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“Erotic Services” Denied: Craigslist and Attorneys General Are Putting Sex Workers At Risk

With Craigslist’s recent announcement that its Erotic Services category will be discontinued within the week, hundreds of thousands of erotic service providers will become more vulnerable to dangerous predators. Eliminating erotic listings as Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and others propose will only drive us further underground.

Policing the masseuses, phone workers, pro-dominants, and escorts using Craigslist fails to protect those of us who are coerced into the sex industry. Preventing the use of Craigslist advertisements also eliminates the advantage of screening clients online, which makes for a safer work experience by filtering out potentially dangerous individuals. Furthermore, keeping us offline hinders police investigations of violent crime.  In the Boston murder of Julissa Brisman, it was online tracking that enabled the police to identify the suspect. One has to wonder: are the Attorneys General examining the evidence or simply enforcing their moral values?

“Removing the erotic services category from Craigslist does not help prevent violence against escorts and other sex workers. It only pushes me and people like me out of the places where advertising is available,” said Jessica Bloom, a sex worker from Sex Workers Action New York (SWANK). In the face of increasing criminalization, we insist upon respect. As mothers, daughters, brothers, and members of your community, we claim that sex work is real work, work that we are entitled to conduct in safety. As such, we must be accorded the human right of full protection under the law.

We are having our regular meeting on Tuesday, April 7th from
7-9 pm in a discreet downtown location. This is a meeting for
current and former sex workers/people with sex trade or industry
experience only.  If you would like to attend a meeting for the first
time, please contact us to arrange a screening. Everyone must be screened.
If you would like to bring someone to the meeting, please have them
contact us first.  If you have already been screened but have not attended
a meeting, please contact the member who screened you for location
information.  To be screened or for more information, please email swank AT riseup DOT net.

Thanks, and I hope everyone can make it!

SWANK/SWOP-NYC

swop-nyc.org

Stay connected, stay informed! Join our Facebook Group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58860486504

Community Potluck for International Sex Workers Rights Day
Tues. Mar. 3rd, 7-9 pm

Judson Memorial Church, Manhattan
239 Thompson St (south of Washington Square Park)

Free to enter, Meal by donation – no one turned away!

Join us (people in the sex trade and our allies) for a delicious meal! Learn about campaigns and programs in our communities! Win sexy prizes in our raffle! Network, share stories, and celebrate the struggle for
our rights!

Contact:
(347) 748-9163 or swank@riseup.net to volunteer, to bring
a dish or for more info!

National March for Sex Workers Rights
Dec. 17, 2008
Meet at Franklin Square (14st NW & Eye ST NW) near McPherson Square Station for rally and speeches.
March Gathers at noon.
March ends at The White House (1600 Pennsylvania AVE) about 3 blocks away.

Join the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP-USA) as we march on Washington to demand rights for all sex workers! On Wednesday, December 17, 2008, advocates from across the nation will converge to mark the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Together, we will take a stand for justice, dignity, and the freedom to do sex work safely and in dignity. We are calling for an end to the unjust laws, policing, shaming and stigma that oppress our communities and make us targets for violence. At this vibrant event, we will both honor the lives lost in 2008 and celebrate our vital movement. Some housing is available for out-of-towners – consider staying on to attend our big party that weekend. On Dec. 17th, SWOP-USA and its allies in harm reduction and social justice welcome your support as we march for sex workers rights!

This is a permitted event (pending approval). For more information, or to endorse this event, contact:
877-776-2004 x 1
dec17@swopusa.org
www.swopusa.org/dec17/

Please note that the swop-nyc meeting this week has been canceled due to logistical difficulties with preparing the meeting space. We plan to reschedule for an upcoming date in September. Please email swank@riseup.net if you are interested in attending and wish to be informed of the new date.

We appologize dearly for any inconvenience.

• -Are you in the sex trade?
• -Have you exchanged sex for gifts, drugs, or housing?
• -Do you work the streets, the clubs, the dungeons, or the internet?
• -Have you been hassled by cops?
• -Are you at risk for a prostitution arrest?
• -Do NYC’s raids, street sweeps and busts make it hard for you to get by
  and stay safe?

This TRAINING is for YOU!
Tues., Aug. 19th, 7-9 pm,
Safe Lower Manhattan Location

Learn about your rights and get advice on how to deal with cops and arrests.

This event is open to current and former sex workers ONLY-
You must RSVP to attend!!!

For more information, or to RSVP, please contact (347) 748-6193 or
swank@riseup.net

Hosts: Sex Workers Project (UJC) sexworkersproject.com
SWANK (Sex Workers Action NY)/SWOP-NYC

In response to a July, 13th New York Daily News news article reporting on the arrest of Monica Gonzales for alleged prostitution — charges that were subsequently dropped, and that were apparently brought simply because Ms. Gonzalez was walking in an area targeted by the police for prostitution arrests — members of swop-nyc have sent the following statement to the editors of the Daily News:

The unfortunate arrest of Ms. Gonzalez brings to light a fundamental
flaw in the laws that govern prostitution in New York State. Herein, a
police officer may arrest a person for loitering for the purposes of
prostitution with only “probable cause” as their grounds for doing so.
In many cases, like that of Ms. Gonzalez, people are charged,
stigmatized, and sometimes made the focus of media attention, simply
for making certain gestures, being on a certain street or dressing in
a certain way. In short, non-criminal behaviors and people can be and
regularly are arrested simply because the police don’t like the looks
of them. Of course, those who bear the brunt of these oppressive
practices often already face discrimination on the basis of their
race, sexual and/or gender identity, and economic class. It is high
time that this crime be removed from the law books, so that Ms.
Gonzalez and others like her are no longer victimized by abuses of
police power.
Maryse Mitchell-Brody
Sex Workers Outreach Project – NYC

July’s open SWOP-NYC meeting will convene on July 24, rather than the usual third Thursday of the month, in order to avoid conflicting with the Desiree Alliance Conference. SWOP-NYC meetings are open to current & former sex workers as well as allies.

The meeting will take place from 7-9pm at our usual location. If you have not yet attended a meeting and need to be screened, please email swank@riseup.net as soon as possible to get screened & the address for the meeting. Someone there will get back to you within a few days.

Future SWOP-NYC meetings (from August onwards) will continue to meet as usual on the third thursday of each month from 7-9PM.

This event is co-sponsored by SWANK and SWOP-NYC.