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My Day in a Brisbane brothel

 

On a semi-industrial Woolloongabba street sits an anonymous stucco, rendered building. Through its front door and up the stairs is one of Brisbane's ten legal brothels.

Regardless of where people stand morally on the issue of legalised prostitution, most would likely be intrigued to see what goes on inside a brothel.

And that's me. I had never been to a brothel before, and up until recently, didn't think I ever would.

But that's where I found myself recently - touring the establishment, looking at facilities and speaking to the girls who work there.

Introduction to a brothel

As a client, the introduction to this environment would be slightly different. There are checks to go through before anyone is let through the glass security doors and into a booth.

This is where a client meets potential girls.

The meeting room is small, with a chair and small portable television playing porn.

One by one, the girls - or service providers, as they preferred to be called - introduce themselves, and a decision is made by the client.

"It's a business transaction out here, and by the time you go to the room, both you and the girl know exactly what you're doing and what you've paid for," the manager told me.

In terms of money, brothel owners don't receive a cut of the cost of sex - only a portion of the cost charged to rent the room.

And sex is sex - anything extra, like kissing, anal sex or oral sex performed on the service provider has an additional cost.

"That can up your earnings for the evening," one worker told me.

What the client doesn't see is the girl's rest room, where they can monitor the booths via a security camera.

This precaution ensures girls don't introduce to someone they know, or someone they wouldn't feel comfortable having sex with.

It's almost impossible to generalise about the women who work in brothels, but the manager said she had met a lot of students and a few single mothers who were sex workers.

Regardless of who the girls are, the manager told me the business focus was on them, and ensuring they were comfortable and safe.

"I think we're one of the only brothels to open with the girls in mind," she said.

"You're putting them into a room with a man they've never met before and they're totally naked and so vulnerable.

 

"They've got to know whoever is at that front desk is going to have no problem sorting any issue out."

The rooms are themed, and there are five in total. Queensland law makes it illegal for a brothel to have anymore, and limits the number of sex workers on premises at any one time.

Inside the room in a prominent position is a chair, usually next to the bathroom, and a bright lamp.

This lamp is used to conduct a sex health check on the client, and the girls are specially trained to recognise any signs of sexually transmitted infections.

The girls themselves undergo regular health checks, and need a clearance certificate before they can begin working in a brothel for the first time.

It's one of the more clinical aspects of a brothel, but the manager said it was often carried out in a more seductive manner.

"The girls are safe, the clients are safe, but it's done in a way that's a bit of fun," the manager said.

The reality is that despite the sexual nature of the experience, there is a very serious side to brothels, and the government heavily regulates the industry to ensure everybody's safety.

Rooms are stocked with every size condom and a supply of moisturiser and lubrication.

There are panic buttons mounted in the rooms if the service provider needs to raise the manager's attention. And the doors to the rooms are never locked.

Most of the girls were willing to talk about the industry, and their role in it, but admitted it was sometimes hard to deal with the reality of their line of work.

"You wind yourself up, you mentally prepare yourself to go to work. You don't just spring out of bed in the morning and go," one girl said.

The rooms are surprisingly pleasant, although there are additions unlikely to be featured in Vogue Living - like chains, ropes and dancing poles,

The spas are regularly checked throughout the day, with water purity monitored. The manager said the filtration system was one of the safest available.

When it's all over, the client has the option of leaving through the back door and driving away via an underground car park.

It seems a little anonymous, but the brothel manager insisted clients came first (no pun intended).

"If you don't look after your clientele, they're not going to come back. This is a fun environment - you're not going to a funeral, you're going to have sex."

Drinks with a prostitute

Before touring the brothel, I met a Brisbane sex worker for a drink to get an idea of the kind of work she did and why.

 

Sienna, 31, who asked her name be changed, started working in a brothel a year ago.

Before that, she had been working in a law firm, and few of her friends knew of her career change.

"I only have two people in my life that know what I do; a close friend who is very open-minded, and my sister.

"My background is in law, so basically I tell people I do legal temping work."

When she first considered the new career path, she researched the industry on the internet before making a final decision..

"Essentially I turned 30 and my bank balance wasn't where I wanted it to be, and I think most people, whether they admit it or not, have a curiosity about the sex industry.

"I got an insight into people who work in the industry and was really comforted to know they were actually really normal, everyday people.

"It smashed my own misconceptions."

The brothel didn't fit the image she had in mind, and she was surprised to find she enjoyed the supportive female environment.

There are several factors that determine how much money she takes home at the end of a shift, but generally she was happy with her earnings.

"Last night I had five clients, so I walked away with $600 or so."

Sienna said she sometimes had to take steps to ensure she could cope with the idea of working in a brothel.

"I very much want to look after my mental happiness while I'm doing this job.

"All my years of copping crap from clients in law firms has helped me cope with this, I think."

Source: brisbanetimes.com.au

 

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Street prostitution and massage parlo map of Brisbane: http://www.wikisexguide.com/wiki/Brisbane