Category: Campaigns

We want our voices heard!

September 30th, 2024 · · Campaigns No comments - Tags:

We are calling on folks to join us in letting the world know about our rights and resistance in United States, and to help us hold the United States accountable for impacting sex workers and trans people worldwide. We will be collecting information from sex workers and organizations in the coming weeks. If you would like to participate in the process by being interviewed, filling out a survey, creating art or joining a working group please fill out this short form – https://form.jotform.com/rightsnotrescue/join-us

What is the UPR? The United Nations (UN) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a session to hold member countries responsible for their human rights records. The United States is being reviewed in 2025 for the first time in five years. By 1 March 2025 we will write a report on the human rights abuses sex workers face and sex workers will then travel to Geneva, Switzerland to speak to member countries about the criminalization of our communities.

The US is obligated to uphold everyone’s human rights, including the rights to housing, education and healthcare; the right to be free from arbitrary arrest, due process violations, and invasions of privacy; the right to be free from torture and inhumane treatment; the rights of migrants; as well as rights related to the US obligation to eliminate racial discrimination.

It is well known that the US violates these rights on a routine basis when it comes to sex workers, or people profiled by the police, social workers and service providers as sex workers. The UPR provides a space for the world to hear about how the US has violated human rights over the past four years. Due to the current policy approaches in the US, we plan to include in our report information about the experiences of migrants, trans folks, people in street economies and document the economic impacts of US policies worldwide, but having said that we want to hear from every one and about every issue.

Read about our past actions and Recommendation 86 at http://www.bestpracticespolicy.org/tag/upr/

If you know of anyone who would like to participate pls share this post and information using our fliers.

Sex Workers’ Human Rights Matter

June 25th, 2024 · · Art, Campaigns Comments Off on Sex Workers’ Human Rights Matter

This past week Erika Smith and N’Jaila Rhee traveled to Geneva to attend the 56th Session of the Human Rights Council. They were there to be part of organizing to affirm the rights of sex workers and trans people, in the wake of some pushback in the United Nations system against the progress made by our communities. This is the first time that BPPP has been able to use our UN Consultative Status to enter the United Nations in Geneva. Erika took photos and videos to tell the story of the journey.

Monday June 17, 2024

After a smooth flight out of Newark airport, Erika and N’Jaila arrive in Geneva.

Tuesday June 18, 2024 

Erika documented the first meeting of the trip, a meeting with representatives of the Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI). SRI supported BPPP and Desiree Alliance at a crucial phase way back when, encouraging us to get involved in the first Universal Periodic Review of the United States in 2010. This led to Recommendation 86, the first and only (to date) recommendation to the United States on sex work. Read a guide this current UN session HRC 56 produced by SRI and the importance of affirming sex workers’ rights at the UN at this time.

Wednesday June 19, 2024

Meeting with sex worker and allies delegation. Erika and N’Jaila were invited as part of the delegation to a full day session organized by the Network of Sex Work Projects to plan for engagement with the UN Session.

Thursday June 20, 2024 

30 community members came out to make art, including poster making for a planned public action, at an art zone and bar in Geneva. N’Jaila and Erika came up with this slogan, Sex Workers’ Human Rights Matter, starting out with Erika’s idea of “sex worker rights matter” combining with N’Jaila’s thought about about human rights. This art work was created by N’Jaila and documented by Erika.

Friday June 21, 2024

On Thursday and Friday Erika and N’Jaila were able to enter the United Nations but given the current questioning of sex worker rights and trans rights, the experience was mixed. Mixed with “rage, anger, disgust” Erika noted when reflecting on the photos she had taken on this day.  People walked out of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women’s speech. Why? “The Special Rapporteur pushed for approaches that criminalize the lives of sex workers.” “It was hot inside the UN,” Erika continued. “We are in this important place, standing up for ourselves. Yet regardless of what we say, some delegates have already have their mind made up. And those that are in support of us, their statements are muted.”

Erika and N’Jaila joined a protest was across the street from the UN. At the broken chair.

African activists started chanting. The microphone was passed to the Latinas. Crowd participation. Delegates began leaving out of the United Nations at the end of the day, heading for the train station opposite the protest. Many left with a police escort, but they had nothing to fear. We held up signs with our rights messages.

Monday June 24, 2024

Erika and N’Jaila left Geneva on Sunday. The following day numerous speeches were made in defense of sex worker rights during the HRC session. Video response in defense of sex workers can be viewed at this link: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1o/k1onom08en

The Statement of Phelister Abdalla of the NSWP can be viewed here and includes reference to Carol Leigh, the mother of the term sex work. Honoring Carol Leigh had been raised by Erika and N’Jaila as their key talking point https://www.sexualrightsinitiative.org/news/2024-jun/hrc-56-nswp-statement-interactive-dialogue-special-rapporteur-violence-against-women

Erika had one word to describe how the sex worker delegation operated. “Inclusion.” Erika and N’jaila were also honored to spend time with Sinnamon Love of BIPOC-AIC, building community among Black sex workers and being together.

Call for letters of support for GiGi Thomas

August 14th, 2022 · · Campaigns No comments - Tags:

GiGi Thomas, longtime advocate for human rights for all people and specifically trans people and sex workers, needs our help. GiGi may have the opportunity soon for the judge to reconsider and reduce her sentence. When the judge sentenced GiGi she was influenced by the outpouring of letters in support of GiGi, so we want to show our support for GiGi again. While unfortunately we do not have an exact timeline, we are gathering letters now which we will present to the judge when the time is right.

Please send a scanned PDF of your letter with you signature to freegigi22 @ gmail.com. 

If you don’t want to write a letter yourself, let us know and we can share the sign-on letter we are composing, which you could join.

Here are some tips for writing a letter:

[Note: If you know GiGi personally, please include such details as how long you’ve known her, any positive details about her and her contributions in the community, and anything you know about her struggles, trauma, and strength.]

  1. Dear Judge Cotton
  2. Mention that you’re writing about GiGi Marie Thomas, whose sentence is up for reconsideration.
  3. Identify yourself and your role(s)/involvement in the community (e.g. profession, volunteer work, LGBTQ community member, how long you’ve lived in area, etc.)
  4. Mention that you heard about GiGi’s case from the her community of supporters.
  5. Optional talking points **please make your remarks as specific and unique from your perspective as possible**
    1. Information on how you know trauma-informed mental health care care is important or about the great need for competent professionals to serve trans women of color, prevent violence, and help keep trans women safe.
    2. Details about GiGi professionally.
    3. Request that the judge to consider the incredible positive impact GiGi has had in the community.
    4. Describe how her work relates to your experiences.
  6. Request that the judge reduce GiGi’s sentence and support the provision of trauma-informed care.

“I’m advocating behind bars for transgender rights, keeping myself grounded in spirituality, and lifting up the spirits of others behind bars by giving them peer counseling, or even just a word of advice. I’m getting involved in programs to keep myself motivated.”

-GiGi Thomas

GiGi Thomas is a Black transgender woman who has worked for more than 15 years supporting people in need in the D.C.-Baltimore area. She served as a client consultant with the sex-worker rights and human services organization HIPS and completed a Masters in Social Work from Howard University. Over the years, GiGi helped thousands of community members find shelter and sustenance, reunited families, cared for the injured, and spoke out about injustice especially regarding the treatment of the trans community. Gigi’s peers describe her as “one of those people who just gives and gives with all they have,” and an “amazing woman” with “a heart of gold.

Since 2015, GiGi has been incarcerated and in 2017 she was sentenced to many years in prison, but the judge was moved by the number of letters she received in support of GiGi and said that GiGi should ask for a reconsideration to shorten her sentence at some point in the future. GiGi has now made the request and we are gathering letters in support of shortening her sentence. Like so many people in prison, GiGi is herself a survivor of violence and discrimination.

Read about a snapshot of GiGi’s work here: https://www.metroweekly.com/2007/01/community-growth/.

Other ways to support GiGi

You can also write to GiGi as she loves receiving letters, although she is not always able to respond. The requirements and prohibitions for mail are located here: https://news.maryland.gov/dpscs/inmate-mail-services/.

GiGi Marie Thomas, 456712-1562143

Roxbury Correctional Institute – Hagerstown (RCI)

18701 Roxbury Rd.

Hagerstown, MD 21746

You can also deposit money in GiGi’s account, which she can use to buy supplies for letter writing, food, and other necessities. We recommend using the online option as physical money orders sent to the lockbox do not always seems to reach her. More information here: https://news.maryland.gov/dpscs/inmate-trust-fund-services/. On the Access Corrections website, you will need to enter the state (Maryland), agency (Maryland Department of Corrections) and either her first and last name or her SID # which is 1562143.

Decoding the “Equality Model”

January 28th, 2021 · · Campaigns, Policy Updates No comments - Tags:

The following is a work in progress as we quickly examine the roots of a bill, the Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act, that was was introduced in the New York state Senate by New York Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter on Monday March 25, 2021. The purpose of the bill is to criminalize people associated with sex work and provide additional resources for policing, a form of criminalization that sometimes is referred to as the “Nordic Model.” The text of the bill is not yet publicly available leading to a moment in advocacy when we find ourselves responding to an issue without having the text before us. An important approach at BPPP, an approach that is shared by many of our coalition members in this case specifically the BSWC, is to review original source to decode exactly what is happening with new legislation, “terms of service” and other documents. Often when we dig deeper we find that the outcomes are far worse than we ever could have gleaned from reading press reports. We encourage everyone to follow the BSWC and sign on to materials the BSWC is developing.

Since the text of the introduced bill, the Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act,  is not available we reviewed Senator Liz Krueger’s tweets to find out more. Her tweets led us to the website of the New Yorkers for the Equality Model, illuminating the thinking behind the bill and the sleight of hand brought to bear in efforts to criminalize sex work, sex workers and to bolster policing at almost any cost to low income communities, immigrants and people of color.

The “bill summary” at the site hijacks the language of many years of advocacy to end the criminalization of sex workers and trans people’s lives in New York, without adhering to any of the policies that would actually create this change. The resources page for the “equality model” reveals the bill’s underlying anti-sex work philosophy, commitment to carceral approaches and equation of people’s efforts to secure their livelihood with violence.

While working in coalition to support efforts to educate about the bill, an advocate shared a link to an investigation by Propublica published in late 2020, that found that in New York City policing of the kind proposed by the “Equality Model” has targeted people of color and led to false arrests and sexual assaults by police officers. Since 2014 the city has had to pay over one million dollars in compensation to community members for rights violations.