This week I had the best time attending an exhibition in Swansea, Wales. But it wasn’t just any exhibition; it was put on by Safety First Wales, an organisation ran in collaboration with sex workers for the decriminalisation of sex work in Wales – they had their launch in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) last year, which was very exciting to see decrim making waves in my home country. So when they asked if I’d like to contribute to their zine/exhibition, of course I said yes!
I always feel so lucky when I get to visit new places, and Swansea was new to me and the people there are all so lovely. It’s a studenty town with a very artsy feel to it, lots of graffiti and independent shops all over the high street. The exhibition was put on in the theatre, and it was a gorgeous flourish of pink furs and bright colours, walls covered in photos from protests, placards, letters and poems. It was clear a lot of love had gone into the curation and setting up the evening, the exhibition was interactive and included lots of booklets to flick through, letters to read, headphones to listen to and a gooey pink postbox full of facts about decriminalisation.
The evening had a very safe community feel to it, sometimes as a sex worker I can be quite skeptical about events where civilians can attend (I guess I’m worried about our spaces becoming unsafe), but everyone there was so open and the audience was full of allies to the cause. The event had plenty of snacks and drinks (and even a decrim cake! Totally iconic, but of course I forgot to take a photo of it), and included a panel talk session and some audience speakers.
The panel included some amazing heavy hitters in the decrim movement, including ECP, Decrim Now and Scotland for Decrim amongst others. I got to meet so many people who I’ve looked up to online and I was feeling very star-struck by the time it was my turn to speak from the audience (so much so that I got incredibly nervous and forgot a lot of what I wanted to say…). It was incredibly informative, and to see these global movement groups come together is testament to the love in the community (and the effort made by Safety First Wales to put on an event inclusive of many nations). I always feel so full of love and community for the few days following events like this, and getting to connect with the community is always so heart-warming, I get a bit lonely living up North away from all my sex work friends so it’s always nice to get the chance to see everyone.
Thanks again to Safety First Wales for putting on the event and for inviting me to contribute and attend!
A. x
I’ve included some photos from the event below;
CYBER HARLOT 