Free Speech Coalition and a group of sex workers, producers and industry advocates met with UK Baroness Gabrielle Bertin, the member of the House of Lords charged with conducting a full review of the country’s pornography laws. Baroness Burton reached out to FSC Executive Director Alison Boden in January, asking if the organization would participate in a discussion as part of the government’s Independent Pornography Review.

The Review’s Call for Evidence — a request for stakeholders to weigh in — says it seeks “to shed light on the associations between the pornography industry and the abuse, exploitation and trafficking that may pervade it.”

During the meeting, FSC implored the Review to focus on facts, not headlines. We challenged assumptions made suggesting that the adult industry was engaged in illegal activity, or that illegal content — such as revenge porn and CSAM — was tolerated or permitted on adult platforms. Most of all, we pressed for on-going discussions with workers and other stakeholders in the industry.

FSC was joined at the roundtable by representatives of Sex Workers Union, Adult Industry Association (AIA), UK Adult Producers (UKAP), Pineapple Support, and obscenity lawyer Miles Jackman, among others. We look forward to continuing the discussion with our allies, partners and the members of the Review team.

“While we’re certainly wary of the way the debate is being framed, it’s crucial to have a seat at the table,” says Boden. “We were glad to be invited and given the opportunity to contest misinformation and bad policy, it allows us to push for greater transparency and inclusion. We only lose by being silent.”