19 Fired Up Stilettos Kick Up a FUS at Parliament Protest

Zoë Mills (they/she) 

CW: Abuse, Sexual Violence.

The 19 Fired Up Stilettos (19FUS) brought sex worker rights into the light last Sunday during a protest outside of Parliament. They called legislative reform to protect sex workers from abuse, unfair pay cuts, and exploitation from employers. This includes changes to prevent a club or agency taking over 20% of pay from a sex worker, as well as banning ‘coercive’ fines and bonds. 

A crowd of around 300 people gathered at Parliament to support the protest. In between speeches from sex workers and groups in support, such as Queer Endurance / Defiance, dancers took to a pole to perform, accompanied by the Brass Razoo Solidarity Band. 

“We don't want more regulation for sex workers…but people trying to make money off sex workers needs to be regulated,” said protester and sex worker Dylan. “WorkSafe needs to get involved. There's a lot of abuse [when] you're working for an agency or a brothel.” Dylan now works independently, after experiencing exploitation by former employers. 

For some, the protest only scratches the surface of deeper underlying issues. Melody, one of the organisers, was number 8 of the 19 dancers unjustly fired from strip club Calendar Girls last February. “I am tired of being reduced to tears by my manager, being power tripped, having a significant cut of the revenue that I bring into the club taken from me,” Melody told Salient. “It's prolific and it happens all over the place. I feel like my experiences are only touching the surface of what's happening within the industry.”

In her speech to the crowd, Melody warned that sex workers “kept the secrets” of politicians and government officials that are accessing their services, calling legislators who consume sex work but ignore demands to improve the rights of sex workers “both wildly hypocritical and deeply irresponsible”.

“It is your job to meet the needs of the people that you govern,” Melody said. “We are those people, and right now we are facing harm that is pervasive and deeply ingrained in the culture of our industry. Our employers have demonstrated that they are not interested in negotiating with us or even listening in the first place. In order for this harm to cease, we need legislative change.”

Green Party MP Jan Logie was also present and told ^Salient that the Greens are in full support of the campaign. “I think this struggle is central to our work around ending sexual violence,” Logie said. “As long as we tolerate exploitation in these industries then we're going to continue to have embedded inequality. It's time for that to change.”

Logie also hinted that sex workers would have a chance to advise on the policies affecting their work and pay, telling Salient that “we want to get a law and policy in place that they are involved in shaping and that they get to develop as workers collectively…the conditions for the industry, because it's clear that's needed.” 

Photos by Seren Ashmore.