Places of prostitution a geography of (un)desirables

Places of prostitution: a geography of (un)desirables is a public exhibition dedicated to the urban management of prostitution. The exhibition aims to pupils and students in particular and will take place in the exhibition room of the University of Geneva in October 2021.
Many cities have a red light district (quartier réservé), an urban space concentrating the activities of the sex industry (prostitution, shows, retail, etc.). By establishing such a district, local authorities monitor a supposed source of venereal contamination, of social and political agitation. They aim to render as discreet as possible an activity perceived as an outrage to public morality, a bad example for young women, a temptation for young men and fibnally an activity which could also result in the devaluation of real estate. Because prostitution is at once spectacular and stigmatized, these lively districts attract not only clients, but also slummers and tourists.

The exhibition explains to a lay audience who the actors are, the logics at work and the consequences of the various urban plans on sex workers. It invites reflection on issues of (in)visibilisation and spectorisation, of marginalization and stigmatization that are linked to the sex industry. It gives centre stage to the sex workers by presenting their point of view and experiences without forgetting those of the local population, the clients and the tourists. It highlights the research conducted by Professors Lieber and Staszak of the University of Geneva and Chimienti of the Haute école de travail social (HETS/ HES-SO) of Geneva by communicating their content to the public at large and to pupils and students in particular.

The whole project intends to enable a dialogue between the students, the public as well as actors from institutional, nonprofit and educational communities and researchers on the question of sex workers’ place in the city in the hope that they might be better welcomed in the public sphere, in circumstances that enable them to escape the physical and symbolic violence they too often face. This dialogue will be enabled through a series of events (round-tables, debates) organized in partnership with the Equality- Diversity hub of the Agenda 21-Ville durable Service (City of Geneva).