Where do we go from here regarding Judge Deni?

What steps can we still continue to take regarding Judge Deni and this case?  She won her re-election we can’t change that.  There was international interest regarding this case.  I saw that Pravda and a Scottish News outlet had picked this up.  I also saw someone post about international efforts including Amnesty International or doing an Amnesty International type letter writing protest.

Beatriz Mercado from Chile who works with SWOP East has suggested drawing a letter regarding this case and presenting it to organizations in Chile, in English and Spanish, to bring attention to this case on an international level.  I think this is something we should take a look at and work on going forward with both regarding this case and sex worker rights.

I”m not literate enough on court proceedings to know.  Is it possible to get copies of court transcripts?  Are they public record?  That would certainly clear up any contentions about what was or was not stated.

What can we do to go forward?

International Harm Reduction Conference, Barcelona, Spain 2008

In May 2007, sex workers and advocates gathered from across the globe
to attend the 18th International Harm Reduction Conference in Warsaw
Poland. Last year was our first time at this event and it was quite a
success. Rachel Wotton from Scarlet Alliance- the Australian Sex
Workers’ Association-was our plenary speaker and we held sex worker
lead panels and living room sessions.
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/health/focus/sharp/events/conference_200705
24/agenda.pdf

We also had a booth that we took turns working daily during the
conference. Our topics ranged from outreach to law reform and we spoke
with hundreds of people during the conference. Now it is time to do it
again, this time in Barcelona Spain May 11th-15th, 2008.

We have been invited to create sex worker lead panels and sessions
from abstracts submitted to IHRA for 2008. We encourage
representatives from all the sex worker networks to put in your
abstracts and to keep us in the loop so we can do our utmost to get
your abstract accepted.
Please do the following two things:
1. Submit your abstract directly to the International Harm Reduction
Association (IHRA) http://www.ihra.net/ by November 14, 2007
2. after submitting your abstract to IHRA, please send us a heads up
note including your abstract and any other information about the sex
worker organization you work with to swopusa@yahoo.com and
psaunders@bestpracticespolicy.org

All entries will be notified of acceptance by Dec. There is limited
funding and please be sure to apply for an IHRA scholarship when you
submit your abstract too.

Need help shaping your abstract? Never done an “abstract” and feel
like its not for you? Contact swopusa@yahoo.com and
psaunders@bestpracticespolicy.org by Nov 1 and we’ll connect you to a
fellow advocate who can help you brainstorm your idea and shape your
abstract. Remember that there are all kinds of different roles and
venues to present at IHRA-you don’t have to have studied at University
or be a “researcher” to present about sex worker issues at this
conference.

Sincerely,

Sex Worker Harm Reduction Panel Participants

SWOP East’s Growth and Expansion

I am happy to share some very good news about SWOP East. Just over a year ago, SWOP East was an independent harm reduction based project called the STORM Project, Sex Trade Opportunities for Risk Minimization. While we retain a harm reduction component, we made a radical decision as an organization to take on a sex worker rights position as the core belief and mission of our organization. I approached SWOP about bringing STORM under the SWOP banner as part of my hopes to switch to a sex worker rights position. At the time I was the only sex worker rights activist on the board of directors. SWOP-USA welcomed STORM into SWOP and we became SWOP East.

SWOP East now has a sex worker rights based Board of Directors, we added some wonderful and talented activists and allies, Jessica Land joined us and has brought her energy and experience in the movement to become our new Board Chair, Amanda Brooks, joined in May and along with our Chilean counterpart Beatriz Mercado in Chile, they have been instrumental in the now launching Pledging Action global effort to get condoms to sex workers in Santiago, Chile that have lost access to resources due to USAid anti trafficking legislation which has devastated outreach programs worldwide. Lola Silvera of Toronto is my frequent adviser and is on our advisory board. Last month saw Jill McCracken of St. Petersburg, Florida to SWOP East as our new treasurer, Ren Ev. in DC has joined us as an awareness activist and we are close to having a supporter join us from Richmond, VA.

SWOP-USA’s welcoming of what was STORM and the great, vital energy of all of the new members, of which I am eternally grateful and thankful for all of their effort, work and enthusiasm, has developed SWOP East into an organization spanning two continents, three countries, and seven states.

Our growth is part of the emerging sex worker rights movement of which I am so proud of all it’s members and thrilled to be part of! This started three years ago when I was welcomed into the sex worker rights movement by so many activists that I love and respect dearly

We are always interested in hearing from others interested in working with SWOP East, SWOP-USA or any Sex Worker Rights Org or any sex worker or sex worker rights activist, ally or supporter that wants to join a growing movement for social justice for sex workers worldwide!

In Solidarity

Jill Brenneman

Chilean Sex Workers Protest the imposition of criminalization and fines

Thank you to Beatriz Mercado of SWOP East-Chile for translating this document into English!

Although this is not a breaking news item, Angela Lina protested a heavy fine to be imposed on Chilean street sex workers. I don’t know if the bill passed or not. Courtesy of a RedTraSex newsletter.

In English: More intents to fine sex workers

Last July, Las Condes major, Francisco de la Maza, moved forward in his intent to criminalize sex workers imposing a city ordinance to fine sex workers who work on the streets.

People from Independent Labor Union of Sex Workers Angela Lina, focal point in Chile of TraSex Network, along with Amanda Jofré Organization, made a protest in front of the city hall on July 4th.

This wasn’t his first try. In may, sex workers were able to stop fines from being imposed, with the support of several organizations in a meeting held at Christian Churches Social Aid Foundation.

“City major wants to profit from street sex workers, asking them to pay over $ 150.000 chilean pesos ($ 300 US dollars), an amount equivalent to what a regular worker gets for a month’s salary, as a fine applied both to the sex worker and her client” explained the leaders of the organization.

Executive Secretary of TraSex network sent a letter addressing this subject:
TraSex network wants to express their support to our friends form Labor Union Angela Lina in their fight to stop persecution and harassing against sex workers in Chile.

Once again authorities try to mistreat our fellow sex workers by taking unilateral decisions instead of calling them to reach appropriate solutions that won’t put sex workers at risk.

We demand sex workers opinions to be considered and also that authorities call sex workers to discuss issues that affect them.

as a region network
we will not stop denouncing any decision
that may violate human rights
of latin american and caribbean sex workers

The original piece: Mas intentos de multar a las trabajadoras sexuales
En el mes de julio, el alcalde de la municipalidad de Las Condes, Francisco de La Maza, avanzo en su intento de criminalizar a las trabajadoras sexuales con una ordenanza municipal que multa a las trabajadoras sexuales que trabajan en las calles.

Ante esta situacion, las companieras del Sindicato Nacional Independiente de Trabajadoras Sexuales Angela Lina, punto focal en Chile de la RedTraSex, en conjunto con la organizacion Amanda Jofre, realizaron un acto de repudio el miercoles 4 de julio frente al municipio.

Esta no fue la primera arremetida del alcalde. Ya en mayo, las companieras lograron detener la imposición de multas con el apoyo de diversas organizaciones en un encuentro realizado en la Fundación de Ayuda Social de Iglesias Cristianas.

“El alcalde quiere lucrar con las mujeres trabajadoras sexuales de las calles, a quienes quiere hacer cancelar más de $150.000 pesos chilenos, suma similar a lo que gana una persona asalariado en un mes de trabajo, traducido en una multa aplicada a la compañera y al cliente”, explicaron las dirigentes de la organizacion.

La Secretaria Ejecutiva de la RedTraSex envio una carta el respecto:

La REDTRASEX quiere hacer expreso su apoyo a las companieras del Sindicato Ángela Lina, en la lucha que están llevando adelante por la persecución y hostigamiento que están sufriendo las trabajadoras sexuales de ese país.

Porque una vez mas las autoridades se empeñan en maltratar a nuestras companieras con disposiciones unilaterales, en vez de convocarlas para llegar a soluciones adecuadas sin volver a ponernos en situación de desprotección.

Exigimos que la palabra de las trabajadoras sexuales sea tenida en cuenta, y establecer una convocatoria para discutir las distintas problemáticas que perjudican a nuestro sector.

En nuestro carácter de Red Regional Mas intentos de multar a las trabajadoras sexuales
En el mes de julio, el alcalde de la municipalidad de Las Condes, Francisco de La Maza, avanzo en su intento de criminalizar a las trabajadoras sexuales con una ordenanza municipal que multa a las trabajadoras sexuales que trabajan en las calles.

Ante esta situacion, las companieras del Sindicato Nacional Independiente de Trabajadoras Sexuales Angela Lina, punto focal en Chile de la RedTraSex, en conjunto con la organizacion Amanda Jofre, realizaron un acto de repudio el miercoles 4 de julio frente al municipio.

Esta no fue la primera arremetida del alcalde. Ya en mayo, las companieras lograron detener la imposición de multas con el apoyo de diversas organizaciones en un encuentro realizado en la Fundación de Ayuda Social de Iglesias Cristianas.

“El alcalde quiere lucrar con las mujeres trabajadoras sexuales de las calles, a quienes quiere hacer cancelar más de $150.000 pesos chilenos, suma similar a lo que gana una persona asalariado en un mes de trabajo, traducido en una multa aplicada a la compañera y al cliente”, explicaron las dirigentes de la organizacion.

La Secretaria Ejecutiva de la RedTraSex envio una carta el respecto:

La REDTRASEX quiere hacer expreso su apoyo a las companieras del Sindicato Ángela Lina, en la lucha que están llevando adelante por la persecución y hostigamiento que están sufriendo las trabajadoras sexuales de ese país.

Porque una vez mas las autoridades se empeñan en maltratar a nuestras companieras con disposiciones unilaterales, en vez de convocarlas para llegar a soluciones adecuadas sin volver a ponernos en situación de desprotección.

Exigimos que la palabra de las trabajadoras sexuales sea tenida en cuenta, y establecer una convocatoria para discutir las distintas problemáticas que perjudican a nuestro sector.

En nuestro carácter de Red Regional
NO CESAREMOS DE DENUNCIAR CUALQUIER DISPOSICION
QUE VIOLE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS
DE LAS TRABAJADORAS SEXUALES DE LATINOAMERICA Y EL CARIBE

From Kathy Hogan’s blog. Speaks for itself

It seems Kathy Hogan doesn’t feel there is local interest in the Judge Deni case and started a new blog.  Which is certainly her right.  However, one could also speculate as to her motivation of not wanting local residents there to hear anymore of the “angry posts about the philly election” as Kathy describes.   She has offered no evidence to back up her claims about her friend Judge Deni being the victim of a conspiracy.  The media and bar association seem to have been able to find evidence.  Now Ms. Kathy feels there is no local interest and wants apparently to move on without the topic of her friend Judge Deni distracting her local residents.  Makes sense, you wouldn’t want something as disruptive as the truth ruminating in Philly’s back yard when you are trying to convince the world through dozens of repetitive posts to forget the whole thing.   Come on Kathy, you’re an attorney.  You can do better than spam, bot posts and cover up to defend your friend.   Do you have anything to support your claims other than your word and now apparently an effort to sideline the truth in your local neighborhood? 

That dog won’t hunt. 

 Kathy Hogan quote from her blog begins below

November, Veterans, Thanksgiving

For November, as we approach the holidays, what’s on your mind?

I started a new blog because the last one was getting bombarded with angry posts from out of the area about a dispute over the election in Philly on Tuesday. Feel free to follow Philly elections all you want, but I don’t think there is local interest in it, and I don’t think it belongs here. — KH

posted by Kathy Hogan at 1:24 PM 0 comments