Tomorrow January 7th, 2009 8am in the morning, Shelly Resnick, a well known Transexual activist and Sex Worker has a court date for the illegal solicitation of prostitution in San Francisco. Law enforcement came to her house a couple of months ago and hit her with a citation for 647 (b) . I know that this is a really late email, and neither one of us thought about it until right at this very second. Please come and show your support.
Location: 850 Bryant (Same Police station that we did the rally for (National Day to end Violence against Sex Workers)
Time: 8:00 am
Filed under: Sex Worker Rights |
Bound, Not Gagged 
First my support and solidarity with Shelly! I’m in North Carolina so I can do little but offer emotional solidarity.
But given the anti’s usual arguments against decrim. How does Shelly’s arrest improve her rights or life? I bet it doesn’t. How does maintaining the status quo, of which the anti’s are so sure make things better, how does Shelly’s arrest help those truly trafficked? Or those underage? Doesn’t arresting her for consensual sex work with an adult only negatively impact her? Doesn’t it only divert resources that could have been used to prosecute traffickers?
In my non anti and expatriate feminist mindset, I can’t see how Shelly is being freed from anything by her being arrested. I can’t see how trafficking victims are helped. Matter of fact the only people that seem to be helped are the police who can add an arrest to the scoreboard, a D.A who will try to win a conviction against Shelly and any court mandate program that she is forced into participating and paying for the forced participation.
Meanwhile I have little belief that the actual predators that are out there are revising their lives to avoid being predators on the basis of Shelly’s arrest. I doubt they are even aware of it. Seems the police and D.A are benefiting, Shelly is suffering and academics and antis that benefit from her rights being taken away, among other things, are the only victors.
If it were Farley or SAGE or Kamala Harris that was arrested and facing charges I’d be really curious to know how empowering they felt it was to be the defendant in criminal proceedings. Betcha they wouldn’t.
Again, Shelly much love from NC
j