17 December: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Sunday, December 17, 2023

By: Red Nguyễn | She | Her

History: “This day was created to call attention to hate crimes committed against sex workers all over the world. Inaugurated by Dr. Annie Sprinkle and started by the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA, the first annual day was in 2003. It was held as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle, Washington. International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers has empowered workers from cities around the world to come together and organize against discrimination and remember victims of violence.” - NSWP.org

Sex workers since 2003 have commemorated, hosted educational events, and gathered to reflect, mourn, and grieve the loss of past and present sex workers who have lost their lives to violence and attacks based on their profession.

We continue to fight for recognition of our pain, sorrow, and fears to survive as sex workers.

Sex workers face increasing attacks from various sources: legislators, local authorities, religious organizations, anti-trafficking groups, and public stigma rooted in puritanical rhetoric. This onslaught endangers their profession. Banking systems are continuing to block access to secure and safe forms of commerce, housing insecurity is on the rise, and social media censorship is limiting access to platforms for advertisement, engagement, and shadowbanning. The prolific attacks are rooted in both misogyny and patriarchy, the belief that bodies can be attractive, sexy, alluring, and accessible while not allowing those same bodies to profit off of consenting desire. Despite the international porn GDP being in the realm of billions, sex workers struggle to survive and make a living wage. They lack access to healthcare, mental health support, secure housing, childcare, education, immigration assistance, legal advocacy, LGBTQIA+ resources, financial retention, and financial wealth. Attacks from anti-trafficking and religious organizations and activists who are loudly decrying to “save the children” are coming out to be the largest proponents of harm toward children. Countless court filings are coming to light that can be directly correlated to their efforts to attack and limit sex work and yet they are alleged sexual abusers, child abuse, and violent offenders who are profiting from wrongful and hateful rhetoric.

Our children are not safer when consenting adults are being pushed to be exploited for consenting adult work. What do I mean by exploited, not trafficking, I mean hobbyists who want to barter for non-barred sexual activities, I mean pimps who prey on consenting adults with the allure of protection and bookings, I mean domestic violence where partners are forced to work for an intimate partner, I mean religious organizations who claim to provide aid yet are a conveyer of abusers, I mean policy that criminalizes consenting adults to buy, sell, and consume sex. Exploitation drives consenting adults to make decisions they would not make if other options were legal and accessible. Such as;

• Agreeing to not use barriers to avoid losing a needed client

• Accepting clients who refuse to vet and be verified

• Agreeing to incalls

• Accepting PayPal while knowing the risks of funds being frozen

• Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA)

• Criminalizing consenting sex work

• The nordic model

• Banking institutions barring sex workers from having accounts

• Mastercard/Visa

• Backpages removal

These are only a few examples of how actions taken by those who claim to want to “Save the children” result in exploiting consenting adult sex workers.

The Atlanta massage parlor targeted murders that spanned three parlors and took six Asian women and two others’ lives. Highlighting not only the violence but the audacity of the shooter in blaming Asian women for his inadequacies, feeling empowered and rightful in being judge and juror to take lives, lives that existed not for his benefit. This targeted violence is prolific in our society constant actions that result in erasing sex workers and allowing these attackers and attacks to feel vindicated for their hate and misogyny. We are endangering sex workers’ lives by making it unsafe to report attacks of violence due to our society’s incarceration of sex workers.

“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”

Sex work is predominantly gendered, with a notable emphasis on femme-presenting individuals, although it also encompasses queer, nonbinary, and male-presenting bodies. Our intention is not to overlook the experiences of these groups, but rather to highlight the higher representation of femme-presenting individuals in spaces like OnlyFans, escorting ads, social media, and news coverage. Targeted harassment and violence, occurring both online and in person, intersect with multiple factors. These include gender, social economics, neurotypicality, class, language, sexuality, immigration status, race, and ethnicity. These intersecting elements influence the available business options, access to platforms, support services, exposure to state violence, educational opportunities, and access to resources. Recognizing these intersectionalities forms the basis for acknowledging December 17, 2023, and pushing for changes that prioritize the safety of our communities.

We fight for a world where consenting adult sex workers can practice their profession without fearing violence