National
March for Sex Workers’ Rights 2008
Washington, DC
Our Demands:
Stop Shaming Us to Death
In
the past two years we’ve seen two women commit suicide
after high-profile sex scandals related to politicians. We
are outraged that those who provide services, especially women,
including transgender women carry the burden of sexual shame
and punishment in our society while the very people who use
our services are creating and enforcing legislation that violates
our human rights. Furthermore, we are frustrated that the
media emphasizes violence against female sex workers while
ignoring the homophobia and transphobia that fuel violence
against men and trans people in our community.
Violence
Against Sex Workers Is Not Acceptable
Violence
against us is not only tolerated, but even expected by society.
Gary Leon Ridgway, the Green River Killer, murdered more than
60 women over a 21-year period with impunity. When he was
finally apprehended he was quoted as saying: “I thought
I could get away with killing hookers because nobody cares
about them… I was doing the cops a favor by cleaning
the trash up off the street.” It is clear that labeling
sex workers as criminals puts us at odds with law enforcement
who should be protecting us and it sends a message to society
that sex workers are expendable. Sex workers should not be
criminals and violence against us should be classified as
hate crime.
Listen to Sex Workers
Sex workers and their allies around the world have been in
the forefront of the struggle against human trafficking, working
together to address force, coercion and other abuses in the
sex industry. Sex work done consensually by adults is distinctly
different from human trafficking. The conflation of these
concepts inhibits our role in contributing solutions to human
trafficking and other abuses in our industry. There is a great
deal of expertise from our communities defining safe work
environments, identifying abusive situations and establishing
a culturally appropriate community-based response to these
problems.
Sex Workers
Are Part of the Solution- Don’t Silence Us!
The
Report of the Commission on AIDS in Asia noted that sex workers
are part of the solution to preventing the spread of HIV.
This year, United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon called
for an end to discrimination against sex workers noting that
prevention is only available to sex workers in countries with
laws that protect them. Harmful policies such as the Anti-Prostitution
Pledge in PEPFAR gag sex workers and the agencies that serve
us by forbidding funding to any organization that does not
condemn the sex industry. There is much to be gained by repealing
the Pledge and working with sex worker and public health organizations
to define best practices.
