CASUALISED work can be a struggle for many workers. Dealing with bully bosses and imperfect working conditions is a drag for waiters, call centre operators, and, yes, sex workers. This is the result of bad industrial relations laws and, for sex workers, a semi-legal or illegal workplace.

Sex workers struggle with the difficulties of managing a casual job that is often underpaid and devalued. Sex workers also struggle with an industry that has limited or non-existent occupational health and safety regulations and limited rights to unionise. On top of all this, sex workers have to read ill-informed articles such as Kathleen Maltzahn's (Opinion, 26/6).

Maltzahn urges readers not to glamorise the sex industry. We agree. Sex work is a job; not many jobs are glamorous. Victoria's sex-worker network, VIXEN, urges readers also not to stigmatise sex work either.

It is clear from Maltzahn's article that she hasn't talked to local sex workers, at least not in the past 10 years. What sex workers in Victoria need is improved workplace rights and conditions, not meddling people trying to help us out of our jobs.

Tabitha Walker, Victorian Sex Industry Network

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