Medical Survey of Human Trafficking Victims

I’ve been asked to pass this along. The survey looks at medical care recieved by victims of human trafficking in the US during the time they were trafficked. It recognizes both sex and labor trafficking. The survey is available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.

The intro letter:

Hello,

I am an emergency medicine physician (currently at Columbia-NY Presbyterian, but still affiliated with Mount Sinai Medical Center) in NYC, conducting an anonymous survey of human trafficking survivors. The survey was designed with Dr. Susie Baldwin and the aim is learn more about survivors’ experiences with healthcare providers, while they were being trafficked, so that we can educate providers about this patient population in an evidence-based fashion. Participating survivors, so far, are recruited via community based and not-for-profit organizations, and receive a $10 gift card upon completion of the survey.

We hope your organization would like to participate; please reply if you’d like more information on how your organization can get involved!

Thank you for your consideration,

Makini Chisolm-Straker, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
Columbia – NY Presbyterian Hospital
and
Mount Sinai School of Medicine

If you want to discuss the survey’s language or focus, please talk to Makini Chisolm-Straker.

The survey’s website, HumanTraffickingED and the survey page.

The point is for victims of trafficking to give input. If you know victims of trafficking, pass this along to them. Pass this along to any org you know who works with trafficking victims.

Prop 35 — California

Posted on behalf of Maxine Doogan:
Our group’s ballot argument was picked to represent the no on California
Proposition 35. It will be printed in the voter information guide.
If prop 35 passes in our state, you can bet this bait and switch ballot
measure brought to us by the same old extremist who’s real goal is to
exterminate the sex industry at any cost.

Prop 35 uses the same old junk science to target our intimate, domestic
and economic relationship to now be called traffickers and have to
register as sex offenders with 70% of the fines going to the anti
prostitution non profits who now call themselves trafficked victims. The
other 30% goes to the cops. These failed policies of ballot box budgeting
has bankrupted our state.

Apparently, the California State Attorney Generals office has a report on
human trafficking that is being compiled via working groups with 100
people from law enforcement, state social service providers and non
profits. http://oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking

So why didn’t the proponents wait for the report before they paid 1.6
million dollars to bring this overreaching salacious ballot measure
before the voters?

Lots of these kinds of questions have to asked and answered in the public
sphere.

Your help is needed now! Inform your selves and speak out about the many
way prop 35 will further criminalize our industry, target the innocent and
completely erode any opportunities to help victims because it relies on
their failed practice of alienating the community most effected by their
abusive practices.
Stop prop 35

Please Help With My Sex Worker Music DREAMS this summer!!

Are you going to be in Washington DC for the International AIDS conference in July?? I am! Check out this video and help me make my big thinking no limit WHORE REVOLUTIONARY dreams this summer. I have 24 days to raise money for my goal. Every element is about spreading sex worker activism through MUSIC. I am getting ready for a big show in Santa Monica with Madison Young and Nina Hartley on July 20th. Even after I have done activism in LA for the last 6 years, I still feel like the city barely knows what sex worker rights culture (and it is a culture everywhere else but here) IS. Help me change that! If you believe that that is worth $7 PLEASE DONATE! Click on the link below to get to the indiegogo campaign. Every donation HELPS! Thank you so much!

Friday the Thirteenth

A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.  –  P.J. O’Rourke

Today is the third Friday the Thirteenth since I’ve been writing The Honest Courtesan, and there will be three such days this year (today, April 13^th and July 13^th); as it so happens, three is the maximum number of such days in any given year, though each year has at least one.  In my very first column on the subject (Friday, August 13^th, 2010) I explained how the superstition arose and why even superstitious whores should consider it lucky for us rather than unlucky:

Given the origin of beliefs about Friday the 13^th…even the superstitious whore has nothing to worry about…since Friday is the day sacred to our patron goddess, and 13 the most feminine of numbers, Friday the 13^th should be good luck for whores even if it really were bad luck for Christian men.  Now, I’m not really superstitious; I don’t believe that a day can bring either good luck or bad.  But considering that the reasons for fear of this day are so closely related to the reasons our profession is maligned and suppressed, perhaps whores and those who support our rights should make every Friday the Thirteenth a day to speak out in favor of full decriminalization and an end to the institutionalized persecution of prostitutes.

Nine months later (on Friday, May 13^th, 2011) I explained why it’s especially important for my readers who aren’t sex workers to speak out:

A number of advocates are working to respond to the lies, propaganda and misinformation wherever we find them, but…we’re often accused of distorting facts to make ourselves look good, and no matter how assiduously we work to present a balanced view this is a natural and credible accusation against anyone who advocates for some issue which directly concerns her.  That’s why allies are so important; it’s much harder for the prohibitionists to shout down people who don’t have a dog in the fight, but merely support prostitutes’ rights on moral grounds.  Every Friday the Thirteenth I will ask my readers, especially those of you who aren’t yourselves sex workers, to speak up for us in some way; talk about the issue with someone who will listen, make a post on a discussion board, comment on a news story which spreads disinformation, or even just post a link to this column.  If you aren’t confident in your ability to debate, even a simple phrase like “I think adult women should have the right to decide why and with whom they want to have sex” or “everyone has the right to equal protection under the law” might have a tiny but important impact on those who overhear.  Because in the final analysis, they’re the ones we have to convince; rational people already support some type of prostitution-law reform and fanatics cannot be convinced by argument because their minds are already made up, but the silent majority – the fence-sitters and swing-voters, the ones who answer “unsure” or “no comment” on polls – are the ones who can and must be made to understand that we are not intrinsically different from other women and deserve the same freedoms and protections that non-harlots take for granted.

Last time around I also offered a synopsis of prohibitionist victories since the last such day, but since I already offered a similar list just two weeks ago I think that would be inexcusably repetitious.  And though there are several other days dedicated to fighting for sex worker rights (namely International Sex Workers’ Rights Day on March 3^rd,  International Whores’ Day on June 2^nd and International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers on December 17^th), human rights are not something to be discussed only once a year; even six occasions to speak out on the subject are not enough.  For me and many others, every day is Friday the Thirteenth, and so it must remain until people wake up and understand that no collective, “authority” or government has the right to tell women what we can and cannot do with our own bodies.

(Cross-posted from The Honest Courtesan)

Decriminalization Petition

I’m not sure how much good online petitions do, but here’s one to the president for the decriminalization of prostitution.  Since that issue is handled state by state I don’t think the president can really do anything, but it doesn’t hurt to let him know that there are people who support the idea.

Human Trafficking Program in Chicago

One of my regular readers in the Chicago area forwarded this to me.  SWOP Chicago is involved, and some points we often make are on the agenda so those who will be in Chicago in two weeks may be interested.

THURSDAY April 14
6:30-8:30pm
Human Trafficking: Strategies and Solutions
*Featuring our own Serpent Libertine!

http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/_programsevents/_upcomingevents/_2011/_human%20Trafficking/apr14.html

Human trafficking, for sex, for other forms of labor, or any purpose of involuntary servitude, is an exploitative practice that is prevalent in countries all around the globe, including the United States.

Activists and scholars fervently debate the definition of trafficking, moral distinctions that are often made between labor and sex work, various understandings of victimhood, and questions about the intent and success rate of “rescue operations.” In addition, there are complexities of migration to consider and debates about the relationship between forced labor and the global economy.

Join us for an evening of discussion and education. Scholars and activists working to end trafficking will discuss their strategies and positions. Hull-House history and Jane Addams’ relationship with the movement to end “white slavery” will be highlighted.

Panelists represent the following organizations:
Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation
The International Organization for Adolescents
National Immigrant Justice Center at the Heartland Alliance
Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago

Call for Presenters: Workshops at the San Francisco Sex Workers Festival

Call for Presenters: Workshops at the San Francisco Sex Workers Festival

The San Francisco Sex Workers Festival was established in 1998 to provide a forum for the accomplishments of sex worker film and video makers and to screen works about sex workers and the sex industries from around the world. The Sex Worker Festival provides an opportunity to recognize and honor prostitutes, dancers, porn performers and other sex workers, who have historically been a dynamic part of arts communities.

This year, the San Francisco Sex Workers Festival will include a day of workshops, on Friday, May 27th, sponsored by SWAAY (Sex Work Activists, Allies, and You). The general theme will be sex workers learning from each other on topics focused on their personal lives, self-care, skills that apply to all areas of sex work, and activism at the individual level.

Since most of the festival centers on the arts, we are prioritizing non-art submissions for these workshops. The length of this day’s event, as well as the session length, are yet to be determined, and will be finalized after submissions are selected. However, session lengths will likely be either 60 or 45 minutes, depending on the number of accepted proposals, so please keep that limit in mind with the scope of your session idea.

This event takes place in San Francisco, and you must have your own means to travel to the event, as there is not a budget to pay for speakers. However, if you are coming from outside the area, you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck with being able to attend the week- long festival and network with other sex workers.

Your proposal should include:
* A title.
* Your name, affiliation, and a little bit about your background or interest in sex work.
* The style of your proposed session: lecture, group discussion, panel, etc.
* Have you presented on this topic previously? When and where?
* A more detailed abstract of what you would like to cover, less than 500 words.

The deadline for these proposals is April 1st, 2011. You will be notified whether or not your proposal was accepted by April 5th, 2011. There will also be time for short, 5-10 minute lightning talks during the lunch hour. (Lightning talks are brief lecture-format presentations for people who don’t need a full session to cover their material, but would like to quickly get it out there to the audience.) These slots are on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you know you want to do a lightning talk and have a topic in mind, please submit a proposal so we can try to guarantee you a spot. It may also be possible to sign up for a lightning talk shortly before the event or on the spot.

Send your proposals to furrygirl (at) furrygirl.com with the subject line “Workshop proposal for the Sex Workers Festival”

Jill Brenneman Interviewed by Maggie McNeill

Regular readers of Bound, Not Gagged need no introduction to Jill Brenneman, a regular contributor to this blog with a unique perspective on sex worker rights.  You see, Jill is what many prohibitionists like to claim we all are:  a woman who was forced into prostitution in her teens by a brutal pimp.  But though she participated in the prohibitionist movement herself for several years (and really, who could blame her?) she was open-minded enough to see the truth and reason in the arguments for decriminalization and intellectually honest enough to be repulsed by the lies and misrepresentation rampant among the prohibitionists.  She thus became an outspoken advocate for sex worker rights, and the one person whose opinion on the “sex trafficking” issue I most respect.

After Jill commented extensively on my February 7^th column Amanda Brooks suggested I interview her, and I thought that was a fantastic idea so I contacted Jill and she generously agreed.  The interview was conducted mostly via email on February 11^th-13^th and completed by telephone on the 13^th, and though Jill suggested I edit it down I have done this as little as possible because I wanted her to be free to tell her story in her own words.  Jill has read over the completed interview twice and has approved it for presentation in The Honest Courtesan in four parts, from February 21^st to February 24^th.  I feel I must warn you that it is not light reading; the first two parts are the most graphic, disturbing narrative I have yet published or am likely to publish again, and I must caution sensitive readers to consider carefully before proceeding.  The interview is quite long, but Jill and I both feel that it’s important to show the ugly side of the world of prostitution as well as its attractive side; our opponents are liars, but we are not.  If we hide facts which might make us look bad we are no better than the prohibitionists, and the suppressed information would then become a weapon in their hands.  The truth shines light into dark places inhabited by filth who exploit women and Jill understands, as we hope most people will one day, that only decriminalization will grant free whores the power to help the law to uncover these monsters and liberate the girls they victimize.

CALL TO ACTION: UGANDA: Government should break the chains of injustices against sexual minorities and lift decision to ban Sex Workers Human Rights workshop.

20 November 2010

On the 17th of November 2010 the State Minister for Ethics and Integrity Hon Nsaba Buturo called off a conference organized by Akina Mama wa Afrika a Pan African Women’s Non Governmental Organisation based in Kampala, Uganda. He did so by sending a strong worded letter to the Hotel General Manager giving “directives not to host a Prostitutes Conference run by Akina Mama wa Afrika and if they do so, will be abetting illegality in Uganda”. It should be noted that Akina Mama sent a letter to the Minister informing him about the details of the conference. He never responded to it, but instead, sent a threatening letter to the hotel management with the objective to suspend the meeting.

The Minister’s actions are in open contradiction to the constitution of Uganda which guarantees the Freedom of Assembly, Speech and non discrimination said Kasha Jacqueline Director of Freedom and Roam Uganda. Commercial sex workers constitute a minority group that has the right to assemble, share ideas and forge ways on how to protect themselves against violence, abuse and HIV/AIDS as well as empower themselves, as any other Ugandan citizen.

Stopping this conference repeats a known pattern, as in 2008 the same Minister also cancelled a scheduled conference organized by the same group and host organization. While many other groups can meet freely in Uganda without being stopped or harassed, commercial sex workers, who experience high levels of vulnerability, inequality and discrimination can not exercise their right to freedom of assembly and speech” “ This is an injustice, a violation of their political and civil rights as well as of the right to work of these young women” lamented FARUG Communications Manager.

The Ugandan Ministry of Health, as it is well known, has acknowledged that Commercial Sex Workers are among Most At Risk Populations (MARPs) and has included them as main partners of the National HIV/AIDS program, which is guided among others by the UNGASS guidelines. Therefore the actions preformed by Mr Buturo are at odds with the national policy guidelines and will evidently undermine the investments made by the Ministry of Health to prevent and treat groups and persons affected by HIV/AIDS.

It should also be noted that, since 2003, Uganda has received eight grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. As its known worldwide the Global Funds guidelines are also very clear to state that the various populations affected by HIV/AIDS should be part of the efforts to prevent and treat the pandemic and, not as it is happening in Uganda, be systematically brutalized by criminalization. As it has been analyzed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Mr. Anand Grover in his report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2010:

“Criminalization represents a barrier to participation and collective action, through the suppression of activities of civil society and individual advocates. The participation of sex workers in interventions has been shown to have significant benefits. Organizations representing sex workers took an early lead in attempting to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS, through the promotion of condom use, the development of AIDS education programs and inclusive research studies”

Stopping the conference being organized by Akina Mama was Afrika openly contradicts these recommendations and guidelines to fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

We call on the Minister and Government of Uganda to apologies for the trouble his intervention has caused and reverse his absurd decision.

For more details contact:

Solome Nakaweesi on Email: snkimbugwe@gmail.com or call +256772463154
Kasha Jacqueline on Email: kasha@faruganda.org or call +256772463161

To support our call, send letters to:

Min of Ethics and Integrity. Hon Nsaba butruo
Email: info@dei.go.ug
Min of Internal Affairs.Hon Kirunda Kivejinja
Email: info@mia.go.ug or Tel +256 41 231 059
Min of Gender & Equal opportunity Commission. Hon Opio Gabriel
Email: ps@mglsd.go.ug or Tel +256-41-347854 Phone 2: +256-41-347855
Min of Health. Hon Stephen Malinga
Email: info@health.go.ug or Tel: +256 41340884
Uganda Human Rights Commission
Email:uhrc@uhcr.org or Tel +25641 34800718 or +256 41233757

You are not FREE until everyone is FREE
“BREAK THE CHAINS”

Adult Services Gone

Craigslist confirmed in the hearing before Congress that it had removed the Adult Services section permanently from US CL (and assuming Adult Gigs will stay down too). Nothing was said about the international Erotic Services section.

Two articles:
briefly on CNET

slightly longer article

There are other articles but none that I’ve found have looked at the hearings in any sincere or deeply-informed manner.

Also odd: I placed a new ad in a new international city and had to give my email address to create an account. This is not SOP for international ads. Worrisome.

4th Desiree Alliance Conference Working Sex: Power, Practice, and Politics

July 25-30, 2010
Las Vegas, NV

Conference to Unify and Educate in the areas of: Academics & Policy; Activism;
Arts, Entertainment & Media; Business Development; and Harm Reduction &
Outreach!

REGISTER NOW!
Space is limited and WE WANT YOU!
No on-site registration will be permitted so ACT NOW!
Don’t forget to book your hotel…conference participants pay $25!!

Who is Desiree Alliance?
The Desiree Alliance is a diverse, volunteer-based, sex worker-led network of
organizations, communities and individuals across the US working in harm
reduction, direct services, political advocacy and health services for sex
workers.

How do I fit in?
Desiree Alliance is a forum for people who have experience of sex work (this
could mean working as an escort, sex worker, prostitute, street worker, massage
worker, exotic dancer, hustler, living with the support of a sugar-daddy or a
sugar-mama, having sex for housing / food / clothing, drugs, or having sex to
get the money needed to survive) and allies of sex workers. Desiree Alliance is
committed to support for representation and inclusiveness of people from varied
backgrounds including different cultural, racial, economic, age, size/figure,
sexual orientation and gender identities.

How do I sign up?
You are required to send an introductory email to
desiree2010@desireealliance.org with “Introduction for Registration” as the
subject. Please include the following:
• Name, email address and contact phone number (including best time to call);

o You may use any name or pronoun that you identify with when applying for
the conference and while attending.
• How you found out about the conference;
• Why you would like to come;
• If you are a student (you will be required to provide 2009-2010 student ID)

What are the conference fees?
NOW – July 15, 2010
Registration Fee: $250
Student Fee**: $200
Group Fee*: -$10

*Group fee: When 10 or more registrations are made and paid for from the same
source
**Student fee: Must provide proof of enrollment for school (student ID)

Registration fees for the conference include: Attendance at any or all of the
workshops, presentations and sessions; name badge and registration packet;
Welcome Reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres (July 25, 6pm); Continental
breakfast (July 26-29); Lunch (July 27 & 29); Farewell Brunch with keynote
speaker (July 30); and a significant discount on lodging (please note that this
location will not be disclosed until registration is complete);

Registration fees do NOT include (though we wish it could): Transportation;
lodging; lunch on July 26 and 28, dinner; Fundraiser After Party (you will have
the option of purchasing a ticket during registration); dinners, souvenirs,
extra-curricular activities or personal expenses

Who can I contact for…?
Program Advertising / Tabling / Vending (click link for details):
http://www.desireealliance.org/conference/tabling.htm#Program_Advertising

Media: Please direct all inquiries to serpentlibertine@gmail.com

General Inquiries: info@desireealliance.org or 866-525-7967 (Toll Free)

On June 6th in NYC, Sex Workers Take the Stage for the Sex Worker Cabaret

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Doors: 7pm

Performances: 7:30pm to 10pm

Tickets at the door: $10 – $20 sliding scale (Ages: 21+)

Slipper Room, 167 Orchard Street, New York, N

http://www.sexworkercabaret.com

Lorelei Lee

New York, NY – Sex workers take the stage to tell their diverse stories through burlesque, comedy, narrative, contortion, aerial performance, and more. Producers Sarah Jenny and Rachel Grinstein are proud to present an evening cabaret showcasing some of the most vibrant creative talent in the sex worker community. The cabaret is in homage to Annie Oakley’s Sex Workers Art Show (1997-2009) and will take place during LGBTQ Pride month, a time to reflect on the importance of community. Come bare witness as sex workers eloquently, and at times raunchily, speak their truths.

The Sex Worker Cabaret will take place on Sunday, June 6, 2010 at 7pm at the Slipper Room located at 167

Orchard Street, New York, NY. The event will be MCed by Go Magazine‘s 2010 Readers Choice Award “Best MC” winner Sarah Jenny and DJed by DJ Sirlinda (Hey Queen!, Rumours, Gayface)

. Go-go dancers Calvin Clamdigger, Essence Revealed, and Violet Noxx will grace the stage during intermission.

Matthew Lawrence

Performers:

ANNABELLE XAAH

Annabelle Xaah is a Renaissance whore, who likes swinging from ropes, naked, singing and playing the mandolin. Her performance entails rope-swinging burlesque with original badass beats.

DAVID HENRY STERRY

David Henry Ste rry was a boy ho, has written 12 books, and performed with everyone from Michael Caine to Will Smith to Zippy the Chimp. He will perform his minute piece from the New York Times lauded anthology,  Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys: “Can You Imagine, 82-Year-Old Pussy Tastes Great!”

ESSENCE REVEALED

Essence is a dual degreed, former lap dance engineer of the upscale gentlemen’s club scene, from NY to Vegas and sweet, sticky places in between. Essence innovates a dance form she calls “stripperlesque” in an excerpt from the finale of her solo show, Essence Revealed.”

GERRY VISCO

Gerry Visco is an illegally blonde writer, performer, photographer, and fashionista, who regularly covers events and the arts for New York Press.

INBRED HYBRID COLLECTIVE WITH LOGAN STEVENS

Inbred Hybrid Collective’s mandate is to stimulate a consciousness of the external factors affecting our human existence. Inbred Hybrid Collective will perform a musical conversation between hustlers in Times Square.

JODI SH. DOFF

How did a nice Jewish girl wind up spending a decade naked in Times Square? Writer Jodi Sh. Doff presents a peek from her one woman show.

LORELEI LEE

Lorelei Lee is a student, writer, and porn performer based in Brooklyn. She will read a work of autobiographical fiction.

LYDIA LOVE

Lydia Love mixes movement and spoken-word into performances of sincerity and sensuality. With candidness and complexity, Lydia will perform dance and spoken-word.

MATTHEW LAWRENCE

Matthew Lawrence is a writer and curator from Providence, Rhode Island. He will tell tales of why he wasn’t a very good escort.

NICOLETTE DIXON

Nicolette is a theatrical know-it-all, muse, and barstool philosopher with a feminist bent. She will perform a series of monologues and a burlesque routine about lap dancing.

Desiree Conference 2010!!

Desiree Alliance

In conjunction with BAYSWAN, Best Practices Policy Project (BPPP), Center for Sex and Culture (CSC), International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture and Education (ISWFACE), St. James Infirmary, SWOP USA, SWOP Tucson, SWOP LV, SWOP Chicago, SWOP NorCal, SWOP Santa Cruz, Harm Reduction Coalition, Sex Work Awareness, and $pread Magazine

Presents

Working Sex: Power, Practice, and Politics

July 25 thru 30, 2010 in Sunny Las Vegas, NV!!

Join us for the Academic and Policy track. Network with established and developing scholars who are engaged with research, theory, and methods that impact the formation of policy and applied practices concerning sex work and sex workers. Academics have the opportunity to give back to the communities they study and create careers upon by participating in this dynamic space of diverse sex work scholar colleagues and diverse sex workers. Sex workers will have opportunities to interact with scholars who concern themselves with our issues while also sharing your own—and needed—perspective regarding where sex work scholarship has been and where it should be going.

We understand that within the Activism and Advocacy of Sex Work, there is such a huge range, from organizing national marches, decriminalization propositions, to organizing you and one other Sex Worker to come together and talk about your rights and safety. All are forms of activism. Coming out to a friend, meeting a fellow Sex Worker and being able to talk about your work can be a HUGE form of activism for some that have been hiding in the closet so long! Join other activists in a safe space to discuss and learn about activism and activist leadership in the sex work community!

Arts, Entertainment, and Media: From beautiful burlesque, to majestic music, to powerful poetry, various art forms have been important parts of sex worker justice advocacy, and art is also a great way to highlight the diversity of talents so many sex workers have. Sex worker artists have in fact had a vibrant face on this movement and have been a unifying element in resistance campaigns across the globe. Join us at the Desiree Alliance 2010 Conference to explore, learn about, experience, and create sex worker art, media, and entertainment!

Business Development: Increase your confidence and your bottom line by attending workshops taught by people who excel in their fields! Learn new techniques for increasing your earnings, using the tools of your trade, and improving your business model. You will find valuable tips to improve your business regardless of the area you work! From workshops on web design, advertising, and networking to health and safety, and tax-saving tips especially relevant to cash-based earners just like you, this conference will be an opportunity for you to improve your business and your cash flow!

Harm Reduction and Outreach: Whether your expertise is the street corner, the classroom, or the clinic we are looking for you to show us what’s wrong, what’s right, and what can come to be the future of Harm Reduction and Outreach Services for Sex Workers. Come share your innovative ideas or learn how to provide outreach services. Be a part of an event that will inspire and pioneer a fresh perspective on how harm reduction and outreach services can be fine tuned to the ones that need it the most. Enjoy workshops and presentations from the best and brightest giving their unique take on harm reduction and outreach services to sex workers.

Registration is open!
We are accepting Proposals for Presentations! Hurry- deadline for submissions is March 1st.

To get involved, go to http://www.DesireeAlliance.org/conference.htm or email: Desiree2010@desireealliance.org

We’ll See You in Sin City!!

Open Invitation to the Int’l Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

In 2009, sex workers from around the globe met gruesome deaths and endured unspeakable violence. Some died at the hands of a solitary perpetrator; others were victims of serial “prostitute killers.” While some of these horrific stories received international media attention (Boston, Grand Rapids,  Tijuana, Cape Town, Sussex, Moscow, New Zealand and Hong Kong, just to name a few), other cases received little more than a perfunctory investigation. Many cases remain unresolved, sometimes forever. In fact, most violent crimes against sex workers remain unreported. Stigma and criminalization facilitate this violence; when sex work is criminalized, prostitutes can’t turn to the police for protection without risking prosecution themselves.

Each year, December 17th marks the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Last year’s event in Washington, D.C. was a big success and this year, sex workers and their allies from across the U.S. will gather together in Arizona to remember and honor sex workers who, by virtue of their profession, have been victimized  – including rape, assault and murder.

You are invited to join us on December 17-18, 2009 in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona to honor their memory.  This year is especially poignant for us in Arizona because in May, 2009, Marcia Powell, an inmate at the Perryville women’s prison outside of Phoenix who was serving 27 months for prostitution, died when she was left outside in a holding cage in 107 degree heat without shade, food or water. Marcia Powell’s death is not only a travesty of justice and a failure of the prison system, but bring into sharp focus the unjust nature of current anti-prostitution laws which continue to oppress sex workers everywhere. We are outraged and saddened, and we ask for your participation in putting an end to the violence.

To learn more about the IDEVASW events in Arizona, please click here or visit SWOP-Tucson.  If silence is the voice of complicity, then your presence in Arizona this December will be a powerful message for justice to be heard across the world.

_________________________@@@_____________________

IDEVASW Event Schedule – Arizona

December 17, 2009 – Tucson

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. “No Human Involved” Event

El Presidio Park, 160 West Alameda Street, Tucson, AZ.

Performance art/art installation with the theme, “No Human Involved.” The central image will be a physical representation of the Perryville Prison which will honor Marcia Powell and sex workers everywhere who have been victims of violence; a performance piece/die-in and live music.

6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. “Remembrance Memorial”

El Tiradito Shrine, 354 South Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ.

Join us in remembering and honoring sex worker who have been victims of violence. Live music, performance poetry, ritual, candlelight vigil and refreshments. El Tiradito is a national historic shrine dedicated to the “castaway sinner” and holds a special place in the hearts of Tucson sex workers.

December 18, 2009 – Phoenix

Political Rally at the downtown Phoenix offices of the Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections to protest current anti-prostitution laws and prison conditions. Did you know that in Arizona, a fourth conviction is a mandatory Class 5 felony with 180 days of prison for consensual sex between a client and a sex worker? Please visit http://swop-tucson.org for more details. Volunteers are needed to organize this day!

For more information or to volunteer, please email info@swop-tucson.org

“The Happy Hooker: Portrait of A Sexual Revolutionary” Documentary

A bunch of us went to the screening of the new Xaviera Hollander documentary here in Chicago a few days ago and were impressed with the film. It’s very positive portrayal and deserves to be seen by a wider audience, but the film lacks distribution at this point. It’s been shown at festivals around the world and the filmmakers are in talks with HBO, but nothing has been finalized.

If you’re intested in seeing it aired, we’re trying to get people to write in to HBO and mention the film in hopes they will pick it up. We had a long talk with the producer after the screening and he seemed geniunely excited that we approved of the film. He even graciously took some naughty photos with Sinful Sinthia in front of the theater. Let’s help these guys out.

Alleged serial rapist of prostitutes caught

While we have heard and experienced awful stories about police, I have to commend the Atlanta police on this one. They are asking sex workers to come forward to help convict a serial rapist who targets sex workers, and they believe he is responsible for raping at least 6 women. They are promising to not arrest them. I am hoping this will remain the case. But do we have anyone in Atlanta who can check in on this from time to time?

Here is the story.

Help get tranny-alert.com taken down!

Via gudbuytjane.livejournal.com, reposted from feministing

Call for action: www.tranny-alert.com
From http://www.tranny-alert.com . This is not just appropriative or transphobic, it directly threatens the safety and privacy of trans women:

Our site cannot survive without your submissions!
Spot a tranny or suspected tranny around town? See a hot tranny mess? Observe a guidette in New Jersey with tranny style? Notice trannies on TV/Radio/Billboards? Find yourself at a Lady Gaga concert? WE WANT TO KNOW!

Remember, if you spot a tranny: snap your fingers, snap a pic, and e-mail those photos to: mayday@tranny-alert.com !

In light of the murders of trans women such as Gwen Araujo, Angie Zapata and others, it is indefensible to run a website that requests readers submit photos of trans women (or people they’ve read as trans women) without their consent and publicly out them. This site threatens the safety of every person they post a photo of. Please spread the word and take action.

Please contact http://www.tranny-alert.com and let them know this is NOT okay.
The site appears to be hosted via Blogger, so please enter a complaint against their hate speech and endangerment of the lives of trans women.
Please Twitter about it with the #trannyalertfail hash tag.
Please send complaints about their Facebook page .

ETA: To enter a complaint at Blogger, follow this link: http://help.blogger.com/bin/request.py?contact_type=hate_speech&blog_URL=http://trannyalert.blogspot.com/ (Thanks queersubversion!)

ETA2: TrannyAlert’s response on Twitter : “Wow people really need to get a fucking sense of humor.”

ETA3: If you have access please post about this on LJ trans communities, as this account isn’t a member of any of them (and will have to wait for approval to post, etc.).

– gudbuytjane

You can go here, http://tinyurl.com/n34flk

to file a direct complaint to Blogger against this blog, you can also do it as many times as you like so please try to do it as much as you can so as to draw attention! Thanks!

Kudos to COSWAS!

And our very own Tara was quoted!
From Salon:

Taiwan legalizes world’s oldest profession

Score one for sex workers: Activists in Taiwan emerged victorious Wednesday after waging a long battle to legalize prostitution in their country. Six months from now, the nation’s 600,000 working girls (and guys) will be free to ply their trade without fear of incarceration. “Now the client gets off free, but the prostitute gets punished, and that’s not fair,” sex worker spokesman Su Jun-pin told Reuters. Under the new regulations, it will be up to local governments to decide whether to relegate prostitution to specific districts or decriminalize it throughout the entire region.

What is especially remarkable about this decision is that it results from old-fashioned grass-roots organizing from groups such as Taipei’s Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters. This means a massive victory not only for prostitutes in Taiwan but also for activists around the world working for decriminalization. “This is telling about the global movement,” says Tara Sawyer, a Sex Workers Outreach Project board member. She compares the fight for decriminalization to the civil rights movement, saying that the Taiwan decision underscores the urgent need for the U.S. government “to listen to the people doing the work. We’re not doing that yet.”

Of course, it makes sense that groups working for decriminalization in this country have had less success than their Asian counterparts: In Taiwan, prostitution has only been prohibited for the past 11 years.
― Judy Berman

Loved Ones Fear Truck Driver May Be Linked To California Missing

CUE Center For Missing Persons
PO Box 12714
Wilmington, NC 28405
Contact:
Monica Caison
(910) 343-1131
(910) 232-1687
cuecenter@aol.com

www.ncmissingpersons.org

For immediate release:
April 23, 2009

Note left behind reveals that a body can be found on the “15”

Wilmington, NC: April Pitzer vanished on June 28, 2004 and despite multiple searchers, public awareness campaigns, national coverage and pleas to the Newberry community; she remains missing. “It has been a long road paved with many tears”, said Gloria Denton, Pitzer’s, mother; “she has two little girls and a family who loves and misses her deeply,” she added. April was last seen in Newberry Springs, California; it is believed she took a ride with a trucker with plans to travel to her mother’s home in Arkansas, but never arrived. April called her grandmother from Arizona while traveling with a truck driver advising her of this information; a note was found in a bathroom stall at a pilot truck stop in Oregon possibly referencing a connection to April Pitzer’s case.

The family of Catherine Marie Lique is very concerned with the media headlines of woman’s remains being located and the recent FBI announcement of a possible serial trucker driver killer; leaving all to wonder if Catherine may have took a ride or trusted someone that she may have not known. At the time of her disappearance it was believed that Catherine was prostituting at area truck stops to support her long term drug addition and was last seen in Barstow/New Berry Spring, California areas.

“Two families brought together for one reason, to help each other search for their missing loved ones”; “something often seen in the world of those who suffer a missing person”, said, CUE founder, Monica Caison. “We will continue to search for these woman and all of our cases for any links to this serial truck driver, it is important to have all missing person cases reviewed at this point” she added. Families who have not had their DNA entered into CODIS should explore that option for a positive identification and to avoid the missing person from becoming a Jane/John Doe somewhere. CODIS is a free resource service offered to law officials across the country for the DNA process and the purpose of identifying missing individuals.

For more information on CODIS
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/codis/clickmap.htm
DNA.gov: What is CODIS?

Tags: ireport_for_cnn, april beth pitzer, catherine lique, cue center for missing persons, monica caison

In response to assignment: iReport for CNN

2009 San Francisco Sex Worker Film, Art, and Music Festival: May 30-June 7

 http://www.sexworke rfest.com/ swfest2009/ Release2009. html

6th San Francisco Sex Worker Film, Art and Music Festival

 

Festival dates: May 30th to June 7th, 2009

Website: http://www.sexworkerfest.com/

Tel: 415-751-1659

Email: swfest@bayswan.org

Schedule Updates: http://www.sexworkerfest.com/schedule2009.html

 

We are very excited to announce the 2009 San Francisco Sex Worker Film, Arts and Music Festival. This is the 10th anniversary, and 6th Biennial Festival! This year we focus on documentaries, sex worker portraits and activist shorts. The 2009 movies represent new trends in sex worker cinema, the intimate focus on individual sex workers with a new respect for their courage in the face of hazards of the work and escalating repression. New activist shorts also mark a current trend including the “how-to,” safety education for sex workers, and unabashed, playful and celebratory sex worker rights propaganda.

 

The 2009 Sex Worker Fest will be presented in tandem with the Queer Cultural Festival http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/. The 2009 Fest includes a week of fun, sexy, political, kinky, naughty, bold and educational events.

 

2009 events include: Saturday. May 30th- A Radar benefit hosted by Michelle Tea with Dorothy Allison, Kirk Read and more; Sunday, May 31st- Two events-An All Day Shopping Orgy/ Kinky Gifts, Sex Worker Crafts Show and Garage Sale at Center for Sex & Culture featuring entertainment including Ckiara Rose reading from “Song of Men Slaves”; May 31st late night party at Diva’s sponsored by Sex Workers Outreach Project; Monday, June 1st, Sex Workers Outreach Project Hospitality Day and Roundtable for sex workers and allies; Tuesday, June 2nd A party at El Rio with sex worker musicians including Mariko Passion featuring Mistress of Ceremonies, Annie Danger; Wednesday and Thursday, June 3rd and 4th, Army of Lovers, performances by male sex workers curated by Kirk Read at Center For Sex & Culture; Two events on Friday June 5th -Movies at Artists’ Television Access 7-10 PM; Late night- June 5th Cirque X” at Paradise Lounge benefit for St. James Infirmary, 10 year anniversary, a carnival of decadence with amazing fire troops and aerial acrobatics to sexy burlesque shows, exotic dancers, XXX porn stars, drag queens and fierce DJs! 9pm-3am; The Sex Worker Fest introduces work from artists including cartoons by Modern Hooker http://www.modernhooker.com.

 

June 5th and June 6th movies include local and international premieres including Death of a Whore, a Spanish-language biography of Grisélidis Réal, whose re-burial caused a recent international scandal (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/09/prostitute-griselidis-rea_n_173212.html); “Happy Endings” with interviews from Korean massage parlor workers in Rhode Island as they are confronted with the racism and zenophobia of local anti-prostitution activists; Science Friction with “Cinema of Desire” in this portrait of a trans sex worker from Thailand; “You’re Welcome,” a tender and humorous story of ‘the whore next door’ from Norway; a panel and international feature about sexual services for disabled clients; sex worker activist produced short docs and experimental work include “Prostitution Free Zone” by PJ Starr, “Flipping the Lens: A Look at $pread Magazine,” and “Know Your Rights” from Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) Chicago; experimental shorts from Renegade Evolution and music videos from Scarlot Harlot; plus clips from your neighbors’ home grown porn including kink/SM/BD/fetish/sex ed from San Francisco with stars including Madison Young in “Bride of Sin.”