Sex Workers Outreach Project New York City (SWOP-NYC) and Sex Workers Action New yorK (SWANK) are both volunteer-based, grassroots organizations and part of a national network dedicated to improving the lives of current and former sex workers/those with experience in the sex trade in the New York metro area, on and off of the job.
Welcome to SWOP-NYC & SWANK
Latest News:
SWOP/SWANK @ SlutWalk NYC
October 3rd, 2011 — Uncategorized
Community organizer Sarah Elspeth Patterson was the opening speaker for the New York City SlutWalk, talking about sex work, police violence and social justice. More photos of SWOP/SWANK marching with SlutWalkers forthcoming!
Thank you, SlutWalk, for letting me spend today with you all. Thank you, SlutWalk organizers, for taking the time to listen to sex worker voices and involve sex worker organizations in the speakers for this rally. Today is a day for us to stand together, but I think most importantly, to listen to each other with a clear intent – to listen with openness and love in our hearts.
So, I want to talk to you about sluts. What does it really mean, to get called a “slut?” A “whore?” A “ho?” A “hooker?” What does that actually look like? How are we called sluts to our faces and behind our backs? What laws and policies treat us like sluts?
In the case of SlutWalk Toronto, it meant being told by a police officer that your slutty dress is the reason you’ll get raped. The same is also happening here in Brooklyn, in my neighborhood, police officers are responding to the repeated attacks on women by stopping women dressed in skirts on the street (which is the target of the assailant) and commenting on their dress. One officer suggested to a group that they try not to show so much skin, so as not to make the perpetrator think he had “easy access.”
It’s hard to live in a world where those who are meant to serve and protect treat people that way. It’s really hard to live in a world where an off-duty police officer can rape a woman at gunpoint and have his behavior apologized for in the media by reports which cite the fact that he was drunk, since it may (and I quote) “explain certain behavior.” It’s even harder to live in a world where if a woman is drunk and she is raped, as in the case of the acquittal of two police officers for the rape of an East Village woman this summer, she can’t get a fair trial.
These are just two of the cases you may have heard of from the past few months. The truth is that there are so many more instances you will never hear of, because they are rarely ever reported. There are so many more instances of “violence directed at communities,” directed in particular at communities of color and sex workers. Bodies that are sexualized in our society, be it the bodies of women of color, sex workers, or queer folks, are often the same bodies that are criminalized by the police. This is not a coincidence. Street-based sex workers in New York City, especially those who are trans women of color or queer youth on the streets, are consistent targets for police arrests and experience high level of violence that goes unpunished. While few female sex workers feel safe reporting sexual violence, the idea that men and trans folks cannot be survivors of rape makes them ever filing charges against a perpetrator almost impossible.
In the case of one member of the Sex Workers Outreach Project, who wished to remain anonymous, her attempt to report her rape was met with a total disregard for the possibility that a sex worker could even be raped. She told me this:
I was taken very seriously until it came out that I was involved in sex work, that this man was going to get me work, that I had shown him my body. At that point, the cops started acting as though I had been dishonest for not revealing this sooner and started basically interrogating me. It was incredibly upsetting. One of the police officers actually said to me, “What makes it okay Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, but not Thursday?” I was not arrested, but I feared arrest, having heard of cops doing that. I was relieved just to leave the precinct, and needless to say, heard nothing of my complaint. And I was reminded of the treatment I had received when I discovered that he was later arrested in California as a sex offender. Presumably he raped someone with a little more social cachet.
We all have to carry a lot around with us. Every day I know I’m at risk of being raped. But I am also aware that the risk I know is only a fraction of the risk taken on every day by queer youth who are living on the streets, by sex workers who are working on the streets, by trans folks who are WALKING on the streets. I know that the same people our society marginalizes the most for their individual experience are also the most likely to be profiled, assaulted, arrested, targeted and ignored. And I know that my struggle to be seen, as a person of value in this world, worthy of living free of sexual violence, is tied directly to theirs.
Everyone wants to have the privilege of being heard. But you have to know that some of us are meant to count more than others. Those of us who are privileged enough to have a space to talk need to be listening to those who don’t, or can’t.
It’s no easy feat for everyone to be heard, especially within an economic and political system that tells us there’s simply not enough for everyone to go around. We have to promote the idea that there is always room for another story to be told and that everyone’s voice is worth hearing. And we need a response with thousands of people behind it. Millions, even. We need that because we cannot say enough, over and over again, that a society that does not treat its most vulnerable members with the respect doesn’t treat anyone with respect.
Is Ashton Coming Around?
September 30th, 2011 — Uncategorized
by Kate D’Adamo, Community Organizer, SWOP-NYC/SWANK
After a summer of the Village Voice and Ashton Kutcher going back and forth about numbers (and the news only covering the fact that they were going back and forth), it’s hard to imagine that positions could actually change. Earlier this month on the David Letterman Show, though, Ashton Kutcher may have begun the slow process of re-assessing some of his ideas on trafficking.
While on the show promoting his stint on Three and a Half Men, Kutcher commented that strippers and adult video performers are not trafficking victims. We assume he was asserting that not every exotic dancer or adult film performer is a survivor of human trafficking, but the sentiment is there. More importantly, it shows that Kutcher is not too rigid in his stance to listen to information and reason.
The other reason this conversation was different was that it was not about numbers, but about the underlying principles and assumptions. Of course one person engaging in forced labor is one too many, that is indisputable. But recognizing that not every participant in the sex industry is a survivor of trafficking is also an important principle which should underline these conversations. Finding our common ground and building consensus from there is an essential step in coming together on these huge, complex issues.
Sure, it would have been great to see him acknowledge that not every sex worker is trafficked. He could have said more, but he could have said less, and we should recognize his humility in saying anything at all. We encourage Kutcher and his DNA Foundation to keep reaching out to organizations who work with sex workers who entered the profession at all points along the spectrum from choice, to circumstance, to coercion. More collaboration, not less, is what will lead to a fuller understanding of the issue, and hopefully, to thoughtful, workable solutions.
Another Tacky Headline: The Media Outing of Alisha Smith, Lawyer and Purported Fetish Worker
September 28th, 2011 — Uncategorized
by Sarah Elspeth Patterson, Community Organizer, SWOP-NYC
In a culture in which celebrities regularly don latex or leather and talk about kinky sex, our media outlets still have a way of trying to keep the average individual’s sexuality in check when it comes to private sexual behaviors. Tabloids such as the New York Post has a long history of taking pieces of schoolyard-like gossip and treating them like news articles, especially when it comes to women’s sexuality. In the last year alone, the Post has thrown the title of “hooker” at no less than three women in its headlines, one of which was a murder victim, and even managed to get the frontpage headline of “Crazy Stox Like a Hooker’s Drawers…UP, DOWN, UP,” complete with a photo of a lady in red, to fit what might otherwise have been a piece about the fledgling economy. The Post, it would seem, has got sex (and sex workers) on the brain.
The latest victim of the the Post‘s sharpened tongue is a lawyer for the state Attorney General’s office, Alisha Smith, who was suspended without pay from her position, following the Post’s inquiry regarding her participation in BDSM activities in her off hours. An anonymous source for the Post cited a standing executive order in the Attorney General’s Office, stating that employees must “obtain prior approval from the Employment Conduct Committee before engaging in any outside pursuit…from which more than $1,000 will be received or is anticipated to be received.”
Whether Smith is in breach of her contract remains to be seen. However, the ability of the Post to create the piece out of Smith’s story, which they then published, is now well documented. Using little more evidence than some tweets by Smith about personal lubricant and the unsubstantiated claim that “it is common in the S&M community for dominatrixes to receive payment for appearances at fetish parties,” the paper has singlehandedly managed to call a professional’s conduct into enough question to launch an internal investigation.
Responding to the suspension, the spokeswoman for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Susan Wright, had this to say: “NCSF supports the rights of consenting adults to have a private life apart from their employment. Alisha Smith is another victim of the persecution that often occurs against people who engage in BDSM. Our research has found that one out of three kinky people have lost their job, lost child custody or has been the victim of violence because of their BDSM interests. The media should never out individuals simply to create a sensationalized story.”
It is certainly worth questioning what is more scandalous here: the nature of Smith’s puported side profession or the obtainment of an outside income, equal to or greater than $1,000. If Smith has indeed engaged in the side job of professional dominatrix, she would not be unlike many Americans who, for economic reasons, have decided to engage in sex work as a supplemental income in a struggling economy. The suggestion that Smith has done so brazenly, or with some kind of disregard for her role in the Attorney General’s office, seems to suggest more about how sex workers (even purported one) are treated by the media as greedy and self-serving individuals, interested only in the bottom line, not simply trying to make a living.
Inevitably, this news story has spread to other outlets, including the Huffington Post, Gawker and ABC News, further increasing the chances that Smith’s case will be tried in the court of public opinion, not simply by any internal investigator. Whether she maintains her job with the Attorney General’s office or not, her name in a Google search is now indelibly linked to this story, marking her association with them for a digital lifetime.
It’s ironic, though, that many of the online commentators on these news articles have reacted with a resounding “So, what?” response, raising the question as to which issue is really being spoken of here. The public’s reaction makes it unclear whether the Post‘s fixation on policing individual’s (particularly women’s) sexual practices is at play or whether an actual professional misstep has occurred on Smith’s part. Indeed, what if she has committed no other crime than engaging in adult sexual acts? Is engaging in BDSM activities in your private life still something that warrants being publicly shamed, or have we as a society come further in our allowance of individual’s private sexual behaviors as just that – private?
Clearly, the outcome of this investigation remains to be seen and in many ways, the damage has well been done. If Smith’s involvement in BDSM amounts to nothing more than a lifestyle choice, it is particularly disappointing
SWOP’s Educational Workshop Series!
September 26th, 2011 — Uncategorized
What it would be like to employ simple business techniques to help you work healthier, safer, and happier?
SWANK is launching a brand new, absolutely free, bi-monthly education series specifically geared towards supporting those in the sex industry. Every other month, we will cover a new topic to support the growth of those in the industry.
Better Internet Marketing, November 2, 2011, 6:30pm – 8:30pm: Ever feel like you just don’t know how to reach out to new markets? Marketing is the most important way for you to reach potential client and in this class you will learn basic and simple techniques for how to get the most out of your marketing.
Taxes 101, January 4, 2012, 6:30pm – 8:30pm: Learn everything you need to know about making sure you are on the right side of tax law. Learn how to prepare, understand, and file your taxes with ease. An outside accountant and sex worker ally who is familiar with adult professions will be in attendance.
All three classes are going to be taught by instructor Donia Christine. Donia has been offering professional development consulting in the erotic service industry for over 6 years and has traveled nationally and internationally teaching savvy business skills to sex workers.
If you are interested, please click here to rsvp, and RSVP early! All classes are currently capped at the first 30 people. All SWANK members are screened prior to attending a meeting. Upon screening, you will receive a confirmation with the location of the meeting and workshops.
Look forward to seeing you soon!
Rough Summer in the City: Recent Rape Cases and the NYC Rape Shield Law
August 24th, 2011 — Blog, media, politics, SWOP-NYC
by Sarah Elspeth Patterson, Community Organizer, SWOP-NYC
This week, the public humiliation of Nafissatou Diallo that has been the “DSK Rape Case” has come to a close, as all charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn have been dropped. This motion marks the end to a case that has amounted to little more than a character assassination of a rape complainant who has endured a litany of shame-driven media accusations, including but by no means limited to the Post’s declaration that she “wasn’t just a girl working a hotel – she was a working girl.” This unsubstantiated claim of her sex worker status, in addition to problematic framings of her race, immigrant status and background, has been used in the media to reinforce the idea that she is not a credible witness and therefore unworthy of having her rape charges validated in a court of law.
It’s been a rough summer for rape cases going through the DA’s office in New York City, with no lack of victim-blaming happening all around. It’s been mere months since two NYC police officers were acquitted of raping a women in her East Village apartment after a call for their assistance at the same location. Since the victim was drunk, though, it wasn’t difficult to see how she would become the one on trial. In fact, there was enough victim-blaming to acquit two men who were caught entering the woman’s apartment on outside surveillance tapes not once, not twice, but three times. Enough victim-blaming to acquit a man who admitted to lying in bed with the victim while she was wearing only a bra and passed out drunk. Enough victim-blaming to have one of the officers, Officer Moreno, publicly declare post-acquittal that the results of the case “were a lesson and a win.” A lesson and a win, indeed.
How rape cases can play out in our criminal justice system, as seen this summer in NYC alone, is a lesson to every person that is socially vulnerable to the effects of a rape culture, and that’s a whole lot of people. If you have been raped, it does matter how you got there. It matters what your race is, what your immigration status is and how you’ve made a living. It matters a lot. For some rape victims, just being able to report the crime without shaming scrutiny is not a possibility. That is what one SWOP member experienced when she attempted to report a rape to the NYPD:
I was taken very seriously until it came out that I was involved in sex work, that this man was going to get me work, and that I showed him my body. At that point, the cops started acting as though I had been dishonest for not revealing this sooner and started basically interrogating me. It was incredibly upsetting. One of the police officers actually said to me, “What makes it okay Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but not Thursday?” I was not arrested, but I feared arrest, having heard of cops doing that. I was relieved just to leave the precinct, and needless to say nothing came of my complaint. And I was reminded of the treatment I had received when I discovered that he was later arrested in California as a sex offender. Presumably he raped someone with a little more social cachet.
Sadly, it is not just the acts of a few that affect how the system treats rape complainants. There are also policies in place that directly affect how a sex worker is treated in the eyes of the court in regard to sexual assault cases. For instance, in the New York City Rape Shield Law, a criminal procedure code that provides that “evidence of a victim’s sexual conduct shall not be admissible” in a rape case, there is a noted exception to the code. New York is one state that permits the victim’s status as a convicted prostitute to be admitted into evidence if the conviction occurred within three years of the sexual offense. In the past, this practice has been defended on the grounds that such information speaks to the credibility of the rape complainant “as a witness” and somehow suggests that the complainant, being a sex worker, may have consented. In many ways, this practice being upheld represents how prostitution (and indeed, sex work in general) is still considered an immoral act and treated in the eyes of the law as representative of a person’s defective character.
In the aftermath of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn dismissal and the recent acquittal of two police officers accused of rape, both cases which had a great deal to do with vilifying the complainant rather than the defendant, we must recognize that the rights of rape victims are tied up directly with how we frame rape victims in general, both in the media and in public policy. We must also be cognizant of the notion that there is a heirarchy of victimhood and that issues of race, class and status go into making up that heirarchy. Laws like NYC’s Rape Shield Law uphold the notion that our courts are the arbiters of sexual morality. Likewise, a court system whose decisions are in any way shaped by a rape victim being a sex worker (whether a valid claim or not) cannot be held to treat any complainant with a reasonable level of dignity. All in all, it’s a real wonder how any of us could withstand the scrutiny of such a system of judgment.
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Thursday, August 11th: A Vigil for Camila Guzman
August 9th, 2011 — events
On Monday, August 1, Camila Guzman was found murdered in an apartment on East 110th Street in Harlem. Her tragic death demonstrates the prevalence of violence against transgender women in this country. Just last month, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released its report Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2010 which documented 27 anti-LGBTQ murders nationwide. Transgender women made up 44% of the reported murders, while representing only 11% of total survivors and victims.This Thursday, August 11, Camila’s family, friends and community allies will gather to honor her memory. Take action with us in solidarity with all people affected by violence. Join us as we keep Camila in our hearts and move forward to end violence:
Vigil Location: 170 East 110th Street (between 3rd and Lexington Avenues), New York, NY
When: Thursday, August 11, 2011 from 6pm – 8pm
More Information: Facebook Event
Hosted by: Family, Friends and Community Allies of Camila Guzman, The New York City Anti-Violence ProjectTo endorse or help us get the word out, please contact Joyce Choi Li, Local Organizer at jli@avp.org!
*Co-Sponsors (list in formation):
- New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn
- Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer
- Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito
- Audre Lorde Project
- Harlem Pride
- LGBT Justice Project/Make the Road NY
- Lambda Legal
- National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
- NY Trans Rights Organization
- New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- Powers Initiative
- Queer Rising
- Sex Workers’ Project
- SWOP-NYC
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project
- Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund
- TransCEND Boston of the AIDS Action Committee
AVP encourages you to report violence, including hate violence, sexual violence or domestic/intimate partner violence to our 24-hour bilingual (English/Spanish) hotline at 212-714-1141 where you can speak with a trained counselor or online on our secure reporting form.
SWOP-NYC Responds to the “Real Men Get Their Facts Straight” Debate
July 5th, 2011 — press-releases
This week, The Village Voice published an article entitled “Real Men Get Their Facts Straight,” directed at Ashton Kutcher’s recent efforts concerning the trafficking of youth in the sex industry and his project, the DNA Foundation. The Voice criticized Kutcher for falsely stating that 100,000 to 300,000 youth in the United States are at risk for being “enslaved and sold for sex” every year. The Sex Worker Outreach Project (SWOP-NYC) would like to distinguish that there are three overlapping issues here: the trafficking of youth into the sex industry, the service needs of youth with experience trading sex for survival and the rights of consenting adult sex workers.
The statistic of 100,000 to 300,000 youth refers only to youth who would hypothetically be at risk for prostitution, not youth who are already engaged in it: youth such as “runaways, thrownaways, victims of physical or sexual abuse, users of psychotropic drugs, members of sexual minority groups, illegally trafficked children, children who cross international borders in search of cheap drugs and sex, and other illicit fare.” This is an extremely broad hypothetical, not compiled data based on field research. It also does not refer exclusively to those trafficked into the sex industry; rather it sees all forms of sex work, both coerced and consensual, as the same. It is therefore only what might be, not what is.
“In order to truly help a population, you must first understand what it looks like. It’s very sad to think that already shaky research is being used to make the American public believe that all sex work is trafficking and that so many youth are already involved in it. Knowing the reality of these situations is key to providing services and promoting freedoms for all persons in the sex industry,” said Sarah Elspeth Patterson, M.Ed., SWOP-NYC member and researcher.
After a Twitter battle that escalated when Kutcher successfully encouraged companies like American Airlines to pull ad revenue from the Village Voice, Kutcher released a blog response on his site in which he acknowledged the overall lack of sufficient data on trafficking and conceded that he was misusing the statistic in question. This acknowledgement is an important part of separating the three aspects of the sex industry in discussion, which have long been conflated into one overused inaccurate analysis .
As community organizers that advocate for the rights of all persons in the sex industry, SWOP-NYC applauds efforts to call out the use of junk science as solid research. The recognition of such a widely used statistic as false and potentially harmful is one step towards a more informed discussion of trafficking issues and their role in the sex industry. It is a step towards separating consensual sex work from the language of human trafficking and coerced prostitution. This step might also serve as a call for academic researchers to pursue more rigorously studies on youth in the sex industry.
Sadly, much of what is missing in this conversation is an understanding of why youth enter the sex trade, whether by choice or through coercion. Poverty, lack of support for LGBTQ youth who may become runaways, and other issues often draw sex workers of all ages, including youth, to the sex trade. There is also a lack of substantial services for youth of all genders in the sex industry. Here in New York City, service organizations likeStreetwise and Safe and Safe Horizon are providing social services for youth and families on a voluntary basis, empowering people to make decisions on their own terms. However, they remain critically underfunded. It is imperative that such organizations be supported in order to continue the important work of empowering youth to make their own decisions about their lives.
We also encourage media outlets to contact SWOP-NYC for further questions and commentary on this matter: swank@riseup.net
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New SWANK Date & Location
July 5th, 2011 — meetings, SWANK
SWANK meetings will now be held on the first Wednesday of the month at a new location. For existing members, please check your email for the new information.
Second Annual Sex Worker Cabaret
May 15th, 2011 — events
Join us for the Second Annual Sex Worker Cabaret on Sunday, June 12, 2011!
Sex workers take the stage to tell their diverse stories through performance, narrative, puppetry, burlesque, comedy and more. This event starts with a curated selection of video works about sex work around the globe, and then features an all-star lineup of eleven performers.
Producers Sarah Jenny and Damien Luxe are proud to present this Sunday evening cabaret showcasing some of the most vibrant creative talent in the sex worker community. The cabaret is in homage to Annie Oakley’s Sex Workers Art Show (1997-2009) and takes place during LGBTQ Pride month, a time to reflect on the importance of community. Come listen to tales of self-determination, and bear witness to survival and celebration as sex workers eloquently — and at times raunchily — speak their truths.
With MCs Sarah Jenny and Damien Luxe and DJ Sirlinda!
WHEN: Sunday, June 12, 2011
TIME: DOORS @ 7:30PM, VIDEOS @ 8PM SHOW @ 8:30PM
TICKETS: $12 in adv. or $15 at the door (Click here to purchase tickets online.)
WHERE: Public Assembly, 70 N. 6th St., Brooklyn, NY
For more information, please visit www.sexworkercabaret.com
Sex Worker Groups Respond to Long Island Murders
April 8th, 2011 — press-releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Friday, April 8, 2011
Contact: Dylan Wolf, SWANK, 347-748-9163, swank@riseup.net
Sarah Jenny Bleviss, swop.nyc@gmail.com
New York – Sex Workers Action New York (SWANK) and Sex Workers Outreach Project NYC (SWOP-NYC) are dismayed that four more bodies were discovered on Long Island earlier this week. Police believe that a serial killer is responsible for murdering at least eight people found on a remote Suffolk County beach since December. Reports indicate the murder victims were in the sex trade. As sex workers and allies, SWANK and SWOP-NYC mourn the lives of these individuals and extend our sympathies to their families and communities.
“Sex workers are targeted for violence because of the stigma against what we do,” Dylan Wolf, a SWANK member said, “People think they can do whatever they want to us and they won’t get caught. And because of bad laws, social isolation and discrimination, they get away with it all the time. But like those murdered, we’re not disposable, bad people – we have lives that matter and people that love us. No matter who we are or what we do to make ends meet, we don’t deserve to die – we deserve good lives.”
A recent New York Times article suggested that dozens, if not hundreds, of people in the sex industry have been murdered in New York State since 1990. “Stories like what’s happened on Long Island make us fear for our safety,” said SWANK member Michael Bottoms, “As sex workers, we already know that stigma puts us at risk for being targeted, and so we take as many precautions as we can. But if we do experience violence, most of us can’t go to the cops, because we could get arrested, they might not take us seriously, or they could have been the ones who were violent to us in the first place.”
“When we ignore violence against sex workers, we support a culture where a serial killer can murder eight, twelve, or even dozens of sex workers without the media, the police or the general public being outraged or even thinking twice,” said Maryse Mitchell-Brody, a SWOP-NYC organizer, “We won’t end this violence by keeping the sex trade illegal, because it isn’t going anywhere – this just drives people further underground and makes them more vulnerable to violence. Murders like these show that we must use new strategies to create safety and dignity that don’t reinforce stigma or discrimination.”
To learn more about what you can do to support the rights of current and former sex workers and those with experience in the sex trade to safety and well-being, visit www.swop-nyc.org.
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