Category: News Archive

A Call to Action on Sex Work and HIV

July 1st, 2012 · · Campaigns, News Archive, Policy Updates No comments - Tags: , , ,

Organizers in the United States representing communities of sex workers and people in the sex trade have produced a call to action in regards to US policies affecting sex workers and people in the sex trade for distribution during the International AIDS Conference (IAC) to be held in Washington, D.C. in July 2012. The group of organizations and advocates organizing to highlight the rights of sex workers during the IAC are demanding that the U.S. government make good on its 2011 commitment “that no one should face violence or discrimination in access to public services based on… their status as a person in prostitution”

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End the Use of Condoms as Evidence

April 17th, 2012 · · Campaigns, News Archive No comments - Tags: ,

A coalition of New York City based organizations released a report in mid-April 2012 highlighting the devastating impact of the use of condoms as evidence on a wide range of communities of people involved in sex work and who trade sex, as well as people profiled by the police as prostitutes. The Huffington Post commented that “advocates for sex workers want New York to become the first state to ban police officers from confiscating condoms as evidence in prostitution cases, saying it has a chilling effect on disease protection.” The advocates report release and press conference in Albany NY received much press attention nationally-including coverage in Business Week and the Washington Post, as well as internationally.

500 People Freed from CANS Registration Requirements

March 29th, 2012 · · News Archive, Policy Updates No comments - Tags: ,

On March 29th, 2012 a judge ruled that continuing to require people convicted for solicitation of prostitution under the “Crimes Against Nature Statute” to register as sex offenders violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. This decision follows the abolishment of the Crimes Against Nature Statute (CANS) and frees approximately 500 people previously convicted under the statute from this discriminatory and disparate punishment. More information is available at Women With A Vision’s website and the Center for Constitutional Rights case page. Special thanks to Streetwise and Safe for bringing this information to our attention.

An Open Letter to NOW-NYC from NY-Based Groups

March 22nd, 2012 · · News Archive, Press Release No comments

Sex workers and their allies  have released an open letter (March 22, 2012)  to the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW-NYC) to raise awareness about the impact of dehumanizing statements made by organizations such as NOW-NYC weighing in on the debate over the murder of a number of people on Long Island. As activists from SWOP-NYC and SWANK prepared the open letter, they received news of another body being found on Gilgo Beach. Read more in Media Analysis.