We Acknowledge: IWD 2019

NSWP dot org on International Whores Day: On 2 June 1975, approximately 100 sex workers occupied Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon, France, to express their anger about their criminalised and exploitative living conditions. On 10 June at 5 o'clock the Church was brutally raided by police forces. This action sparked a national movement, and the day is now celebrated in Europe and around the world.

NEW: Pennsylvania Project

Torturing Sex Workers, with Melanie Dante: Ken’s guest is Melanie Dante discussing various issues surrounding the sex trades, badly needed decriminalization, and holes in the law that create “viminals”, i.e., making criminals out of victims of sexual abuse.

OPPOSE FL 540: FL Senate Considers Creating Prostitution Registry

WE OPPOSE FL 540: Senate Considers Creating Prostitution Registry: Florida Senate Bill 540 with the Orwellian title “Human Trafficking” would create a registry for people found guilty of the loosely defined crime of “soliciting, inducing, enticing, or procuring” another to commit “prostitution, lewdness, or assignation.” #sexworkersagainsttrafficking

2019 FEATURE: Sex Workers Are Human Resources.

JAN 10 • Thank you so much for your fair and balanced coverage of the 15th Annual IDTEVASW. Since 2012 SWOP and SAFE have strived to stand up and speak out in Philly on issues specific to stigma and gratuitous violence against sex workers. Folks are always amazed at how hard and painful this event is to do, yet in the end how truly blessed we are to be able to come together to do it. Many households in most areas of Greater Philadelphia, if not all of PA, are touched somehow by this issue. Talking about sex work and prostitution is hard. Living in shame and silence is harder. D/17 is not fun, though it is full of love. Truly. We are here because we have been there, and we care. Our voice is their voice. Thank you for covering the memorial. Words cannot even express the gratitude I feel right now. Philly is proving we got LOVE!

IDTEVASW 2018

The date of December 17th was selected for the observance because it was on that date in 2003 that Gary Leon Ridgeway, the notorious Green River Killer,  was sentenced for his crimes. “Between July of 1982 and January of 1998 Ridgeway was responsible for the deaths of dozens of women and girls in King County, Washington, the county that includes the cities of Seattle and Tacoma. Many of his victims were prostitutes and others marginalized by society, such as runaways. Ridgeway was sentenced to 48 consecutive life terms for his crimes plus 480 additional years; a plea agreement eliminated the possibility of the death penalty. The first International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers was observed on the day he was sentenced and utilized art as sublimation through the conflicting emotions of relief, grief, anger and fear.

Instrument of Crime: Condoms, Prostitution, Prosecutors and Public Safety in Pennsylvania

Instrument of Crime: Condoms, Prostitution, Prosecutors and Public Safety in Pennsylvania Philadelphia Convention Center 106AB Presentation: Friday 10/5/2018 10:45 AM Outlawed in California, New York, and Washington D.C., since 2012 Pennsylvania prosecutors have been using Comstock Act era tactics in an effort to detain prostitutes to combat trafficking. Is charging individuals for Instruments of Crime (IOC) effective policing tactic in ending human trafficking; or is contributing to challenges in addressing important public health risks surrounding HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and sexually transmitted diseases? Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are combining forces for important advocacy work to draw attention to these practices.

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.