Today, sex workers and allies of sex workers will march on Washington D.C. and hold community vigils and rallies in cities across the globe for the 6th Annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.
In 2003, sexologist Dr. Annie Sprinkle and SWOP or Sex Worker Outreach Project, created this annual day aimed at remembering sex workers who have been murdered, ending discrimination and stigma, hate crime and all forms of violence against sex workers internationally.
Every day sex workers face social stigma, arrest, and the sheer terror of never knowing when they will be brutally beaten, robbed, raped and/or murdered.
Society tends to say that sex workers deserve whatever they have coming to them just because they choose to engage in the work they do. This ignores the fact that people have always in all times and cultures done sex work, often but not always due to coercion. The same sort of you-deserve-it mentality is often used to justify hate crimes against LGBT people and is also used to blame women rather than the men who rape them. Organizations like SWOP work to turn this distorted, immoral and dangerous way of thinking and acting around. These crucial organizations are under threat of financial catastrophe right now-- and need our support for their very survival.
As a sexuality educator and sex worker ally, I am proud to pick up my red umbrella and advocate for the values behind this important day, everyday.
The bloody, sexually illiterate ways of thinking and acting that lead to violence against sex workers is about all of us. We're all implicated, impacted and capable of making positive, life affirming changes that no longer condone sexual shame, stigma, fear, silence and brutality.
It's not enough to talk about it though....we have to act.
Here are a few related resources and organizations:
