En 2004, SWOP-USA empezó una campaña legal a despenalizar la prostitución en Berkeley, CA. El proyecto se inició el 10 de marzo, con recoger firmas y reunimos más que 3,000 firmas y Robyn Few, fundadora de SWOP dijo, “Ma ha animado mucho los tres meses pasados. Es sorprendente que haya sido tanto apoyo de la comunidad, en particular de las mujeres. Hemos reunido más que 3,000 firmas. Significa hablar con muchas personas.”.
“El público en este momento quiere la verdad acerca de todo,” dijo Margo St. James, activista de los derechos de prostitutas y fundadora del St. James Infirmary. “Están cansados/as de las mentiras. Al enterar la violencia causado por prohibir la venda de alcohol, tomó sólo unos 12 años a repelar la ley. Ya lleva casi 100 años desde que la prohibición del sexo comercial empezara. Ya basta parar la violencia contra las mujeres que la penalización de la prostitución es causa directa. El público siempre ha estado 65-70% a favor de la despenalización de la prostitución,
algunas encuestas muestran que la comunidad es 90 porcentaje a favor de tal.”
Lo que pedimos:
1) hacer la aplicación de las leyes de prostitución la menor prioridad; 2) oponerse a leyes estatales que la hacen la prostitución un crimen; y 3) requerir el reportaje semi-anual de las actividades del Departamento de Policía de Berkeley relacionadas con la prostitución.
Disfrutamos apoyo amplio del movimiento:
- Pacific
School of Religion
- Berkeley N.O.W.
- Senator John Burton
- Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley
- Former San Francisco DA Terence Hallinan
- The Green Party of Alameda County
- East Bay Libertarian Party
- Libertarian Party of San Francisco
- Outright Libertarians of San Francisco
- Gloria Lockett, Executive Director California
Prostitute Education Project (Cal-PEP)
- Delwin Brown, Vice President of Academic Affairs
Pacific School of Religion
- Dr. Rita Brock, Chair of the Common Global Ministries
Board of the Christian Church, Starr King School of
Ministries
- Jesse Townley, Green Party Candidate for
Berkeley City Council District 5, Disaster Council
- Beatrice Morris, physicians assistant, Masters of
Divinity Pacific School of Religion
- Avaren Ipsen, Berkeley Commissioner on the Status of
Women, PhD candidate Graduate Theological Union
- boona cheema, Executive Director Building
Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency, Berkeley
- CCAP, Citizen Coalition Against Prohibition
- Lois Rowan, retired union journalist, International
Federation of Engineers (IFTPE) AFL-CIO, Berkeley
- Jerry Threet, Former President Harvey Milk LGBT
Democratic Club, Berkeley
- Carol Stuart, Co-Author, San Francisco's Equal
Benefits Ordinance; Co-Founder, St. James Infirmary,
Berkeley
- Richard Terry Koch, Attorney, Chair State Bar
Commission
- Steven DeAngelo, San Pablo Avenue Business Owner,
Berkeley
- Jeffrey D. Klausner, MD, MPH Director, STD Prevention
San Francisco Dept Public Health
- Kelly Winter, San Francisco Dept. Public Health
- Deborah Cohan, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Researcher
UCSF, Berkeley
- Barbara G. Brents, Associate Professor, Sociology
University of Nevada
- Frank Lucido, MD, Berkeley Family Practitioner
- Bob Cronbach, MPA , Alameda Co. Dept. of Public Health
Services Consultant
- Mike Bunyard, Outreach Worker Roseburg HIV Resource
Center
- Lee Trampleasure Amosslee, Berkeley High Teacher
1996-2004, Berkeley
- Robyn Few, Executive Director Sex Workers Outreach
Project, Berkeley
- Michael Foley, Californians for Civil Liberties,
Berkeley
- Jenn Clamen, International Union of Sex Workers
- Kristal Stetsko, Coalition for the Rights of Sex
Workers, Montreal
- David Steinberg, Journalist
- Scarlot Harlot, sex worker artist
- Jane Maxwell, Mourning Mothers, Code Pink, Berkeley
- Haley Ausserer, student
- Sandy Malave, New York
- P.L. Newton, Florida
- Colleen Robinson, activist
- Erin Siegal, photographer Cathexis Press
- Eddy Lepp, owner Eddy's Medicinal Gardens
- Starchild, candidate for SF school board
- Gary Schubach, Ed.D., A.C.S. sex educator
- Edward Mendoza, California
- Joseph Oliver, California
- Shannon Bean, California
- Catherine La Croix, Founder COYOTE/Seattle, former courtesan and professional dominant
- Uriah Bailey, Lagos, Nigeria
- Melissa Sontag, Virginia, law student and activist
- Miguel Martinez, California, Accountant
SWOP got on the ballot called the 'Angels initiative'. How did we do come November 2004 when the ballots were cast:
18,504 /36.5% Yes votes
32,208 /63.5% No votes
More information about the initiative can be found at the City of Berkeley and smartvoter.org websites.
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