Understanding and identifying dissociation" (format PDF) >>> Go to the website of the international observatory

Camgirls: the myth of an independent pornography and real technological dystopia

Created on Tuesday, 31 March 2020 17:31

According to the media, the activity of ‘camgirls’ has surged since the beginning of the lockdownrelated toCovid-19. What is it like behind the scenes for the women and girls who are mostly affected by this activity?  >>> READ

"Daddy, come and get me! " : face to face of a father and his underage daughter, victim of prostitution.

Created on Monday, 30 March 2020 10:01

BOOK - In a rare testimonial book, Thierry Delcroix and his daughter Nina recount both the hell that led the teenage girl to prostitution and the fight led by her parents to save her?

All along this book, Nina recalls the chain of events which has lead her to prostitution and her enrolment by the pimps. At the beginning, a feeling of freedom. The minor tells about the difficulties she faced during her middle school years. As a good student, who was harassed by other children, she wanted to break up with this nice little girl image which sticked to her skin and which her stalkers kept reminding her. Nina saw in prostitution a way to catch attention, to stand out from others and to emancipate from her family, which was yet reassuring and safe. She says that she quickly became attracted by money, that she saw as a seduction weapon, able to provide her the fame she was looking for. READ >>>

‘Sexual assistance’: When Welfare State Becomes Pimp State

Created on Tuesday, 10 March 2020 10:08

-I can’t believe it, surely, there must be something which would help you.

-Ah look, that would do it.

[Women walk on the street, the camera zooms on their bottoms.]

-I guess we’re all sick when it comes to that, aren’t we? I might be even sicker than you.

Extract from the film Untouchable (2011) by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano

Scene from the film Untouchable (2011)

(Screenshot:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9i_KZ5K9Nw )

The film Untouchable is basedon the true story of Phillippe Pozzo di Borgo (played by François Cluzet), anuber-wealthy tetraplegic man, and his broke assistant Abdel Yasmin Sellou, played by Omar Sy. A real Frenchy feel-good movie, the film was heralded as a manifesto for anti-racism and brotherly solidarity, a touching example of men who bond despite their worlds being far apart. That solidarity is truly brotherly since it does not involve women. In one scene, Omar Sy’s character offers a ‘small gift’ to his dear friend: an ear massage for Philippe by two Asian women in prostitution - and probably a ‘happy ending’ for Omar himself[i].

Elsewhere, parents put on their brightest smiles: ‘I taught Hugo how to masturbate when he was 12’[ii]. How lovely. Having a disability is enoughto make the words ‘incest’ and ‘sexual abuse (of minors)’disappear. Were you already discriminated against because of the lack of state support? Wonderful, now you’ll also lose protection of your sexual integrity, just because of your disability.

The umpteenth debate on the notion of ‘sexual assistance’ is another occasion to recall that this practice is discriminatory both for people living with disabilities and ‘sexual assistants’. The notion reinforces the perception of people with disabilities as assisted persons, namely by reducing their autonomy even in the sexual sphere. It also instrumentalises these people in order to normalise prostitution. Overall, it conveys a negative vision of sexuality as something to be subjected to, to give away, to negotiate with - but never something to be desired. READ >>>