Today is #IDEVASW
This yr I am going to start by talking about violence against male sex workers in contrast to all the messages casually erasing male victims.
Records show in the UK Sex Worker sector, 1/5 identify as male. Men on average take 26yrs to speak out after abuse.(1/6)

Along with more time before speaking out about sexual abuse, men show higher suicide rates & reduced mental health support access.
At the same time drugging men to sexually assault them, or sexually assaulting them after they have passed out on drugs is frequently happening.(2/6)

The murder of men in Sex Work has already been found overlooked at times when officials decided “The family didn’t even know he was gay, & gay scenes just loves drugs too much. Must just be another G overdose death, ignore any Sex Work details, save a family some dignity.” (3/6)

When men have more muscle mass it does not make them safer in particular to drugging attacks. However the assumption means less outreaches accept male sex workers. Men face pressure to take blood pressure medication & steroids for work both potentially impacting the heart. (4/6)

Increasingly the UK defines Sex Work as violence against women & girls. So men in SW are erased, so they may be even blamed for attacks against SWs whilst being one of these victims. This adds to the belief that “no one will believe I, a man, was raped; or they will laugh.” (5/6)

Our culture still says “men are providers - if you aren’t earning you aren’t much of a MAN” weaponising poverty, disability, diversity/nuerodiversity against men’s gender - self esteem.
Depression & anxiety have physiological impacts on men that are hard to hide in Sex Work (6/6)