:the oldest profession
Professionalising the oldest profession
What does it take to be the perfect Madam?
MY FRIEND HAS BOUGHT a brothel. I knew she'd do well whatever she chose in life, but a brothel – I hadn't expected that! My friend, I'll call her Katrina, is one
of those warm, enthusiastic people who immediately become friends with everyone she meets. She's perfect as a Madam! Katrina had been working in mental
health before becoming disenchanted with the increasing bureaucracy involved. Everyone had liked her. Everyone came to her for supervision, a precious hour in which staff members could talk privately about concerns. As Katrina sees it she's still working in mental health. She still wants the best possible outcomes
for people. She's simply chosen a new area in which she can work towards removing stigma, she says. Legalisation of prostitution has helped
make this possible. Sue Bradford, former Green Party member, said during the third reading of the Prostitution Reform Bill in 2003, "We need the creation of an environment in which sex workers, mainly women, are not obliged to become part of the criminal underworld in order to carry out their occupation." The Bill was passed with 60 Members
of Parliament in favour, 59 opposed, and 1 abstaining. Chloe, a 37-year-old woman who works at
the brothel remembers the days of illegality. "We were always worrying about undercover policemen coming in. I was never arrested but I left the lifestyle because I felt I was in danger. There were gang affiliations and the people coming to work were affected by drugs all the time. It was not a good environment." That's one of the aspects Katrina has
changed. Initially she wanted to lease a building but found a lot of resistance from
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