International Sex Workers’ Day (International Whore’s Day), 2 June, is a day which many sex worker activists celebrate, respect, honour and commemorate as the first internationally recognised sex worker instigated and organized direct action and civil rights action. On June 2, 1975, over 100 sex workers in Lyon, France, engaged in a civil disobedience action that involved a week-long occupation of St. Nizer Church. The aim of the action was to generate a high-profile campaign which would highlight the State sanctioned police harassment of street based sex workers, the disgraceful in-action of police in responding to violence perpetrated against the Lyon sex worker community by a serial sexual assault offender, and the refusal of the French Minister for Women to engage in dialogue with French sex workers.

Sex workers occupying the church hung a banner proclaiming “Our Children Don’t Want Their Mothers in Jail”, from the steeples of the gothic style church. This action was highly successful in attracting the support of both the national press and broad public sympathy. In an attempt to intimidate the sex workers to end their protest, the State announced that sex worker’s children would be removed and placed in State care. This tactic backfired and a spate of furious non-sex working women, who were horrified by the threats of the State, marched to St Nizer Church and joined the protest in solidarity, with the intention of confusing the authorities as to whom was and was not a sex worker. In response to the spirit of joie de viethe occupation of St Nizer Church inspired across the nation, spontaneous sex worker strikes and protests were organised in solidarity with the sex workers of Lyon. However, on 10 June, 1975, police deceived the priest of St Nizer and beguiled him to inadvertently unlock the church doors. Subsequently, sex workers and their supporters were violently evicted from the premises by police clad in riot-gear.

Since 1976, International Sex Workers’ Day has been annually acknowledged and celebrated by sex worker networks and activists across the globe, who undertake a diverse range of actions, yet are united in our continuing fight for sex worker rights. In 2014, across the Australasian region, International Sex Workers’ Day was marked by a number of different activities over a week-long period.

Text courtesy of NSWP (dot) org.