Kiko Demon: "Many disabilities are invisble, and for those of us with invisible disabilities who are also sex workers, our lives, and the challenges we face, are doubly invisible"
Nothing about us without us: Disabled Sex Workers in Ireland
The world of disability rights is intrinsically linked to sex worker rights. This might surprise you, since disabled people are often desexualised and conversations about sex and disability are few and far between. Not only do disabled people have sex, but some of us also sell sexual services because traditional employment is often inaccessible to us. Many of our conditions include physical and mental health disabilities, and illnesses that cause flare ups and relapses, which make accessing employment difficult. The Disability Allowance offered by the Dept of Social Protection is not enough to pay rents, let alone cover the cost of basic living expenses, so it should come as no surprise that we need to supplement our income with other work.
“Not only do disabled people have sex, but some of us also sell sexual services because traditional employment is often inaccessible to us. Many of our conditions include physical and mental health disabilities, and illnesses that cause flare ups and relapses, which make accessing employment difficult.”
To consider sex worker rights as a disability rights issue is an important step to recognising the intersectionality of the sex worker population and the disabled population.
When we fight for a world where safe sex work can exist we are also fighting for a world where disabled women and non binary people are valued, listened to and included in the decisions that affect us. The phrase ‘nothing about us without us’ began in the disabled rights movement, and it is an important phrase so often used by sex workers to have our voices heard on the issues that affect us.
Sex work provides us as disabled workers with the flexible working options that traditional work does not. For example: We can choose our environment: we can work from home and choose whether we engage with clients online only or in person, or a bit of both.
We have full control over our working hours. Because of our disabilities, some of us can’t work full time hours, or some of us might work full time hours one week, but not another.
We can control how we work, with whom, and under what circumstances in a manner not offered by traditional employment.
Whilst sex work gives us power over decisions that traditional employment options do not, we are also more vulnerable to laws which make our lives riskier and more unsafe. For example, those of us who exclusively work online, are vulnerable to image based sexual abuse (IBSA), and IBSA laws need to be cognisant of sex worker specific vulnerabilities. For those of us who meet clients face to face, we are also operating under stressful conditions where our clients are criminalised, which creates riskier interactions with our clients. As disabled sex workers, we are more vulnerable to these policy changes because we do not have the privilege of accessing other means of employment. As disabled sex workers, our voices have not been listened to in the creation of these laws. Whilst also fighting for disabled inclusive employment, you cannot erase the fact that sex work is how many of us are surviving.
“Many disabilities are invisible, and for those of us with invisible disabilities who are also sex workers, our lives, and the challenges we face, are doubly invisible. Disabled sex workers exist, and our challenges intersect.”
Many disabilities are invisible, and for those of us with invisible disabilities who are also sex workers, our lives, and the challenges we face, are doubly invisible. Disabled sex workers exist, and our challenges intersect. Disability advocacy and sex worker advocacy are not seperate entities but by supporting one, we must support the other, because we do not live single issue lives.
Sick Kitty
Often I use painting as a way to escape, creating dream like and fantasy worlds where I can lose myself. This painting was created just after my diagnosis, creating it gave me some space to begin healing and find freedom. I named the painting Foxxxy and felt inspired by the power of a giant pink fox.
I began SW quickly after when I realised I could no longer work my retail job. I use personas and costumes as a means to express my inner wild fantasies.
