I have to challenge the women who promote the idea that they are not directly involved in violence against prostitutes.  Regardless of if  they believe that we’re all poor women of color and that’s why we work as prostitutes, we still  must  hold them accountable for the policies of criminalization of our occupation, the basis of violence, of which they support.  Since the author below has made such false and misleading statements in this article, I challenged her and other like her to face the reality of their role in the cycle of violence against our class that she and her heroes are actually responsible for.

There is no feminist war on sex workers

| February 4, 2013

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/feminist-current/2013/02/there-no-feminist-war-sex-workers

The author states that her heroes in life like Gloria Steinem, are not for arresting prostitutes because they see us as victims.  The author’s point, in this article, is to dispute another article by Melissa Gira Grant, who states that the feminist are actually in bed with the police and religious extremists who are actively bringing the violence to us prostitutes.

The War on Sex Workers

An unholy alliance of feminists, cops, and conservatives hurts women in the name of defending their rights.

http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/21/the-war-on-sex-workers/singlepage

 

Ms Murphy’s statement that we, the pro sex worker activists, are making up stories about how she and other women who say they’re about ending violence against us are really about continuing to criminalize prostitutes which is clearly a form of violence that has to be exposed.

Being arrested is a form of violence,

being put out of work is a form of economic violence,

having the police have sexual contact with us in the course of a prostitution sting operation and then arrest us for prostitution is a form of violence,

being forced into those shame based sex negative diversion programs or risk being prosecuted is a form of coercion-a form of violence,

being sentenced to give our labor for free in performing community service hours for prostitution convictions is a form of violence..

Not having access to our free speech, our first amendment right to negotiate for our own labor and safe work condition is a form of violence!

Not having the right to equal protection under the law because our occupation is criminalized is a form of violence.

My response to this author is this:

 

Dear Ms M. I wish to respond to your statement, “It is both unproductive and dishonest to claim that feminists advocate to criminalize prostituted women, as one of the few things feminists and those who advocate to end violence against prostitutes can agree on is that decriminalizing prostituted women is key.”
I have the ballot argument that Gloria Steinem signed to opposing San Francisco’s 2008 Proposition K that would have decriminalized prostitution. Would you like to see it? I also have a photo of fake researcher Melissa Farley holding a ‘no on prop k’ sign. Too, you are aware that an Ontario Superior Court Judge could only give little weight to her testimony because of her political position? There is plenty of evidence that your heroes have actively supported the continued criminalization of prostitution, my occupation, thereby supporting the war on the whores. I look forward to you response.

 

Here is the PDF of Gloria Steinem’s support in opposing the San Francisco 2008 ballot measure Proposition K that was printed in the voter information guide.  Prop K would have stopped arresting prostitutes and thereby stopping the primary violence against prostitutes.  She also notes in this statement that she opposed Berkeley’s Measure Q, a similar effort to stop the criminalization of prostitutes. She like others who’s names are listed in the documents, have continued to use their  class privilege to perch and preach from their Ivory towers the  very policies that are their preferred weapon of violence against prostitutes-Criminalization, incarceration, jail, shame bases sex negative psychological counseling.

CON Doc page 2

 

And here are other ballot arguments opposing ending the criminalization of prostitution signed by others who say they’re against violence.  7 paid opposed

 

 

Here is a photo of the fake researcher campaigning against Prop K.   Melissa Farley one of the leading American Feminist Scholars leading the push to criminalize all sex commerce on the grounds that prostitution is a form of personal violence that violates the personhood and human rights of “prostituted women,” was disqualified as a expert witness by an Ontario Superior Court Judge Himel who stated that: “Dr. Farley’s choice of language is at times inflammatory and detracts from her conclusions. . . Dr. Farley stated during cross-examination that some of her opinions on prostitution were formed prior to her research. . . For these reasons, I assign less weight to Dr. Farley’s evidence.”

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