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2006-04-19
SWOP Statement in Response to
Rape at Duke University
The women and men of the Sex Workers Outreach Project stand in support of the Durham, North Carolina exotic dancer raped and assaulted allegedly by members of the Duke University lacrosse team on April 13th, 2006. We demand the perpetrators of this assault step forward and be held fully accountable for their disregard and violation of her human rights.
But more than this, we demand a questioning of the societal attitudes that make such abuses predictable and possible. The stigmatisation of sex work encourages a cultural climate in which many men treat the abuse of sex workers casually and where perpetrators of abuse do not expect to be held accountable for their crimes.
Women should feel no less safe in going to work because their work involves their sexuality and their bodies. We ask that the outrage of the Durham, North Carolina community extend to a commitment to ending the code of silence which endangers women in the sex industry. We believe that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and that a society in which exotic dancers and other sex workers are fully accepted as members of their communities is the best preventative against future atrocities.
We ask all those who support human rights, individual rights, and confront women's oppression to act for full justice and fair treatment for the victim in the investigation and trial of this case. We also condemn the blatant racism allegedly displayed by members of the Duke University lacrosse team and the presence of racism within the sex industry.