Friday, May 04, 2007
Confidentiality
The Deborah Palfrey case, is raising anxiety levels in D.C. I wait to see who will be outed next.
Is breaching confidentiality the only strategy if you are criminalised?
I think in some cases if too many heads will roll, an arrangement can be made. It does not seem to be the case with Deborah Palfrey, at the moment.
Now those rules of secrecy and survival are in the national spotlight as a woman accused of running a Washington prostitution ring fights back with her own weapon of mass destruction: a list that reportedly contains as many as 15,000 phone numbers of former clients, including high-level military officers and government officials.
The case has opened a debate among sex workers throughout the country about confidentiality, said Carol Leigh, director of the Bay Area Sex Workers Advocacy Network in California.
"It does impact the trust that is important between clients and sex workers," Leigh said.
Palfrey's claims that her business was legal are given little credence among sex worker advocates, but many of them wholeheartedly support her fight. With the potential to drag many power brokers into the spotlight, Palfrey's revelations could serve as a turning point in the effort to decriminalize prostitution, said Robyn Few, founder and director of Sex Workers Outreach Project U.S.A.
"It's a wakeup call," Few said.
Few said she served six months of home arrest several years ago after pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit prostitution. She did not reveal the names of any clients, but said she supports Palfrey's actions.
"I think the woman is alone," Few said. "This is a very lonely occupation. We deal in a very isolated business and we have very little support, and now her finances have been cut off and she is facing total ruin.
"All I have to say to Deborah Palfrey is, `Go for it, girl,'" Few said. "If you can help me decriminalize prostitution in this country, then go for it."
Veronica Monet - who worked as a prostitute for 15 years and said she had sex for money with 1,869 clients - said she sympathized with Palfrey. Monet, now a California-based sex educator and author, noted that Palfrey served 18 months in prison on another prostitution charge about 15 years ago and never told any secrets.
Secrecy, Monet said, is important. But Monet said the federal government has pushed Palfrey to the edge.
"If somebody is out to destroy you, you have to fight back," she said.
Others disagree. Heidi Fleiss, the infamous "Hollywood madam" who served two years in federal prison on prostitution-related charges, said recently that Palfrey should have remained silent.
"I know she's probably being swallowed up alive, and a lot of people can't take that weight on their shoulders," Fleiss was quoted as saying Tuesday on the website www.radaronline.com, "but she's naming names, and that goes against my principles. I realized I'd sunk my ship, but I wasn't taking anyone with me."
ABC's website says Palfrey's potential witness list includes "a Bush administration economist, the head of a conservative think tank, a prominent CEO, several lobbyists, and a handful of military officials."
Quote from Tricky Tactics When Escorts Name Names by Jesse Leavenworth of Fox 61 News.
Have a good weekend.
Labels: ABC News, Escort agencies, Escorts, Fox 61 News, Naming and shaming
