Her Magazine

Her Magazine August/September 2012

Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.

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: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 42 | www.hermagazine.co.nz

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