Welcome to SWOP-NYC and SWANK! This document was put together to help you navigate who we are and what we do and help you figure out how to get involved with us!
Services We Offer
- Court Support: We can show up when you have a court date and support you as needed.
- Educational and Professional Development Workshops
- Peer Support and Community Building: As a community-based organization we develop and host safe, sex worker-only and sex worker-friendly spaces in order to support and grow the sex worker community.
- Referrals to sex worker-friendly service providers such as lawyers, social workers, doctors, therapists, etc.
- Chaplain: Our chaplain is available to work with you on the intersections of sex work and religion/faith/spirituality.
Working Groups & Committees
- Dec. 17th Working Group – This group helps organize the annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Worker event on December 17th as well as promote it. In past years, we’ve held vigils in churches and community spaces around the city. They also work on the List of Names for the memorial each year.
- March 3rd Working Group – This group helps organize the annual International Day for Sex Workers Rights event on March 3rd as well as promote it. In past years, we have held community potlucks.
- Media Team – This team works to identify media opportunities, follow new stories locally, nationally, and internationally that relate to the sex workers’ rights movement. They also do media interviews, trainings to prepare you to be interviewed, write press releases, and produce other media such as videos and blogs.
- Online Outreach Committee – This committee works on increasing our online outreach capacity and identifying new outreach opportunities.
- Research Working Group
- Retreat Working Group – This group organizes our annual retreat for both SWOP-NYC and SWANK members.
- Screening Team – This team screens potential new members for both SWOP-NYC and SWANK.
- Web Team – This team manages the website, listserv, Twitter, Facebook, and our online presence.
- Workshops & Teach-Ins Committee – This group identifies and bottomlines opportunities to facilitate workshops, trainings, and teach-ins as well as opportunities to present at conferences.
Code of Conduct for Meetings
- Confidentiality: Please assume anything discussed at meetings is confidential unless otherwise mentioned (i.e. “Please come to this related event!” or “Share my story!”) If you aren’t sure if something can be repeated or made public, please ask the person who shared the information.
- Screening: We request for all new members to be screened by our current community organizers to maintain a safe space.
- Decision Making Process: We use a modified consensus process.
- Conflict Resolution & Mediation: If you experience conflict with another member, please notify _______???. We do not tolerate whorephobia, homophobia, transphobia, sizephobia, ablism, agism, racism, classism, and other forms of oppression. Please respect your fellow SWOP-NYC and SWANK members and their experiences.
- Leadership Structure: We are a horizontal and non-hierarchical community group.
How you can get involved
- Members: Anyone who has attended at least one meeting. SWOP and SWANK meetings are each held monthly in Manhattan.
- Members-At-Large: Anyone has attended at least one meeting but now lives outside of the NYC area or is otherwise unable to attend meetings but still participates by attending meetings while in NYC or via our listserv.
- Community Organizers: Anyone responsible for organizing community members and related activities.
- Committee Bottom-liners: Each of our working groups and events are headed up by a committee bottom-liner responsible for overseeing the work of the group and reporting back to the chapter.
- Supporter: Even those who are unable to attend meetings can support our work through donations, online support, or simply by relaying our message to your local community.
Events We Participate In
- March 3rd: International Sex Worker Rights Day
- June: LGBTQ Pride Parade
- November 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance
- December: World AIDS Day
- December: International Human Rights Day
- December 17th: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
