Today June 2, 2026, on International Whores Day, we the Sex Workers Rights Coalition and the signatories below, urge public officials in New Jersey to end the criminalization of sex workers’ lives.
We are concerned that sex workers in New Jersey are criminalized for the work they do to put food on the table. We are concerned that arrests and incarceration under anti-prostitution statutes in the state of New Jersey lead to long-lasting and unjust consequences, such as loss of housing and educational opportunities. We are concerned that each year new legislation is proposed that attempts new ways to harm and/or erase sex workers. We have seen again and again that the criminalization of sex workers’ lives provides opportunities for law enforcement to harass sex workers and violate their rights. The idea that sex work is illegal encourages abusers to perpetrate crimes against sex workers because they (mistakenly) believe that no one cares.
We support sex workers. We acknowledge their role in providing for their families and supporting entire communities. Sex workers are passionate advocates for rights and justice. Sex workers defend public health. Sex workers stand side by side with workers in other professions for the rights of all.
Sex workers are human rights holders.
Want to know more about this issue? Read our June 2 press release.
June 2, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Sex Workers Rights Coalition: World Cup No Excuse to Increase Criminalization of Sex Workers
Newark, NJ – The FIFA World Cup will be held in 11 US host cities beginning June 13 and ending with the finale in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, July 19, 2026. For months public officials in New Jersey have been suggesting that human trafficking will increase as a result of the World Cup, repeating a false discourse that has emerged time and time again at events such as the Olympics. Yesterday, the NJ Office of Attorney General released a statement regarding “sex and labor trafficking” concerns during the events in NJ, and announcing “significant resources” for law enforcement operations before and during the World Cup to carry out raids and “rescues.”
Our organizations are dedicated to human rights, ending violence and getting resources to community members for their wellness, health and safety. What New Jersey does not need right now are more raids and more opportunities for law enforcement to harm communities of low income folk, trans people, sex workers and immigrants. It is folly to provide more resources for widespread law enforcement in New Jersey as we learn of devastating human rights abuses being perpetrated at Delaney Hall, a private prison operated for ICE. Without a doubt, as has happened via increased policing during global sporting events in the past, sex workers, immigrants and trans folks in NJ will be detained, arrested, displaced, and harmed.
“New Jersey already has a terrible track record of disproportionately arresting and incarcerating Black and Brown folks,” note Penelope Saunders and Erika Smith, co-Executive Directors of the Best Practices Policy Project, “and pumping resources into policing during the World Cup will lead to BIPOC trans folks, sex workers and immigrants being detained in the name of ‘ending trafficking.’ In 2026 no one is safe in any form of detention anywhere in the US.”
“Resources need to be directed to the services that all sex workers in New Jersey need. Not policing. Not incarceration,” says N’Jaila Rhee, Executive Director of NJ Red Umbrella Alliance, an organization representing sex workers. “We call upon our NJ public representatives to stop funding the police to ‘rescue’ sex workers and to instead invest in economic justice and services led by the communities themselves.”
Members of the Sex Workers Rights Coalition, a national multi-organizational group, are raising the alarm today June 2nd, International Whores Day, about the increased criminalization and policing nationwide that is occurring under the guise of combating trafficking during the FIFA World Cup. The purported increase in human trafficking–and justification for policing– is without any evidence.
For additional comments please contact:
Penelope Saunders and Erika Smith at BestPracticesPolicyProject@gmail.com and cell +19178170324
N’Jaila Rhee – newjerseyrua@gmail.com and +15515878079
Sex Worker’s Rights Coalition – email rightsnotrescue@protonmail.com
An open letter expressing concern can be signed here https://forms.gle/w1jLeF2JSCFkrGRz7
By Erika Smith – Supported by the Sex Worker Rights Working group – Justice for All Sex Workers – March 11 in person at 2.30 pm on the 11th Floor of the UN Church Center (opposite the UN, free to enter, no pass is needed).
Erika Smith moderates the BPPP and friends in person session during the Commission on the Status of Women. Speakers include Gigi Thomas, appearing for the first time at the CSW, Beyonce Karungi and Monica Jones.
Live streamed @blasianbytch on TikTok with BlueSky live tweeting. https://www.tiktok.com/@blasianbytchhttps://blueskydirectory.com/profiles/njrua.bsky.social
We have 100 copies of our magazine Being Heard to distribute.
What to do in the evening? We will be heading to Liberation Looks Like a Dance Floor at 6 pm. We are not running this show but we think it will be fun. Follow the pink boots to find us, see below for the boots in an actual photo of an actual working group member at the CSW.
Liberation Looks Like a Dance Floor
Without joy and community, the long fight for liberation becomes impossible to sustain. That is why we are hosting a celebration at Henrietta Hudson, the longest-running lesbian bar in the United States, and a vital, historic space that continues to serve as a home for queer women and the broader LGBTQ+ community.
Coming together at Henrietta is both an act of celebration and affirmation: honoring queer legacy, creating space for connection across movements and generations, and reminding ourselves that our communities deserve joy, safety, and collective restoration.
Event details:
Date: March 12, 2026
Time: 6 PM – 10PM
Location: Henrietta Hudson, 438 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
Please RSVP and confirm your attendance here.
Like what you are seeing here – get your friends to sign up for the Sex Worker Rights Working Group, liberating the Commission on the Status of Women, one person at a time.