violence

Proof of Feminst Women’s Violence Against Prostitutes

Posted by February 6, 2013

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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Fake Researcher with campaign sign.

Fake Researcher with campaign sign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Changing Course on the 40th Anniversary of Roe v Wade

Posted by January 24, 2013

In response to this article Oscar Buzz: How to Survive a Plague, and the History of Sex Workers with ACT UP  http://blogs.poz.com/melissaditmore/2013/01/oscar_buzz_how_to_su.html

 

I’ve had loads of a success in getting labor, political and LGBT political groups support for our agenda on the west coast.  I recently got our local LGBT political club to pass a resolution calling on our state legislators to enact anti discrimination legislation on our behalf  because one of my friend who was raped in her home was denied access to the state victim’s compensation fund because she and her assailant were association with a particular sw chat board.   Last year I got several political groups to pass a resolution calling for our congressional members to removal of the anti prostitution oath from the international AIDS funding when it comes for renewal in 2013.

 

We can move our issues much easier on a policy level and have wider effect than just hunkering down in the access to HIV because we’re dirty little whores who need protection.  This approach re-stigmatizes us same as it did/still does for members of the LGBT community despite gaining federal protections  in housing, employment and education for those who are HIV positive under the American Disabilities Act which was one of the demands that the HIV community.

 

 

The value in learning about the ACT UP history is about learning about its tactics and its militancy not its specific message. Coalition building about HIV has not born out much capital or currency because we, sw rights activists, are asking others to stand up for our right to provide protected services and be acknowledged as the leaders in providing safe services.  They don’t think we have any right to provide service and don’t want us in leadership because they’re afraid of us.  Too, its counter productive to have Network of Sex Worker Projects   http://www.nswp.org/news-story/nswp-response-pepfar-guidance-2012#.UQFMJHBHRNo.twitter

 

calling on the  US government to acknowledge us prostitutes as key stakeholders in crafting HIV delivery policy and then demand that LGBT coalition build with us because we’re all dirty little whores which isn’t even born out in the documentation.  There are particular populations within the prostitute nation like queer youth, transgender and people of color that are most likely to be termed by police as ‘no humans involved’ and face risk of violence including contracting HIV.

Too, long time established sex industry workers are increasingly facing the race to the bottom when long time customers who had been happy to receive protected services are now demanding unprotected services and pay lower rates for it on a daily basis. And yes we need to position everybody at the center of their own safety as being respected as priority #1 but nobody cares what color, our age or what gender we are as we’re ALL getting our asses kicked out here.

 

When the public hears that a bunch of craigslist hookers’ bodies are found in the next neighborhood over, they just shrug their shoulders with indifference, a form of violence.   When the anti prostituionist/traffickers hear that we’re forced to give blow jobs to the same cop that arrests us and then trafficked us into  their shame based sex negative diversion programs under the guise of delivering us service while they use our condoms as evidence of our crime of work,  they all jump up and down with glee.  They rejoices because they’re going to get to profit  again off our denigrated state because we are after all just dirty little whores.

 

So what I’m saying is that the HIV angle isn’t working as a viable means  in coalition building,  accessing funding for HIV prevention isn’t working as a means to moving our rights based movement forward, so stop using it.  I watched a youtube video recently about violence and made by the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDyNGg8gXcM

They do a great job mapping out the problem and short term solution but fail to link to the larger fight for recognition of equal protection under the law or to the larger civil rights movement let alone our own prostitution rights movement.

 

So its on us, the prostitutes rights movement to come together to retool our rhetoric to become strategic in our actions to gain access to the halls of enfranchisement to finally get treated with the respect we deserve.  Demanding anti discrimination protections and inclusive policies as a means for gaining access to equal protection is some of the low hanging fruit that’s waiting for us to pick it.  We’d be better served by learning how the LGBT, Black Civil Rights movement and labor rights movement resists oppression instead of following in the  failed foot steps of the women’s  rights movement that bet it all and lost on the ‘safe and legal access to abortion’.  Just take stock of where that movement is now.

 

It’s the 40th anniversary of Roe V Wade and legalized abortion in our nation has never been less legal and less accessible and less safe.

 

I’m visiting New York City again this winter and would love a chance to discuss these and other observations with activists.

 

1.25.2013

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