On Covering the Landscape in Latex

This is a post from Cyd Nova over at Pretty Queer

I am finding my ideals located in awkward places during this odd, Saturn’s Return-esque moment of my life. Specifically, I’m finding myself doing activism around or advocating ideas that directly counter what I would have done in my early 20’s.

This came up for me while reading Sadie’s very smart piece Un-Money Shots: The Top 5 Porn Moments You Don’t See. She wrote about those pesky mundanities of porn life that the viewer is shielded from, one of which is the condom application scene.

Talking about the ‘moral responsibilities of the porn industry’ comes dangerously close to another issue currently tearing up the porno landscape — the banning of condomless porn production in California.

Now, I totally agree that in porn where protected sex is displayed, the inclusion of a ‘putting on the condom’ scene would be fantastic. The ‘I Dream of Jeanie’ esque eyelid blink appearance of a condom is childish. Sex workers, with our glamour and grace, do have the skills to eroticize acts previously thought unappealing — from a dick check to double penetration. Putting on a condom should be one of those acts. However, talking about the ‘moral responsibilities of the porn industry’ comes dangerously close to another issue currently tearing up the porno landscape — the banning of condomless porn production in California.

I’m an HIV educator and an AIDS activist, as well as being a sex worker who has done porn as both a cis-woman and a trans man. I am not unaware that my preaching against condom usage seems suspect, considering my background. But bear with me while I tell you the sordid tale of AIDS Healthcare Foundation VS The LA Porn industry and why it is this side of the fence that I stand on.

Read full post.

BREAKING: U.S. ACKNOWLEDGES HUMAN RIGHTS NEEDS OF SEX WORKERS

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Stacey Swimme
Communications@StJamesInfirmary.org
(877) 776‐2004 x. 2

Sienna Baskin, Esq.

SBaskin@urbanjustice.org

(646) 602-5695

BREAKING:  U.S. ACKNOWLEDGES HUMAN RIGHTS NEEDS OF SEX WORKERS

At UN, US Says No one Should Face Discrimination For Public Services, Including Sex Workers

March 9th, 2011- According to their statement in response to the UN’s human rights evaluation, the US agrees that “…no one should face violence or discrimination in access to public services based on sexual orientation or their status as a person in prostitution.” This marks a rare occasion in which the US is addressing the needs of sex workers as a distinct issue separate from human trafficking. Sex workers have unique needs that aren’t adequately addressed by federal trafficking policy. Sex workers are hopeful that this will present a new opportunity to work with anti-trafficking efforts to address mutual human rights concerns.

“People in the sex trade have been marginalized and stigmatized when seeking public services, including through law enforcement. This is a big step forward to acknowledging sex workers’ human rights.” Kelli Dorsey, Executive Director of Different Avenues said.

Over the past year sex workers and their families, sex workers’ rights groups, human rights advocates, and academic researchers have engaged in an unprecedented advocacy collaboration. “It has been crucial to bring together the perspectives of a wide range of communities including immigrant and LGBT groups in order to illustrate the depth of human rights violations experienced by sex workers in the United States,” says Penelope Saunders, Coordinator of the Best Practices Policy Project, who worked with the Desiree Alliance to send a shadow report to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). These initial efforts resulted in Recommendation 86 and the formation of a group called Human Rights For All: Concerned Advocates for the Rights of Sex Workers and People in the Sex Trade (HRA).

HRA had support from more than 125 organizations in urging law makers to accept Recommendation #86, part of the report of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which called on the US to look into the special vulnerability of sex workers to violence and human rights abuses. “We were long overdue for the United States to take the needs of sex workers seriously, particularly the need to stem violence and discrimination,” says attorney Sienna Baskin, Co-Director of Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York.

“Human beings cannot be excluded from accesible services because they work in economies outside of society’s accepted norms,” explains Cristine Sardina, co-director, Desiree Alliance.  “The fact that the U.S. has acknowledged the recommendation in full speaks to the current administration’s willingness to recognize the abuses sex workers have been subjected to for too long.  We look forward to working with this administration”.

Sex workers say the issues they face are complex and more work will have to be done to protect against human rights abuses. “Sex workers who are transgender or people of color face the most violence and it’s important that we continue to realize and work towards ending that, this is a good first step.” Said Tara Sawyer, who sits on the Board of Directors of the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA.

On Friday March 18th Sex Workers will stage demonstrations in cities across the country to celebrate adoption of Recommendation #86. “The U.S. has finally acknowledged that sex workers face issues separate from those of human trafficking victms,” said Natalie Brewster Nguyen, an artist and member of the Sex Workers Outreach Project of Tucson who is organizing the demonstrations on the 18th, ”Now we need to demand that steps be taken to address the issues that will actually improve the daily lives of sex workers.”

For more information on this story or the upcoming March 18th demonstrations, please contact Stacey Swimme at Communications@StJamesInfirmary.org or (877) 776-2004 x. 2

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Sex Workers Outreach Project Calls on Vallejo to Embrace Alternative Approaches to Prostitution Concerns

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For Immediate Release

Sex Workers Outreach Project Calls on Vallejo to Embrace Alternative Approaches to Prostitution Concerns

 

Contact: Robyn Few, Co-Founder
Sex Workers Outreach Project USA (SWOPUSA)
415-895-1500
swopusa@yahoo.com

March 3rd 2011 is International Sex Workers’ Rights Day. Around the globe sex workers and allies are celebrating the strength and resilience of their communities. Locally, the Sex Workers’ Outreach Project of the San Francisco Bay Area (SWOPSF) is calling on Vallejo to proceed with compassion and justice while addressing  recent concerns of residents who object to a visible increase of prostitution activities in their neighborhoods.

“Prostitution crackdowns just push sex workers from one city to the next, the problem is not being solved, people are simply being displaced.” Says Robyn Few, co-founder of SWOPUSA. “Community groups would do better to look at economic empowerment approaches rather than shame and hatred.”

We must look at the conditions that put people into street economies in the first place. Economic disadvantage, inadequate employment and educational opportunities lock people into the sex trade, whether by choice or circumstance or a combination of the two. “If you want prostitutes off of your streets, then support viable economic alternatives, not arrest or incarceration which impose further economic and life hardships,” Shannon Williams of SWOPSF said, “Spraying people with hoses is not only inhumane and dehumanizing, it’s ineffective and sends a message that violence toward sex workers is acceptable.”

Women are hit the hardest by economic recession, resulting in more of them entering the sex industry. Many turn to private venues, but online sites such as Craigslist Adult Services have been shut down, forcing people to seek business in open-air black markets. Federal anti-trafficking efforts that have been misdirected into prostitution abatement efforts have worked to censor sex workers, removing safer and more private ways of doing business.

Few says, “It’s time to come up with new solutions. Arrest, incarceration and shame have not succeeded in curbing prostitution in any city anywhere else. Don’t expect these tactics to solve any of Vallejo’s problems either.”

 

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SWOP Las Vegas denounces Senator Reid’s call to eliminate Nevada brothels

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: SWOP LV at info@swop-lv.org

The Sex Workers Outreach Project, Las Vegas denounces Senator Reid’s call to close down the legal prostitution businesses in Nevada. This move would put over a thousand people out of a job in the hopes of possibly attracting new businesses to Nevada who allegedly stay away because of the brothels.

“To begin with, it’s just insanity in this economy to even suggest putting so many people out of work,” said Susan Lopez, founder of SWOP Las Vegas. “Where will these women go for jobs once their livelihoods are destroyed? Does Senator Reid honestly believe that it will be easy for prostitutes to find jobs in those businesses he hopes to attract? Does he really wish to destroy these peoples’ lives in this way? This is just political posturing on the backs of real, working women with real livelihoods at stake. Will Senator Reid promise to hire all the women who will be put out of their jobs at equivalent wage rates?”

“Nevada’s brothels are safer places than the streets for selling sex,” said Dr. Barb Brents, sociology professor at UNLV. “Brothels can actually help fight trafficking. Furthermore, prostitution still exists in the 49 states where prostitution is illegal. Outlawing brothels will send hundreds of women into the already huge black market, where safety, labor rights, and access to services will become issues.”

Tessa Joy, a Nevada brothel worker and voter, says, “Harry Reid needs to listen to the voices of the sex workers who depend on their jobs in the Nevada brothel system to make a living; to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. As somebody who claims to be so concerned about creating more jobs in Nevada, it’s very hypocritical for Harry Reid to try to put more of us out of work for making a legitimate living. This is going to take away the only legal way that sex workers in prostitution can work in the United States and the results will be tragic in terms of both our livelihoods and our safety. I’ve never tried to put Harry Reid out of work, so he has no business trying to put me out of work either.”

Brothels bring in much-needed revenue to the rural counties in which they operate, helping to fund public services such as firefighters, police, schools and more. Lopez says, “Scapegoating the brothels as being responsible for the bad economy is both disingenuous and dangerous. There is no guarantee other businesses will move to Nevada even if the brothels are eliminated, and if these businesses have issues with prostitution, who is to say they won’t have issues with gambling as well? Are the casinos next on Harry’s chopping block?”

Lisa Mellott, co-director of SWOP Las Vegas and social justice activist, says, “It’s ironic that Senator Reid would single out the brothels as keeping businesses away. Las Vegas’s entire economy is based on being an adult playground. Wouldn’t that keep those same businesses away?”

“Contrary to Senator Reid’s sentiment that the brothels are a throw-back to the Wild West, Nevada prostitution policy is more in step with the rest of the world than the rest of the US. Other countries across the globe are increasingly decriminalizing prostitution, as it allows the state to more easily address harms and grant sex workers rights,” says Dr. Brents.

Jenny Heineman, a co-director of SWOP Las Vegas and a Nevada resident who voted for Reid, is outraged at his proposition to “take away [her] sisters’ jobs.” She says, “I am a tax payer, a PhD student at UNLV, a sex worker, and an advocate for human rights. As my representative, I demand that he turns his attention to the real inequities suffered by Nevadans: namely the lack of revenue to support our education system. Stop screwing us for free!”

SWOP Las Vegas will fight for the rights of brothels to operate here in Nevada- the only place in America where women truly have the right to choose sex work.

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Bad Rehab!

In solidarity with our friends at APNSW and Sex Workers around the world we share: “Bad Rehab”

 

Community Forum for Adult Film/Web Porn Performers

St. James Infirmary is hosting a community forum for Adult Film/Web Porn Performers of all genders/orientations to discuss the recent closure of Adult Industry Medical (AIM), re-regulation of CA Occupational Health and Safety laws relating to the Adult Film Industry and next steps to promoting a rights-based approach for Porn Performers. All performers are welcome to join us. Please RSVP to communications@StJamesInfirmary.org if you’re able to join us.

Who: Adult Film Performers

What: Community Forum on Health Regulations

When: Thursday December 16th, 2010 5:30-7:30pm

Where: St. James Infirmary, 1372 Mission St @ 10th, San Francisco

If you can’t join us: Please send an email to Communications@StJamesInfirmary.org or leave a message at (415) 554-9633 to receive notes from the forum.

Background: The California Occupational Health and Safety board have been reviewing studio practices based on complaints made to them, some from performers, some anonymous. The Aids Healthcare Foundation has been lobbying hard with limited input from people who actually work in the industry. In June of 2010 AIM applied for a community clinic license and on December 9^th they received a cease and desist order after that application was denied.

We’re concerned that performers are being under- and mis-represented in these discussions and that it is critical for a diverse range of workers to come together to establish a unified voice to advocate for a rights-based approach to regulation.

Of course, our ultimate goal is for all performers to be as healthy and prosperous as possible! Please join us and share how you think these issues can best be approached. Please spread this message far and wide.

Update from Sex Worker advocates at UN in Geneva this week

Tomorrow, November 5, 2010, the United States will be reviewed as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. The session can be viewed online as a webcast.

The UPR is a relatively new way to address human rights in UN member nations. During the review session, other countries will ask questions about the overall human rights record in the U.S. and propose recommendations that the government will need to respond to over the next three months. This review is a historic occasion because the U.S. has agreed to submit itself to assessment by other countries in the UN setting – something this country rarely does.

In preparation for the upcoming review, advocates for the rights of sex workers consulted with networks and organizations working with sex workers, people in the sex trade and people who are affected by anti-prostitution policies in the United States more generally. Drawing on these perspectives, the Best Practices Policy Project, in collaboration with Desiree Alliance and the Sexual Rights Initiative, drafted a comprehensive national statement http://www.bestpracticespolicy.org/downloads/FinalUPRBPPP_Formatted.pdf that describes the ways in which stigmatization and criminalization of sex workers in the United States result in widespread violations of civil and human rights. These abuses are rampant in working class, majority African-American and Latino, and urban communities. Arrests for sex work can lead to a cycle of continued exclusion from housing, marginalization from formal employment, and re-imprisonment. Furthermore, law enforcement officers frequently commit physical and sexual violence against sex workers, while simultaneously failing to recognize that sex workers can be victims of crime, denying justice or support to sex workers who seek their help.

Two representatives from the Best Practices Policy Project are currently in Geneva presenting summary recommendations to diplomatic delegations and encouraging countries to ask the United States questions about its human rights record with respect to sex workers and other communities affected by the policing of sexual exchange. While few countries are prepared to be outspoken in defense of sex worker rights, the activists on the ground report some encouraging conversations with country delegations, and remain hopeful that this will be the first time sex worker concerns are raised within the UPR milieu.

Summary recommendations being shared with country delegates are that the United States should:

Implement comprehensive criminal justice reform that includes measures to stop human rights abuses committed in the name of anti-sex trade laws. This would include repealing laws, including laws against prostitution-related offenses, and eliminate policies, such as “prostitution free zones”, that erode legal protections barring law enforcement from detaining individuals on the basis of how they are perceived or the way they are dressed (ie racial and gender profiling). The application of felony-level charges against sex workers and people living with HIV should be halted as should sex offender registration requirements of those arrested for engaging in prostitution. Criminal justice reform must also address the frequency of abuse of sex workers, or those perceived as such, by law enforcement and other state actors. Similarly, reform must ensure that people involved in the sex trade or profiled as such receive appropriate responses from authorities when they are targeted for violence and other crimes.

Ensure health care access for those engaged, or perceived to be engaged, in sex work and the sex trade. In many jurisdictions in the United States condoms are used as evidence of criminal activity in the enforcement of anti-prostitution laws. Individuals involved in street economies face tremendous stigmatization in health care settings. Sex workers urgently need access to health care services including harm reduction oriented programs, which often are prohibited from receiving federal funding.

Reorient national anti-trafficking policy to a rights-based framework and repeal the US governments “anti-prostitution pledge” requirement on foreign aid. Migrants involved in the sex trade who experience exploitation require services and legal support, but the response to human trafficking in the U.S. currently focuses on law enforcement approaches that alienate and traumatize victims. U.S. anti-trafficking policies and practices undermine the health and rights of sex workers domestically and internationally, including requiring recipients of HIV and anti-trafficking funding to adopt a stance condemning sex work. These requirements should be repealed.

 

 

Sex Workers Stop Traffick

Media Statement
For Immediate Release
####

Contact:
Sex Workers Outreach Project
http://www.SWOPUSA.org
877-776-2004 x 2
info@swopusa.org

Sex Workers Stop Traffick

Sex Workers Outreach Project USA, a social justice and anti-violence project by and for sex workers, decries trafficking and demands protections for workers.
In the debate regarding the coercive shutdown of the Craigslist adult services sections the voices of sex workers have been conspicuously overlooked. Trafficking is not sex work. Real traffickers and child abusers must be stopped. Sex workers are in a unique position to help end trafficking, if our perspectives are taken into account.

Based on our extensive knowledge and experience with the sex industry, SWOP calls on elected officials and members of law enforcement to pursue a sane and effective approach to ending trafficking.

The conflation of consensual sex work with rape is a disservice to both victims of trafficking and to sex workers. Persecuting consenting adults for exchanging sex for money is a waste of precious resources that could better be used providing services and legal protections for minors and others who have been abused.

Trafficking and child sexual abuse are not sex work. Real traffickers must be stopped. Sex workers need health and labor protections to keep them safe while working and the ability to report crimes to the police if they are violated.

Sex workers and our clients are part of the solution- not the problem- to identify and root out real abuses. Sex workers and our clients are best situated to recognize suspicious or illegitimate activity on the Internet. The criminal status of some sex work is a barrier to helping law enforcement tap into this vital resource.

Since sex workers are not afforded equal legal protection from sexual assault and theft, we self-police by monitoring and identifying predators, work cooperatively to create safe workspaces and advise each other in safety methods that are critical to survival. Nobody is better situated to speak to the real problems and respective solutions for this community than sex workers.

SWOP demands that the voices of sex workers be included in all discussions of issues related to the commercial sex industry, particularly when the venues in which we communicate and keep each other safe are concerned. Purported rights groups, such as Change.org, have ignored sex worker voices while wrongfully vilifying Craigslist as a cause of- rather than an ally in stopping- trafficking. The continued silencing of sex workers, the trend to shut down the spaces where we communicate and the disregard of our expert knowledge demonstrate clearly that these efforts are more about stomping out sex for sale in general than in protecting those who are actually abused.

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Photo by Xtalk in April 2009 in cooperation with ECP and Sex worker Open University- London

URGENT: ‘No Condoms as Evidence’ Advocacy Needed Now

From The Sex Workers Project in New York State:

Dear Supporters of the ‘No Condoms as Evidence’ Bill,

Today we learned that the ‘No Condoms as Evidence’ Bill is on the Senate Codes Committee agenda for next Tuesday. The bill has only made it this far thanks to all of your actions, and we need to keep up the momentum. Please make a call if you can!

Remember:
• It is best to call the Senator from the district where you live or work, and mention that you are a constituent. You can find out who your State Senator is here: prototype.nytimes.com/represent.
• It is also helpful if larger, more “mainstream” organizations target the Republicans and moderate Democrat with a clear public health message, even if you are not a constituent.
• If you’re calling a bill sponsor or supporter, please thank them for supporting the bill and let them know why this matters to your organization/community.

I have attached talking points about the bill. They are drafted to show this a common sense public health measure that everyone can support. If you are able to make a call, please let us know!

Republicans:
Senator DeFrancisco (518) 455-3511
Senator Golden (518) 455-2730
Senator Volker 518.455.3471
Senator Flanagan 518-455-2071
Senator Bonacic (518) 455-3181
Senator Lanza (518) 455-3215
Senator Saland 518-455-2411

Moderate Democrat:
Senator Klein 518-455-3595/ (800) 718-2039

Democrats:
Senator Huntley (518) 455-3531
Senator Sampson (518) 455-2788
Senator Squadron 518-455-2625

Bill Sponsors and Supporters:
Senator Duane-Main Sponsor (518) 455-2451
Senator Breslin (518) 455-2225
Senator Perkins 518-455-2441
Senator Parker (518) 455-2580

Please forward to trusted allies, and thanks again for all your help!

Sincerely,

Sienna Baskin, Esq.
Staff Attorney
Sex Workers Project
Urban Justice Center
p/646-602-5695
http://www.sexworkersproject.org

Talking Points: ‘No Condoms as Evidence’ Bill!
Contacting Senate Codes Committee

1. Find your State Senator. Go to http://prototype.nytimes.com/represent.

2. Call their Albany office. Ask to speak with someone about Bill S1289, concerning use of condoms as evidence.

3. Tell the staff-member your name, what organization you represent, and if you live or work in the district.

4. If your Senator is a sponsor or supporter of Bill S1289, thank them for their support and let them know why this matters to you, your organization or community.

5. If your Senator is NOT a sponsor or supporter of the bill, tell the staff-member you are calling to ask the Senator to vote YES on Bill S1289 in the Codes Committee.

TALKING POINTS
o If the staff-member is completely unaware of the bill, explain that the bill will prevent the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution in criminal and civil court.
o The bill promotes public health by making sure everyone can carry condoms without worrying it could lead to arrest or conviction.
o Condoms are regularly confiscated by police, leading to higher risk for pregnancy, HIV, and STD’s among vulnerable populations. Sex workers fear arrest if they carry over a certain number of condoms.
o This impacts public health initiatives promoting condom use and distributing condoms to at-risk populations.
o This bill has a broad list of supporters, including the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Anti-Violence Project, NYCLU, the LGBT Center, and many other harm reduction and public health organizations.
d. Tell your representative why this matters to you or your organization/community.
e. End by asking the Senator to vote YES on Bill S1289 in the Codes Committee.

Phoenix Woman Obviously Linked Falsely to “Desert Divas” Prostitution Ring Sues Maricopa County Attorney’s Office

Victoria Aguayo was arrested, indicted, and nearly prosecuted for her “role” in the infamous “Desert Divas” prostitution ring, according to a lawsuit she’s filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Problem is: Aguayo was not a “desert diva,” and the evidence suggesting she was is laughable.

On one of the “Desert Divas'” many Web sites, the agency advertised an “escort” named “Tia.” The site described Tia as “thin, white, and blonde,” with a tattoo on her stomach that is clearly visible in the topless photo of the woman that Aguayo’s lawyer kindly sent New Times.

Phoenix Police Detective Christie Hein identified Aguayo as Tia based on the photo on the site when she arrested her on August 28, 2008, the lawsuit claims.

Read full article at Phoenix New Times

Tell the Department of Health and Human Services How the Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Oath Harms Sex Workers

We need your help by Tuesday, December 22

Note: This is very time sensitive! Please take the simple action of reading and signing a letter (can be done electronically by individuals and organizations, within the US and internationally) by Tuesday, December 22nd.

As many of you know, the anti-prostitution loyalty oath (APLO) is a regulation that has been part of the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003 (aka “Leadership Act”) which requires non-governmental organizations and health service-providers receiving that receive funding through the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to sign an oath opposing prostitution and sex-trafficking. “Opposing prostitution” manifests in a peculiar way that essentially blocks life-saving services that sex workers once received through US funded organizations around the world.

The APLO is being reviewed by the Department of Health and Human Services, and we have the opportunity to sign on to a really great letter and submit comments on the harm that the APLO does. The letter, which you can read here, was drafted based on comments from the Brennan Law Center and the Open Society Institute, as well as several other groups that support and advocate for the human rights of sex workers.

You can sign on as individuals through the Change.org petition I created here.

The turn around on this is tight – if you want to sign on to the letter, send your name and organizational affiliation (if any) by TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22. The comments will then go to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at the Office of Global Affairs.

Thank you!

-Dacia

Arrest the Violence: Human Rights Violations Against Sex Workers in 11 Countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia

From Aliya Rakhmetova of SWAN.

Dear all:

To mark December 17, the International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers, the Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network (SWAN) of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia is releasing its new report, Arrest the Violence: Human Rights Violations Against Sex Workers in 11 Countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The report is based on interviews with more than 200 male, female and transgender sex workers between 2007 and 2009 and chillingly documents widespread violence and discrimination against them, particularly by state actors.

According to Rebecca Schleifer of Human Rights Watch’s Health and Human Rights Division:
Arrest the Violence is the first piece of research done under the leadership of sex workers to document human rights violations they face across Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Sex workers throughout the region report that they face verbal and physical abuse, including beatings, kidnapping, and sexual violence, by police and private citizens. Sex workers also report that police confiscated condoms as “evidence” of sex work, and subjected them to mandatory HIV testing.
These are not isolated incidents. The physical, sexual, and verbal violations of sex workers’ rights are part of a pattern of abuse by police and in the community that is documented throughout the region.
It is my sincere hope that this report will serve as a catalyst to awaken the broader human rights community to the importance of documenting and denouncing human rights abuses against sex workers, and working with sex workers to end these abuses.

To access the report, please follow the links below.

Questions or comments may be directed to SWAN@TASZ.HU.

Sincerely,
Aliya Rakhmetova
Coordinator Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network (SWAN)

Corrections Employees Fired Over Sex Worker Death in Perryville Prison, AZ

NY Daily News

PHOENIX — Sixteen Arizona corrections employees have been fired, suspended or otherwise disciplined for their roles in the death of an inmate left in an outdoor holding cell for four hours in triple-digit heat and for a “wait-them-out” practice at the prison where she died.

Full Article

A little look at some numbers in San Francisco

I haven’t seen any figures about the actual cost of the First Offender’s Prostitution Program, but from the Examiner Article I think we can infer that the expense is approximately:

100 (Street sting operations)
+ 4 (Internet based operations)
=104 x 6.6 (# of arrests per operation)
= 686.4 (participants annually)

686 x $1,908 (actual cost per participant)
=1,309,651.20 Total annual cost of program (approx)

According to the SF State website, a semester of tuition is $4,740. So to earn a degree at SF State (8 semesters, full time) it costs about $37,920

So for what the City of San Francisco spends in a single year on the FOPP, which has had no benefits to the City whatsoever, we could put 34 people through four years of full-time college, they could earn a degree and get stable work, stable housing and actually pay into the City’s tax system rather than live off of it.

When people go to jail they get sick, or their existing illnesses are exacerbated. They’re more likely to have unstable housing and employment. These problems put a strain on the City’s budget while residents are not getting relief from problems wrongly associated with prostitution such as theft and drug dealing. It’s clear that projects such as the FOPP are cash cows for the District Attoney’s Office and Police Departments while the tax payers get no return on their investment.

The sad thing is that SAGE actually provides some important resources and programs for people who are specifically in need of the services offered. Their resources are getting sucked up by this program because the PD and DA want to ensure that they get their cut of the money paid in by tax payers. Eliminating the criminal enforcement of prostitution laws and focusing on this as a social issue with community-based solutions will produce better results, even if it won’t satisfy the moralists who seem more interested in making sure that prostitutes are punished for their sins than in actually decreasing violence and corruption within this system.

Let’s hope this audit will open the eyes of San Francisco voters.

RI cops: Case similar to Boston Craigslist slaying

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — An attempted robbery of a woman at a suburban Providence hotel may be linked to the slaying at an upscale Boston hotel of a woman who advertised massage services on Craigslist, police said Friday.

A 26-year-old woman who also advertised massage services on Craigslist was bound with cord and held at gunpoint at the Holiday Inn Express at about 11:15 p.m. Thursday, Warwick Police Chief Stephen McCartney said. The assailant fled when the victim’s husband returned to the room.

The husband briefly chased the assailant out of the room, but then returned to check on his wife, McCartney said. The woman told police she worked at The Cadillac Lounge, a Providence strip club.

“She may have been involved in some sort of a sex-for-money transaction at the point in time when she had the confrontation with this alleged assailant,” McCartney told WPRO-AM radio.

Associated Press

Some Links On Boston Murder

Pattern Emerges in Hotel Attacks

And as authorities launched a hunt for the man – also captured on surveillance cameras last week at the Westin Copley Hotel, where a 29-year-old Las Vegas woman was bound and robbed at gunpoint – the killing this week opened a window on a vast and elusive underworld of prostitutes who advertise online and do business at high-end hotels.

“What we believe is that there are a series of independent operations that are occurring, and it’s very difficult for the hotels to police them because they don’t know who it is that’s coming in to use their rooms,” said Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis. “We’ve been monitoring it very closely, but it’s very difficult to completely eliminate it.”

Tuesday’s victim, a slight 26-year-old who one witness initially believed was a child, had advertised massage services on Craigslist, the online classified service. A massage table was found in her room at the Marriott Copley.

Friends struck by tragic hotel murder of Julissa Brisman

Pines said Julissa was working as a masseuse to make money but rejected speculation she was selling sex.

“I can tell you right now it was massage and not prostitution,” Pines said. “I know what she was doing with that. She wasn’t into anything with sex.”

Zooming in on the .com killer

Boston homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help in tracking down the craigslist.com killer who, police say, prowls for his victims on the eyes wide shut online classified site. The Marriott masseuse advertised her services on the site and so did the Westin victim. Women linked to Hub escort services are posting in fear today, the Herald’s Jessica Van Sack reports.

BPD identify victim; Search continues for “Craigslist Killer”

Boston (AP/WBZ Newsroom) — Boston Police have identified the woman killed at the Copley Marriott Hotel Tuesday.

26-year old Julissa Brisman of New York City had been shot several times.

Police are still looking for the suspect who they believe may be the same person wanted for a robbery at the Westin Hotel on April 10th. Police think both incidents are related because of postings on Craigslist.org.

Sex 2.0 May 9th, 2009 Washington DC

Bound Not Gagged is a proud Sponsor of Sex 2.0 http://www.sex20con.com

The 2nd Annual Sex 2.0 un-conference is just a few weeks away! Early-bird registration closes on April 16th. This year is the second year that Bound, Not Gagged is participating as a Community Sponsor. New social media has been a critical tool for sex workers around the globe in recent years. Not only has the internet changed the way that many sex workers do business, it has enhanced our abilities to tell our stories, to challenge misperceptions and to be visible and vocal on political issues that affect us.

The most exciting thing about Sex 2.0 is that everybody there already gets it. There is visible impact made by sex workers who have blogs, podcasts, FaceBook and Twitter accounts. At Sex 2.0 we don’t have to get wrapped up in Feminism 101 to explain why being a stripper doesn’t compromise our feminist sensibilities, or why some people prefer to work at an agency rather than independently. Nobody at this conference expects sex workers to give an explanation or any sort of justification for who we are or why we do what we do. They’ve been paying attention, linking to us, telling other people that they have to listen to us not just talk about us. They already know all of that, so this is about advancing the discussions, not repeating them. The mutual spirit of the conference is about supporting each other to do whatever we do better, safer and with confidence.

Throughout the planning for Sex 2.0, there’s been some discussion of it feeling like we are “preaching to the choir” by encouraging participation from those who are actually active in the intersections of social media and sexuality. Amber Rhea, Sex 2.0 founder has pointed out that, yes, we are inviting the choir and encouraging an intimate feel of this conference. This is choir rehearsal, not a recital. While the screening process is not as strong as you may expect at a Desiree Alliance conference, it’s still a pretty limited access space. Some presentations are formal, some are casual. Some are open to everybody, some are selective.

At its core, Sex 2.0 is also about freedom of expression and free speech, as anything about social media and networking ultimately is. Something critical for allies of sex workers to understand is that efforts to silence us through our advertisements in the back of publications or increased barriers in online posting are truly acts of censorship. Folks attending the Sex 2.0 conference seem to have a stronger understanding of how illegitimate suppression of the free speech rights of sex workers ultimately dominoes into increased suppression of the rights of all.

Audacia Ray and I are co-hosting a discussion about online collaborations for messaging during the Obama Administration. I’m pasting the description below. In addition to Sex 2.0, I hope many of you will be able to join us in DC for our first Bound, Not Gagged pre-conference happy hour!

Thanks,
Stacey

Bound, Not Gagged Happy Hour
Thursday May 7th, 2009

Sex 2.0
Saturday May 9th, 2009

Sex Work 2.0 in the time of Obama
Now that the United States has a new administration, sex workers and their allies are facing different challenges. In this session we ask (and attempt to answer): what should sex worker activists and allies be working toward with the new administration, and how can the average internet sex geek help? This discussion will be a strategy discussion about the messaging we feel the Obama Administration is most receptive to, the various points of entry within the Obama Admin (such as the new White House Council on Women and Girls, etc) and most specifically, map out a viral messaging campaign proposal to bring to the community. This session will plant a seed to advance online and new media collaboration, split up some of the work and identify tasks that can be delegated to various groups/activists who want to be active but aren’t sure what steps to take.
Co-presented by Stacey Swimme (Bound Not Gagged) and Audacia Ray (Sex Work Awareness)

Bound, Not Gagged Happy Hour May 7th, 2009!

The Desiree Alliance is pleased to invite you to attend a happy hour to support our web blog project, BoundNotGagged.com

BoundnotGagged.com is a place for sex workers to respond to the way that we’re portrayed in the media and the way that sexist laws are used to undermine our rights. BoundnotGagged.com is our way of responding to the injustice and hypocrisy that keeps sex workers’ voices muted and faces hidden. Sex workers may be forced into hiding, but we refuse to be silent.

The Desiree Alliance is committed to creating space and campaigns that address self-identified needs of sex workers. We are proud to sponsor this project to provide a platform where sex workers can speak for ourselves.

Please join us in Washington DC for our first ever meet-up with some of the blog contributors and other friends and allies for sex workers rights.

Happy Hour
May 7th, 2009
5-7pm

Madam’s Organ
Soul Food Restaurant & Blues Bar
2461 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

This happy hour is a pre-event hosted in conjunction with Sex 2.0, focusing on the intersection of social media, feminism, and sexuality. BoundNotgagged.com is a proud sponsor of the second annual Sex 2.0 “un”-conference on May 9th, 2009 in Washington DC.

Third-Gendering

Posted on Behalf of Robin from SWOP-NYC

To my fellow cis sex workers rights activists:

Men, women, and transgendered people.  Male, female, and trans.  I’m sure most of you recognize these phrases as they are used widely across the sex workers rights movement.  I was at the December 17th march in D.C., and I heard them used there.  I’ve also seen them in press releases and blogs, and even dear friends of mine have used them.  This is a call for it to stop, or at least an attempt at such a call.  Many people call this sort of thing “third-gendering”; it implies that trans women and trans men are not “real” women and men, but are instead a third gender.  People who identify as genderqueer or outside the gender binary certainly do exist, and those identifications should be respected too, but there are also many, many trans men and trans women who identify as men and women, full stop.  To symbolically shunt all of them off to a third gender can come across as marginalizing, and tokenizing, and really faux-inclusive at best.  I understand that many people in this movement do want to be truly respectful in their language and their work of everyone within our community, and so I am writing this to encourage people to move more fully in that direction.

What should you say if you wish to explicitly include trans people in your statements?  It is true that in our society, many people will assume that the phrase “men and women” means “cis men and cis women” unless trans people are explicitly included.  That is unfortunate, but there are ways to work around it without third-gendering people who do not identify as a third gender.  Let’s say you are talking about women, and want to be absolutely clear that you are including trans women in your statement.  You can say, “women, cis and trans.” Or “cis women and trans women.”  Or, “women, including trans women.”  Or even “female-identified people.”  What you should not say, is “women and trans” or “women and trans women,” as though trans women are never included in the category “women.”  Because “women” should always include women who happen to be trans.

Language is fundamental to giving trans people the same respect that cis people take for granted.  It signals how the speaker sees trans people, and can shape the views of both speaker and audience.  The sex workers rights movement needs to respect people’s gender identities–whether cis or trans–and this means that everyone who identifies as a woman is a woman, and everyone who identifies as a man is a man.

I write as a trans ally whose long-term trans partner is bothered by this language, and as someone with trans loved ones and friends for whom I care very much.

Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this message.

Sheriff sues Craigslist as ‘largest source’ of prostitution

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced today that his office has sued Craigslist and has asked a federal judge to ban the Internet company from posting its “erotic services” section, which the sheriff said is a clearing house for prostitution.

Dart also asked the judge to force the online classifieds company to reimburse the sheriff’s department for the approximately $100,000 it has spent pursuing its Craigslist investigation over the past year.

Full story

Early response from SWOP Chicago:

SWOP-Chicago does not condone the actions of the Cook County sheriff towards Craigslist. These actions are meant to persecute adults engaging in consensual sexual acts for money and goods of value. Creating criminal records for sex workers bars them from other forms of employment outside of sex work and may limit their ability to seek housing and other services.

This law suit is also a tremendous waste of tax payer resources during a time of severe economic turmoil in the state of Illinois and the country as a whole. The state of Illinois is currently facing a $9 billion dollar (and growing) deficit. Based on an analysis by Julie Pearl in 1987 and adjusted for inflation, in 2007 alone, the state spent over $14.6 million dollars on prostitution arrests. These figures do not take into account the cost of supporting jailed sex workers and the cost to human services agencies who serve these populations and the children of these individuals.

The resources involved in this law suit and in prostitution stings are much better used elsewhere. In 2007, Chicago reported 443 known murders, yet there were only 372 arrests state-wide. The money and resources would be better spent providing health and human services to sex workers and other citizens of the state of Illinois who should receive services, rather than be prosecuted for lack of other viable options.

Suing Craigslist to end the marketing of erotic services will not address the issues. If recent FBI stings are any indication, very few, if any, children and minors involved in forcible, coerced, or trafficked prostitution are found by Craigslist targeting and crack downs. Ending Craigslist’s erotic services section will do nothing to stop the exploitation or forced, coerced, or trafficked people, and will divert valuable time and money away from the effort.

The Cook County sheriff is doing no one a service, not the tax payers, not the sex workers targeted. We at SWOP-Chicago strongly urge residents of Illinois to protest this egregious waste of their taxes and public resources and to consider what is truly best for the health and welfare of individuals who advertise erotic services on Craigslist.

SWOP Chicago is encouraging supporters to contact the Sheriff’s office:

Cook County Sheriff’s Office
50 W. Washington
Chicago, Illinois 60602
(312) 603-6444
sheriff@cookcountysheriff.org

Resources:

[1] http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table_69.html

[2] http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table_08_il.html

Original Article- Sheriff Tom Dart Sues Craigslist

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says he’s busted enough prostitutes who were pimped out on Craigslist to know the popular on-line classified site is the country’s largest whorehouse.