“Media coverage of us, of sex workers is a complete disaster,” says political activist, author and sex worker Ruby Rebelde, who has closely scrutinised its reporting. “The complex phenomenon of sex work and super-diverse sex workers” are “rife with stereotypes and full of resentment”. In the book “Warum sie uns hassen” (2025) (Why they hate us”, Rebelde explores how discrimination against sex workers, the “hostility toward sex work”, impacts society as a whole and to what extent journalism drives it.Along with her co-authors, journalist Harriet Langanke created a guideline for journalists (issued as a “Recommendation”) for Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV) in 2025; it aims to “avoid existing clichés and prejudices and promote respectful, professional coverage that accurately reflects reality – leaving stigma and sensationalism out of the equation.
To answer questions about the situation in Austria, a social worker from Innsbruck will participate at this panel.
Harriet Langanke
Journalist and Sexologist, Cologne
Ruby Rebelde
Sex worker, political activist, author, Hamburg
IBUS Social Worker
Innsbrucker Beratung und Unterstützung für Sexarbeiter*innen (Advice and Support for Sex Workers in Innsbruck)
hosted by
Christine Baur
Jurist, Mediator, former Lawyer for Equal Treatment
