I am in full solidarity with the March for Lives campaign. I'd like to see tighter gun control, too. But why is that the only story in the news right now when FOSTA and SESTA have just been voted in by our government-- bills that will continue to shred our rights as citizens to make a living, force dangerous conditions on legitimate, consensual adult sex workers, and drive the perpetrators of human trafficking further under the undetectable lines of law enforcement, thus continuing the violence against true victims.
We need to listen to the victims of sex trafficking who were saved by FBI stings that worked in conjunction with the very websites that these bills want to wipe out. We need to listen to autonomous sex workers. They create community and share safety protocols through the network that these bills want to wipe out. SESTA and FOSTA are unconstitutional. Take the time to learn about these bills and take action. LEARN THE DETAILS
0 Comments
My essay that strays down the path of body commodification is now available online (originally in AWT print issue #3). Read HERE. Still relevant in our struggle against FOSTA/SESTA.
If you are reading this, it is because you either identify as a Sex Worker or are friends with one-- hopefully me! Protect Sex Worker's safety and privacy. Learn the truth about anti-sex trafficking systems. Sex Workers want to stop sex trafficking and protect consensual sex workers in the same right. Please take a moment to call your senator and state the following: “Hi, my name is ___and I live in ___(city in district). I’m calling to urge Senator ____to vote NO on #SESTA, S. 1693 because it infringes on online free speech and community harm reduction practices.” Use this link to find your senator’s contact info! https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact SESTA (S.1693) would close online platforms for the sex industry. Being able to work online (and thus, indoors) IS THE BEST HARM REDUCTION. This applies to everyone trading sex, wherever they are on the spectrum of choice, circumstance, and coercion. State AGs have already talked about wanting to take sites like Backpage down, and this gives them the tools to do that. This is a moment for all sex workers to stand in solidarity. If it's Backpage (one of the most visible platforms for sex work) today, it could be Pornhub (an even more visible platform for sex work) tomorrow. This is the beginning of a long term struggle to shift the narrative. People who hate sex workers want to pretend criminalizing us will stop trafficking. It won't. In fact, it makes our community more vulnerable to trafficking. It makes it harder to identify and support trafficking victims. The best defense against trafficking is a safe, strong, connected community. We all know housing and anti-poverty work are what prevents trafficking in the first place, not closing down a website. Remember when Craigslist, Rentboy, MyRedbook, etc., shut down? Have stories from that of people struggling to survive or how it impacted our working conditions? Share that. Let's include concrete examples of what this legislation will do to us, because we have the historical precedent. LEARN MORE: Letters for/against SESTA and FOSTA >> FOR Letter was organized by Mary Mazzio and Legal Momentum, maybe others https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4390249-Pro-FOSTA-House-Floor-Vote-Letter-Updated-2-26.html >> FOR WITH CAUTION Department of Justice https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4390045-DOJ-FOSTA-Letter.html >> AGAINST ACLU https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4389499-ACLU-Vote-Rec-Oppose-HR-1865-FOSTA-02-26-18.html Small tech lobbying firms (organized by R Street) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4389516-Letter-SESTA-FOSTA-Hybrid-2-23-18.html National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Families Against Mandatory Minimums Federal Public and Community Defenders https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4389523-FOSTA-H-R-1865-Sign-on-Letter-2-26-18.html Freedom Network https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4389576-Freedom-Network-FNUSAOpposesFOSTA.html National Center for Transgender Equality National Center for Lesbian Rights National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and many others https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4389583-NCTE-NCLR-SESTA-FOSTA-Letter.html * text from #LetUsSurvive Content |
Categories
All
|