Durbar Committee Mission & Workplace Values
NSWP On: Including Sex Workers In Diversity Protocol
NSWP has created an assessment tool for Including sex workers in your organization’s diversity protocol
Reason Magazine On FOSTA
Reason Magazine: A 2016 study funded by the Justice Department concluded that the total number of juveniles in the sex trade in the United States was about 9,000 to 10,000. The study also found that only about 15 percent of the children relied on pimps and that the average age of entry into the sex trade was 15.8 years.
Pennsylvania should partner with NamUs | Opinion | dailyitem.com
Pennsylvania should partner with NamUs | Opinion | dailyitem.com
Justice Served: Valimont Update
House arrest for Farrell ex-cop, former Stoneboro Police Chief By Mike Gauntner, Online Content Manager Posted: Aug 10, 2018 5:27 AM EDT MERCER, Pa. -A former Stoneboro Police Chief and Farrell Police Officer has been sentenced to four months of house arrest after being caught having sex with a prostitute while on duty and pocketing money donated for a police K-9 program.
Action Alert: Oakland, CA
Action Alert: On July 19 legislation was introduced by Oakland City Council Member Abel Guillen to arrest sex workers’ clients, and tow and remove their cars. Stepping up arrests and the removal of men’s cars who are purportedly looking to pay for sex will force sex workers into more isolated and dangerous spaces, increasing their vulnerability to rape and other violence. What it won’t do is stop prostitution.
Sex, Drugs, and Freedom – Libertarian Party of NH Special Convention recap — Free Keene
The following press release was received from the Secretary of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire For Immediate Release July 29, 2018 (Concord, NH)- Yesterday, the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH) wrapped up the business from their State Convention in late April at a second special convention at the Grappone Conference Center. AND WE FKN LOVE IT!
Whore Nation Knows What Impacts Sex Workers
When sex workers cannot vet their clients online, they don’t know if they’re a potential risk,” says Bella Robinson, executive director of Coyote Rhode Island (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics). “Sex workers around the world have immediately felt the effects of the new law – loss of work, bodily autonomy and an increase in violence, murder and HIV infection. The new law also threatens those seeking or posting about harm reduction for sex workers on websites.”
MoveOn Petitions – PA Proclamation Addressing Stigma & Violence Against Sex Workers
"December 17th 2018 is the 15th International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers. Philly made history last year with fair and balanced press coverage of an event usually shrouded in silence. This year we strive to connect from the street to the state by having a PA Proclamation Supporting D/17." Will you sign this … Continue reading MoveOn Petitions – PA Proclamation Addressing Stigma & Violence Against Sex Workers
To The Sex Worker Community –
VAVAW: Our public position was that we critiqued and challenged the sex work industry as a whole, but would not turn away individual sex workers who wanted to access our services.This position is inherently flawed. It is not possible to support individuals and also call for the abolition of their profession. Our service delivery and the writing we’ve put out have sent the message to members of the sex worker community and their allies that sex workers could not access our services. We’re sorry for this.
Hearing Thursday 7/19/18: EFF Asks Court to Block Enforcement of FOSTA While Lawsuit Proceeds
Washington, D.C.—On Thursday, July 19, at 4 pm, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will urge a federal judge to put enforcement of FOSTA on hold during the pendency of its lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal law. The hold is needed, in part, to allow plaintiff Woodhull Freedom Foundation to organize and publicize its annual conference, held August 2-5.
Bianca Palmisano and Psychiatry Today Discuss FOSTA / SESTA & Sex Work
FOSTA-SESTA Threatens Sex Worker Livelihoods: What Mental Health Providers Should Know On April 11, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (SESTA-FOSTA). Bianca Palmisano https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/practice-management/how-mental-health-clinicians-can-help-sex-workers-fosta-sesta/article/780835/
Britain On A FOSTA Of One’s Own:
Tim Cushing For TechDirt: UK Parliament Members Looking To Punish Websites, Push Traffickers Underground Our government decided to make the internet worse, endanger the lives of sex workers, and make it harder for law enforcement to hunt down sex traffickers. And it was all done in the name of fighting sex trafficking. SESTA/FOSTA's passage immediately … Continue reading Britain On A FOSTA Of One’s Own:
Pennsylvania’s Shea Rhodes Speaks To “The Hill” About SESTA
Shea Rhodes in op/ed to The Hill: Prostitution is incredibly dangerous. The admission by sex workers who claim to use certain websites to screen violent and homicidal sex buyers acknowledges the inherent danger of commercial sex. The passage of SESTA/FOSTA does not make prostitution more dangerous.
Bad Blood? Bad POLICY!
Considering donating blood? Please be aware of the potential for decline if you are candid about engaging in erotic labor services, regardless of what protocol and screening you practice. Also, keep in mind, many states request a one year deferral if you have had ear piercings, body piercings, or tattoo work, and also in some states, even if you have had acupuncture treatment.
EFF Sues to Invalidate FOSTA, an Unconstitutional Internet Censorship Law David GreeneJune 28, 2018
It is worth emphasizing that Congress was repeatedly warned that it was passing a law that would censor far more speech than was necessary to address the problem of sex trafficking, and that the law would indeed hinder law enforcement efforts and pose great dangers to sex workers. During the Congressional debate on FOSTA and SESTA, anti-trafficking groups such as Freedom Network and the International Women’s Health Coalition issued statements warning that the laws would hurt efforts to aid trafficking victims, not help them.
Advocates for Sex Workers Send Open Letter to Allegheny District Attorney Stephen Zappala Opposing Criminalization of Condom Possession
The letter notes that criminalizing condoms “has a chilling effect on Pittsburghers' willingness to carry and use condoms, especially those who are most vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS and other STIs including women and men of color, LGBTQ people, young people, victims of trafficking, and people in the sex trades.”
National Sex Workers’ Summit Culminates in Manifesto Calling for Decriminalization of Prostitution by Stephen Lemons
Decrying “punitive intervention,” the statement reaffirms the dignity and humanity of people who engage in commercial sex and insists that sex workers be empowered to take the lead in any and all decision-making that concerns them. It delineates the “rights of sex workers,” including the freedom to work as they choose, “without onerous regulation that is disrespectful of our agency and our autonomy.”
Platforms Which Now Discriminate Against Sex Workers –
We’ve found over 100 companies, institutions, and discrete products who now discriminate against sex workers and performers (like Skype… — Read on survivorsagainstsesta.org
Congratulations Crossroads Womens Center
After years of hard work to make this a reality, the Crossroads Women's Center is hosting a ground-breaking celebration for our new space on Wayne Avenue on July 10th!
We Thank You Trib LIVE Megan Guza: Allegheny County halts criminalizing of condoms in prostitution cases
Allegheny County halts criminalizing of condoms in prostitution cases Megan Guza Allegheny County police officers will no longer criminalize condoms in prostitution-related cases, the department superintendent said Thursday. The change comes 2 ½ weeks after a Tribune-Review investigation found that the charge was being levied against women and men caught in prostitution stings based on individuals carrying condoms. Jessie and PJ Sage, co-founders of the Pittsburgh SWOP chapter, called Thursday’s news a win.
Media Links: Criminalization of Condom Possession in Pittsburgh
Media Links: Criminalization of Condom Possession in Pittsburgh
Dear District Attorney Zappala
The Sex Worker’s Outreach Project (SWOP) Pittsburgh is disappointed in the District Attorney Zappala’s response to the open letter we and several other organizations (including ACLU of Pennsylvania, Women's Law Project, #SurvivorsAgainstSESTA and Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania) opposing several practice that endanger the citizens of Allegheny County: 1.) police and prosecutors’ practice of citing condom possession as evidence of intent to engage in prostitution-related crimes, 2.) police seizure of condoms and other contraceptives, and 3.) the practice of adding the more severe possessing-instrument-of-crime (“PIC”) charges under 18 Pa.C.S. § 907 when defendants are charged with prostitution.
We Salute: SWOP Pittsburgh
A group of 17 organizations from across the state and Southwest Pennsylvania signed an open letter to District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. urging him to stop allowing condoms as evidence in support of prostitution-related charges.
Sex Worker Outreach Project Joins Local Opposition To Controversial Condom Charges By Megan Harris
Sex Worker Outreach Project Joins Local Opposition To Controversial Condom Charges By Megan Harris Local health and social justice experts say the recent criminalization of condom possession discourages sex workers from practicing safe sex and could lead to a broader public health problem. Possessing an instrument of crime under Pennsylvania law usually refers to weapons or body armor, but can include legal items used for criminal purposes. Data reported recently by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review show police in Allegheny County classified condoms as those instruments in one-third of prostitution cases reviewed last year. - | 90.5 WESA
