The occupation of Saint-Nizier Church by Lyon prostitutes refers to the ten-day occupation of Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon by more than a hundred prostitutes on 2 June 1975 to draw attention to their "inhumane" working conditions. [1] [2] [3] The occupation lasted eight days until the women were removed by the police on 10 June. Sympathetic occupations of churches by prostitutes followed in Paris, Marseille, Grenoble, Saint-Étienne and Montpellier. [4]
In the 1970s, French police kept prostitutes under increasing pressure. The police reprisals [1] forced prostitutes to work increasingly in secret. As a result, protection of prostitutes decreased and led to more violence against them. In April 1975, the Lyon prostitutes started to organise themselves and their leader, "Ulla" appeared on television to publicise the women's demands. [4] After three murders and the unwillingness of the government to improve the situation, prostitutes in Lyon took action. [5]
On 2 June 1975 more than 100 prostitutes occupied the Saint-Nizier church in rue de Brest and went on strike. [6] They demanded the end of fines, police harassment [4] and the release from jail of ten of them who had been imprison a few days earlier for soliciting. [6] [7] The striking workers sang political chants and demanded decent working conditions and an end to stigma.
The occupation made national headlines and was reported internationally. Local people supported the woman and brought clothes and food. The occupation received support from political, union and feminist organisations. [8] [9] Abolitionists, in the form of the Movement du Nid, [10] [11] also supported the occupation, hoping the public awareness it raised would help end prostitution. [4]
The parish priest, the Rev. Antonin Bdal, refused to call the police to remove the women. [12] However, acting on Government orders, [4] the police forcibly cleared the church after eight days on 10 June. [13] The Minister of the Interior, Michel Poniatowski, [12] claimed the women had been manipulated into the occupation by pimps, [4] and the Women rights Minister, Françoise Giroud, refused to meet with the women [12] and claimed she was not competent in the matter. [4] The leader of the Movement, "Ulla", had her real name and photograph printed in the press. [4]
The event marks the starting point of an international movement for the International Day of Remembrance for Women Who Died in Prostitution.
A journalist working for Libération, Claude Jaget, followed the occupation. In addition to his articles in Libération, he later published a book: Une vie de putain. [14] This book gathers six testimonies, from among the prostitutes who participated in the occupation of the church. [15]
In 2016, a play, Loveless, written by Anne Buffet and Yann Dacosta, an adaptation of the book, Une vie de putain, [16] was enacted at the National Dramatic Center of Normandy-Rouen [15] it was also staged in Lyon at the Théâtre des Célestins in 2018. [17]
Prostitution in the Netherlands is legal and regulated. Operating a brothel is also legal. De Wallen, the largest and best-known Red-light district in Amsterdam, is a destination for international sex tourism. From 1 January 2022, a customer will be punished if they purchase a sexual service from a sex worker of whom they know or have serious reason to suspect that there is coercion, exploitation or human trafficking.
Grisélidis Réal was a writer and sex worker from Geneva, Switzerland.
The Red Thread was an advocacy-support group for prostitutes in the Netherlands. It was formed in 1985 and declared bankrupt in 2012. The name The Red Thread was inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, in which a 'sinful' woman has to put a red letter A on her clothing.
Prostitution in France was legal until April 2016, but several surrounding activities were illegal, like operating a brothel, living off the avails (pimping), and paying for sex with someone under the age of 18.
The Church of Saint-Nizier is a church in the Presqu'île district of Lyon, France, in the 2nd arrondissement, between the Place des Terreaux and the Place des Jacobins. Its name refers to Nicetius of Lyon, a bishop of the city during the 6th century. Begun in the 14th century and only completed in the 19th century, the church contains a variety of architectural styles, ranging from the neo-Gothic spire to the classical Renaissance facade. In 1998, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other historic buildings in Lyon.
Bordels Mobiles de Campagne or Bordel Militaire de Campagne were mobile brothels used during World War I, World War II and the First Indochina War to supply prostitution services to French soldiers fighting in areas where brothels were unusual, such as at the front line or in isolated garrisons. The BMCs were major drivers towards the creation of prostitution regulations within the French army.
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact with the customer. The requirement of physical contact also creates the risk of transferring diseases. Prostitution is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or, colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. A person who works in this field is called a prostitute, or more inclusively, a sex worker.
Prostitution in Luxembourg is in itself legal, and is common, but activities associated with organised prostitution, such as profiting from or aiding prostitution, are illegal. Human trafficking incurs severe penalties. There are estimated to be 300 prostitutes in Luxembourg, most of whom are immigrants.
Prostitution in Tunisia is regulated and confined to two small areas, one in Sfax and the other, Sidi Abdallah Guech in Tunis. Outside these two areas prostitution is illegal.
Les Cordeliers is one of the central quarters in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, France. It is mainly known for the Place des Cordeliers in its centre. Around the square, there are many notable monuments, including the Église Saint-Bonaventure and the Palais de la Bourse.
Clair Tisseur, was a French architect whose best known work is Église du Bon-Pasteur, a prominent Romanesque Revival church in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon. He is also remembered as a historian, linguist, biographer, poet, novelist, journalist, moralist, and satirist who frequently published his writings under the pen name Nizier du Puitspelu.
Prostitution in Algeria is legal but most related activities such as brothel-keeping and solicitation are criminalised. Coastal resorts, particularly Tichy, are destinations for sex tourism. As of 2017 there were two brothels in Algeria.
International Whores’ Day or International Sex Workers’ Day is observed annually on June 2 of each year, honours sex workers and recognises their often exploited working conditions. The event commemorates the occupation of Église Saint-Nizier in Lyon by more than a hundred sex workers on June 2, 1975 to draw attention to their inhumane working conditions. It has been celebrated annually since 1976. In German, it is known as Hurentag. In Spanish-speaking countries, it is the Día Internacional de la Trabajadora Sexual, the International Day of the Sex Worker.
Prostitution in Overseas France varies from area to area with regard to extent, law enforcement and legality.
Prostitution in Paris, both in street form and in dedicated facilities has had a long history and remains present to this day.
Chinese prostitution in Paris has developed since the late 1990s. Prostitutes of Chinese origin work mainly on the streets of some neighbourhoods, where they are nicknamed les marcheuses, but also in massage parlours or through the internet. In 2016, Médecins du Monde estimated that there were 1,450 Chinese prostitutes in Paris.
The history of prostitution in France has similarities with the history of prostitution in other countries in Europe, namely a succession of periods of tolerance and repression, but with certain distinct features such as a relatively long period of tolerance of brothels.
The Syndicat du travail sexuel (STRASS) is an association in France that defends the rights of sex workers, mainly prostitutes but also pornographic actors and phone sex operators. The association was formed on 20 March 2009 during the assises de la prostitution, held at the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, Paris. It is operated as a self-managed syndicate.
Morgane Merteuil is the pseudonym of a French sex worker and feminist activist known for her commitment to the rights of sex workers. She was the secretary general and spokesperson of the French sex work union STRASS from 2011 to 2016.
Vanesa Campos was a trans sex worker and an undocumented migrant from Peru living in Paris. She was 36 when she got killed at the Bois de Boulogne during the night of 16 to 17 August 2018. Her murder occurred after she resisted a group of men armed with a gun stolen from a police officer.
