Ending Violence Against Sex Workers

Today is about honoring those we have lost due to the violence we face as we provide intimacy, sex education, a listening ear, a hug etc. all while trying to make a living or make it to our next personal goal.

For some sex work (SW) is a life-style and some use it as a stepping stone.

No matter your approach, SW’s fight to survive and make a life for ourselves (with our own bodies by our own choice) under a sexist fascist regime has been defined by medical and carceral systems as a “high risk” behavior. A term and a medical understanding that leaves sex workers responsible for our own humanization and safety. Literally giving new meaning to the phrase, "we keep us safe." Because SW's *have* to.

So, why does this day exist? The reason we even have this calendar day is because the white Anglo-Saxon society we live under does not see us as humans with complex lives and emotions. SW's are viewed by most factions of society as "throw away people" or pawns in a story or statistic. When humans are de-humanized, it makes it easy to forget or erase their existence. Resulting in many of us going missing, disappearing, murdered, and at the VERY least enduring much more than we would ever need to.

We deserve better. Sex workers rights are disability rights, gay rights, trans rights, black rights, indigenous rights, civil rights, migrant rights, workers rights, people of culture's rights, and the rights of those who are incarcerated. The first thing to consider is looking inward and seeing how we can better show up for each other when no one else will. Whether that be a phone call to vent, showing up to do each others dishes/laundry, dropping off food or groceries, offering a place to crash, calling to debrief after a booking, sharing locations during bookings, etc. Because we will keep us safe. 

Now we're not just here to share our story, we're also here to make a difference. We know we can continue to fight against the dehumanization of sex work and sex workers, especially in the age of OnlyFans and monetized digital ass-ets (get it?). Let's come together and change this shit, shall we? 

MEDICAL

• Red Door Clinic: Sexual health care, STD/STI tests, low-cost and/or free medical resources, preventative care
• THRIVE Clinic: Specialized HIV care, preventative care, STI/STD tests, hormone resources and injections

COMMUNITY & CONNECTIONS

• Black Sex Worker Collective: Vetted SW resources and information, updated STD/STI testing sites that are friendly for black SW, health insurance information
• SWOP Behind Bars: Resources and advocacy for sex workers in the so-called "justice" system
• MN Doctors for Health Equity Panel with SW (Feb 2025): Panel and conversation with SW and healthcare professionals

FINANCIAL & SAFETY

• Adult Performance Artist Guild: Working to obtain better rights as a worker on set, establish proper protocol and safety standards, implement an On Set Steward program
• Red Umbrella Fund: Funding sex worker-led organizations work to end stigma and discrimination, change laws and policy, and strengthen their communities

READING & MEDIA

• Thriving in Sex Work: Heartfelt Advice for Staying Sane in the Sex Industry: A sex workers self sufficiency and advice guidebook
• We do this 'Til we Free Us: A guide on liberation theology and what's at stake for the liberation of us all
• Saving Our Own Lives: An anthology of essays telling the stories of how sex workers, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, queer folks, trans, gender non-conforming, and two-spirit people are – and have been - building systems of change and support outside the societal frameworks of oppression and exploitation