Today, two SWOP-NYCers testified in front of the New York City Council to oppose Proposed Resolution 1226-A. The resolution calls on Village Voice Media to close its adult service section of Backpage.com, a tactic which the Council even acknowledges will do little, if anything, to impact trafficked persons. We came to highlight the issue that not only will this have little impact on curbing trafficking, it will lead to the increased victimization of people in the sex trade, whether by choice, circumstance, or coercion. In addition, we made alternative recommendations to address the issue of youth engagement in the sex trade.
Despite this, the hearing was populated almost exclusively by service providers and law enforcement – no one from the population who will be most affected by these policies. We hope that our concerns did not fall on deaf ears, and next time they will speak to sex workers and their allies instead of simply speaking about us. We would like to call on the Council to remember that resolutions which marginalize and stigmatize sex workers are unacceptable, and that sex workers have voices which must be integrated into these conversations. We are not simply collateral damage for well-intentioned policies.

Testimony of Brittany Wollman Love, SWOP-NYC Member

Testimony of Kate D’Adamo, SWOP-NYC Community Organizer

In New York City and across the country, the possession of condoms is one factor the NYPD use in determining whether probable cause exists to arrest someone for prostitution.  Even when an arrest is not made, police have an unwritten policy of confiscating condoms (sometimes by destroying them by poking holes through them, setting them on fire, or otherwise rendering them useless) as a method of intimidation and harassment – ostensibly to dissuade the condom-possessor from considering selling sex.  Studies have now shown that this is a very common occurrence for those sex workers working on the street, and that almost half the time this policy succeeds – in discouraging sex workers from using condoms (due to fear of arrest).

On Tuesday a group of sex workers, their allies and advocates (myself included) took a trip to Albany to lobby legislators about the No Condoms as Evidence bill, which has been put forward (and failed to reach the floor for a vote) for twelve consecutive years.  We broke up into teams, each of which had several meetings with state senators, assemblymen, and/or their staff.

One of the most astounding aspects of these interactions was to find that one Republican Assemblyman had not only been unfamiliar with the NYPD policy – but he was literally speechless upon hearing about the bill.  He asked me to repeat myself to clarify that he had heard correctly.  An ex-law enforcement guy, he made it clear that he and the Urban Justice Center (who, along with the Red Umbrella Project, organized our lobby day) are often working from two very different perspectives.  But he felt that, regardless, this policy was absolutely unacceptable.  It made me realize that the reason necessary legislation is not passed is not always due to politicians lack of support.  There is a clear need for more constituents to go and talk to their legislators about issues that concern them.  Lobbyists have the ears of our legislators and unfortunately most lobbyists are not there to lobby for the interest of the general public. It was refreshing to sit down with a politician whose ideology was almost certainly very different from my own, and yet be able to agree on some basic tenets of civil liberties and law enforcement.

Overall it was a very positive day. It was thrilling and empowering just to feel a part of democracy in action, to sit down with the people responsible for legislation and to find some of them were genuinely interested in the Sex Workers Outreach Project and the other issues surrounding sex work and sex worker’s rights.  Even those who weren’t could agree that there are some very basic and very important reasons why the No Condoms as Evidence bill needs to be passed.  Whether to protect privacy and civil liberties, to ensure the public health, or as a stand against police profiling, with enough awareness raised there is reason to hope this bill could be passed with bi-partisan support in the name of the public good.

Our humble group of around forty people managed to make international press, everywhere from CBS, the Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and even a newspaper in Jakarta.

-  Brittany Wollman Love, SWOP-NYC member and advocate

Come celebrate our communities and the hard work of organizing for sex worker rights! SWOP-NYC and SWANK turn five this June, and we invite all our members, friends, and supporters to a spring birthday picnic & potluck in celebration of our struggles and successes over the past five years. This event is FREE & KID-FRIENDLY. Please bring food or drink to share to share, if you are able. METROCARDS available.

Date & Time: Sunday, April 29, 12 – 4pm

RSVP on our Facebook page!

Location: Central Park – the lawn below Cherry Hill, behind the Bowling and Croquet Greens, above Lilac Walk. Look for the red balloons and call 925-699-4519 if you get lost! From the West Side: Enter at 72nd Street and make a right at the first fork, and a left at the second fork. Follow the path into the park. Cherry Hill will be on your left, and the Greens on your right. From the East, enter at 72nd Street, and follow the path into the park. The lawn will be shortly after you pass the Bethesda Terrace on your right.
For a searchable map of the area, see http://www.centralpark.com/pages/map-it/maps.html.

Closest Subways: From the West Side: 1/2/3/A/B/C to 72nd From the East: 6 to 68th, M15, M72, M79, and M31

Rain Plan: If it starts to rain, we are heading to the Ladies Pavilion at 76th Street on the West Side.

Can’t wait to see you soon!

Without a doubt, this has been a big week for sex worker advocacy. In the last week, we saw two major developments for the international sex worker community in Australia and Canada, inspiring and providing hope for sex workers everywhere that we are moving in the right direction.

In New south Wales, Australia, where sex work is decriminalized and utilizes a free market system, just released a new study which touted that NSW has one of the “healthiest sex industries ever documented.”  The report, prepared for the government of New South Wales, will hopefully inform policy decisions and implementation for years to come. The decade-long partnership with government agencies, community groups, health workers, and researchers, is showing amazing benefits, including reducing police corruption and exploitation of people in the sex industry. According to lead researcher Basil Donovan, “Prostitution laws are the greatest allies of exploiters.”

Canada also saw a major step forward on Monday when the Ontario Supreme Court unanimously struck down two provisions of its prostitution laws: that of operating a brothel, and that of living off the proceeds of sex work. Left on the books in a three-to-two decision was a provision which criminalized solicitation for the purposes of prostitution, which is legalese for street-based sex work. While we are thrilled with the decision on the first two, penalizing street-based workers, or assuming they will simply move indoors is a reminder that every triumph comes with the caveat of the work left to do. The court gave the legislature thirty days to re-write the legislation on indoor prostitution, and the decision on all three provisions is now off to the Canadian Supreme Court for a final vote. Baby steps! Read the response by Maggie’s in Toronto, an incredible organization run for an by sex workers to provide education, advocacy, and support.

Canada had one other, less recognized, victory this week when the Vancouver, British Columbia police department released its new guidelines on how to interact with sex workers. After working extensively with community organizations and sex workers, the police department agreed to prioritize what activist and active sex worker Susan Davis called, “protection over punishment” and carried a number of additional recommendations including for police trainees to speak directly with sex workers. Davis’ grievances, expressed in 2010, were the initial impetus for the drafting of new guidelines. While the implementation of this new policy has yet to be seen, this level of cooperation with the sex worker community must be lauded, and should set a new benchmark for community groups and law enforcement everywhere.

Counter-Protest in front of the Village Voice tomorrow!

When: Thursday, March 29, 11:00AM
Where: The Village Voice Offices, 36 Cooper Square, New York, NY
Meetup: Wear RED and meet in front of the Astor Place Starbucks (13-25 Astor Place, New York, NY) at 10:40AM sharp.

Tomorrow, SWOP-NYC will be ready and waiting for faith leaders who are pushing Village Voice Media to close Backpage, despite the harms it will cause those in the sex trade. All too often, the voices of sex workers are often ignored, despite being the ones most impacted by these tactics.

Come join us! Remind faith leaders, the Village Voice, and the media that these tactics do make an impact: marginalization, violence, stigmatization and discrimination.

Here are a few points we’re hoping to give voice to:

• Sex work does NOT equal Trafficking: The conflation of these issues perpetuates policies and practices that make it harder to support trafficked persons and cause unintended harms to those who work under other circumstances.

• Pushing sex work underground makes it harder to identify trafficking situations: With countless advertising sites, closing the most public and largest ones will only increase traffic to sites that are less willing to work with law enforcement. It is conceivable that without Backpage.com, the 50 cases of sex trafficking identified through the website may not have been discovered at all. Currently, Backpage.com has a full-time staff dedicated to reviewing all ads, and reporting suspicious inquiries to law enforcement. After the closing of Craigslist’s adult services, one San Francisco detective noted, “It’s a great tool for us, to be honest.”

• Flawed anti-trafficking work will only divert valuable resources away from trafficked persons: There is so much to be done to support victims of trafficking; spending vital resources on these tactics means fewer resources and services. Like any other form of labor trafficking, factors including lack of access to affordable housing, living-wage employment, and industry informality are major causes of trafficking. Shifting our focus to addressing those needs will not only promote an end to this practice, but the rights of those we seek to support.

Why only prosecute trafficking when we can prevent it, too?

Saturday, March 24, SWOP-NYC & SWANK had the privilege of addressing the New Jersey State Libertarian Party’s Annual Convention. As a community group which seeks to promote the liberty of anyone in the sex trade, we are honored to share our mutual goals of freedom and self-determination.

Below are just a few of the places where sex worker rights and libertarian values find a valuable nexus, and the basic principles upon which we hope to move forward, together.

Liberty and Autonomy:  At the core of the issue of sex worker rights and liberation is a question of autonomy and of consent; am I allowed to make decisions for myself and my body? The basic principles of Libertarianism rest on the liberty and the autonomy of the individual, and underscores that we are the best judges of our choices and our decision. While it is valuable and essential debate the nuances of sex work, at the core it is imperative to recognize that decriminalizing consensual activity is a tenant that we both seek to work towards.

Cost of Criminalization: The police hours and government funds which go into surveillance, arrests, booking, legal fees, alternative to incarceration, and incarceration of sex workers is astronomical.  In one study which broke down the numbers, in one year the city of Dallas reported 15,000 violent crimes, of which 2,665 resulted in an arrest, which had come after a nation-wide report that over the ten years prior there had been a rise in violent crimes, and no rise is prostitution. In opposition to this, 7,280 arrests were made for prostitution-related crimes, at a cost of $10 million, including 300 police man-hours daily. These vital city funds could be diverted to supporting survivors of trafficking, where resources are often scarce; or to desperately-needed funding of shelter beds for unaccompanied youth, which is recommended as the silver bullet which would immediately slash the number of youth engaging in the sex trade.

Unintended consequences of laws: Beyond the principles of freedom, and beyond even the cost to the taxpayer of criminalization, we can all agree that the unintended consequences of prostitution laws are dire. Under a criminalized system, sex workers are forced to operate in a black market. Unable seek redress after surviving assaults, unable to disclose to friends and family about sex work for fear of their prosecution, unable to reach out for support for fear of stigma and discrimination, sex workers are forced to operate in a constant isolation and limbo. Sex workers see higher rates of violence, HIV/STI transmission, and marginalization from services under criminalization. History of arrests and convictions, as well as the challenges of working in any other informal market make it even more challenging to leave the profession. In a recent study on the decriminalization, free-market structure of sex work in New Zealand, the lead author noted that “Jurisdictions that try to ban or license sex work always lose track as most of the industry slides into the shadows. Prostitution laws are the greatest allies of the exploiters. In [New South Wales], by contrast, health and community workers have comprehensive access to… the sex industry. That access has resulted in the healthiest sex industry ever documented.”

Sex workers’ rights lay at the pinnacle of Libertarian values. We share a multitude of common goals around liberty and justice, and we thank the Party for allowing us to share and celebrate those commonalities.

Kate D’Adamo, Community Organizer

Dear NOW-NYC,

Please don’t refer to victims of violence as “sacks of bones,” as your President Sonia Ossorio decided to do in this Letter to the Editor on March 19th, 2012.

Shannan Gilbert, Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and those who remain unidentified, all discovered on Gilgo Beach, were the loved ones of families and friends. Their lives extended well beyond what they did for work. Their involvement in the sex trade does not entitle you to refer to them as “sacks of bones.” The brutality of their murders is horrific enough, their deaths something our community mourned deeply over the past two International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (December 17, 2010 and 2011). The gravity of this loss does not need to be furthered by dehumanizing them in death.

NOW-NYC’s President is not incorrect in stating that legalizing prostitution would not end the violence, danger and health risks associated with the sex trade. However, decriminalization - or the removal of all criminal laws relating to the operation of the sex industry – has been shown to increase the safety and well being of sex workers, while simultaneously decreasing violence and stigma. Decriminalizing work in the sex trade would allow for victims of violent crimes in the sex trade to seek police assistance, free of reprisal, and minimize the institutional barriers sex trade workers face when seeking healthcare or other social services.

Still, neither legalization nor decriminalization of sex work will stop organizations and individuals from further marginalizing workers in the sex trade, by using hateful language to describe them because of their work, even in death. That is something that we have to work on together: creating discussions acknowledging that every person in the sex trade has human rights that should be respected.

For this reason, it is tremendously insulting to the sex worker community that NOW-NYC would refer to victims of violence in this fashion. This type of stigmatizing language would never otherwise be acceptable to an organization that prides itself on demonstrating respect and promoting equality. We would like to remind NOW-NYC that in 1973, they passed a resolution calling for the decriminalization of sex work. We urge NOW-NYC to reconsider both their language and politics around sex worker issues.

That is why we ask you to stop referring to the victims in the Gilgo Beach murders as “sacks of bones” and consider thoughtful conversations with sex workers regarding sex worker rights. We also encourage you to work with sex worker organizations, such as the Sex Workers Outreach Project, Sex Workers Action New York and the Sex Workers Project, when considering how better to speak about individuals in the sex trade with care and consideration. We believe that open dialogue between advocates and sex workers is the best way to combat violence against people in the sex trade and we welcome that discussion.

Sincerely,

SEX WORKERS OUTREACH PROJECT OF NEW YORK CITY (SWOP-NYC)
SEX WORKERS ACTION NEW YORK (SWANK)

Matthias Lehmann, Independent Researcher, South Korea
Krystal Jones
Allison Demers
Christina Parreira, M.A.
Robin Dunn, SWOP Denver
Eileen Rogers, SWOP USA
SWOP-Las Vegas
SWOP-Los Angeles
SWOP-San Francisco
Kynthia Alice Rosgeal, SWOP-LV
Reed Haight

Last year, the New York City Council introduced a new anti-trafficking initiative, Intro. 725 – Unlawful use of vehicles for the purpose of promoting prostitution. As currently proposed, this bill would criminalize the use of for-hire vehicles for the purposes of prostitution as “promotion of prostitution” with civil and criminal penalties including, but not limited to, fiscal penalties, license revocation and incarceration. The bill would include an educational component to assist the drivers in understanding the harms of human trafficking, identifying possible victims, and informing government agencies and non-profit organizations.

While this bill does harness an important intermediary and possible outlet for trafficked persons, we caution the City council from passing this bill as written. Below, we have enclosed what we see as some of the potential harms and suggested recommendations to improve Intro 725 and mitigate some of the unintended consequences of the bill as written. For SWOP-NYC’s full response to Intro 725, please click here.

We see a number of consequences of this legislation that are detrimental not only to individuals who are trafficked, but also to taxi and sex workers, as well as the public interest.

1. The conflation of “trafficking” and “prostitution” encourages taxi workers to consider the transport of anyone perceived as a sex worker as “promotion of prostitution.” This will necessarily lead to profiling of individuals based on characteristics including gender presentation, race, and class signifiers.
2. Sex workers often employ a driver to get to and from appointments as a safety and harm reduction mechanism. This service, especially when traveling to a private residence or remote location, is an important safety mechanism which those engaged in the sex trade should not be barred from utilizing.

SWOP-NYC recommends the following improvements to Intro 725:

1. SWOP-NYC recommends that for-hire drivers be given information about support organizations such as Safe Horizon, the Sex Workers Project, and SWOP-NYC to make available to self-identified victims of human trafficking. This enables individuals who are looking to escape their situation to seek out help while respecting the dignity of the individual, and empowering them to make informed decisions.
2.  SWOP-NYC recommends that the wording of the bill is clarified to eliminate the conflation of the concepts ‘prostitution’ and ‘trafficking’. Specificity, this terminology plays a vital role in ensuring that public funds are directed toward the intended purpose of supporting individuals who are trafficked rather than to further criminalize sex workers.
3. SWOP-NYC recommends that the criminal penalties in the proposed legislation be removed from the bill. For a trafficked person, a driver may be the only one they see outside of the client or trafficker. Dissuading for-hire drivers from taking passengers they suspect to be in the sex trade may remove the one outlet which may be able to take them to a safe location. We instead encourage the prioritization of alternatives to prosecution as a means of increasing the likelihood that individuals who experience trafficking, exploitation and coercion will reach out for support.

SWOP-NYC appreciates the City Council’s efforts to curb trafficking. This is an issue which must be battled on a number of fronts, and at every level. We look forward to bringing together advocates, community members, and policy makers to create an atmosphere which supports trafficked persons and reduces harms for people in the sex industry.

Here are two pieces from sex workers for International Women’s Day. Two female workers, an anonymous member of SWOP/SWANK and a performer named Paige Bryony, talk about sharing our journeys, while celebrating our collective experiences. The theme this year is “Connecting Young Women, Inspiring Futures.”

There Is More To Us Than This

Many of us never realize the difference of being a woman until something traumatic happens. A break in our consciousness occurs, usually at a young age, bringing us to the realization that something is wrong and we are different. We spend our lives making meaning of this trauma, looking for answers in ourselves, others and the world. We built our personalities around our strengths, which are built from this trauma and what we make it mean.

We make a lot of choices about how to see the world as a result, deciding that men are like this, or our rights are like that, and ultimately believing: this is just how it is. It’s hard not to think this is just how it is, because there are many stories about who we are supposed to be and it’s hard to avoid creating a story about it. But it’s also the trap that stops us from seeing the possibilities to create something else. Continue reading →

There are a lot of reasons to love International Sex Worker Rights Day. It brings together advocates from all over the world, it recognizes the importance of sex workers’ rights alongside other human rights. Most importantly, though, it is a day where we get to look back with pride, and look ahead with excitement and celebrate. And this year, we have an incredible amount to celebrate.

In New York alone, the last year provided us with tragedy and opportunity. With the one year anniversary of the murders on several sex workers discovered on Gilgo Beach, it was a stark reminder of the risks which our community faces every day. In the face of this tragedy, SWOP-NYC and SWANK came together to speak out, and activist groups such as the Red Umbrella Project led the charge in asking for amnesty for sex workers, hoping that this provision would bring more information from the community.

In a move for sex workers to find their own voice, SWOP and SWANK also launched a counter to the many outlandish cries to close Backpage from CATW and unlikely second-wave feminist Ashton Kutcher. Not only were we able to launch a counter protest, promoting the idea that pushing sex workers underground would only lead to harm, not support, but through social media like Twitter, advocates were able to speak directly to those promoting these ideas, underscoring the principle of “Nothing about us, without us.”

Nationally, our victories were vast as well. In Louisiana, the incredible organization Women With a Vision’s activism, advocacy, and perseverance was instrumental in passing legislation which ended a bill which had forced predominantly trans persons and women of color with the felony of “crimes against nature” and forced them to register as sex offenders. WWAV, along with other advocacy groups, launched a lawsuit to end the bill, and is continuing to fight until those who are already registered due to the law are no longer forced to wear the label of “sex offender.”

As we embark on another year of advocacy in 2012, there is much to be excited about. As we work towards passing the No Condoms as Evidence bill, now in its 13th year, we have never been closer to seeing the bill succeed. Within the next year, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute will be releasing a full report on the human rights violations of this common law enforcement practice. Also this year, the international sex worker rights community is coming together for the International AIDS Conference, which is taking place in Washington, DC and will provide the opportunity to bring sex worker rights issues to the international health community.

We take this day to celebrate our triumph, and this year, there is much to celebrate. We are honored to join in a powerful legacy of sex workers, allies, advocates, friends, lovers, families, activists, and supporters who make every step forward possible.

More reasons to celebrate from around the globe:

‘Decriminalize Sex Work’ – Sex workers in Cape Town, South Africa march to demand rights.

Kolkata Sex Workers demand legalization of their profession – Sex workers in Kolkata, India demand legalization, labor rights, and basic social services.

Sex workers Demonstrate Aginst Police Harassment – In Dhaka, Bangladesh, sex worker gathered to demand and end to abuse at the hands of law enforcement.