legal
Often when a sex worker gets arrested, s/he loses contact with his/her friends and support network. This is often because of the misguided notion that if one person is in trouble, hisThis is simply not true when dealing with state-level misdemeanors. This is part of our Know Your Rights Workshops that SWOP-Chicago puts on both locally, and nationwide. Please read through the Don't Panic Plan document, and then Fill out the Emergency Response Worksheet. Both are PDF files, you may need a PDF reader which you can get here.
Know Your Rights Pamphlet Emergency Response Worksheet
Dear Friends,
Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA and the US PROStitutes Collective are asking for your help in opposing provisions in House Bill HR 3887 passed in the US House of Representatives on December 4, 2007 and now before the US Senate.
HR 3887 is part of a campaign to use justifiable concern about trafficking to promote a moralistic and dangerous crusade against prostitutioni – a crusade we are determined to stop.
PRESS RELEASE
Dylan Wolfe - Sex Workers Action New York (SWANK), swank [at] riseup [dot] net
Michael Bottoms - Sex Workers Outreach Project - New York City (SWOP-NYC),
swop.nyc [at] gmail [dot] com
Susan Blake - Prostitutes of New York (PONY), pony [at] panix [dot] com
Desiree Alliance, info [at] DesireeAlliance [dot] org
The Pink Scare: Of Ms. Palfrey and Sex Panic
New York, NY - The activists at Sex Workers Action New York (SWANK), Sex
Workers Outreach Project New York (SWOP-NYC), Prostitutes of New York
(PONY) and the nationally-based Desiree Alliance are saddened that Deborah
Jeane Palfrey, also known as the D.C. Madam, passed away on May 1st in an
apparent suicide. We - prostitutes, strippers, pro-dommes, porn stars, sex
experts, and allies - extend our sympathies to all of those hurt by this
most recent chapter of the "Pink Scare," in which oppressive legislation
and social stigma partner to generate hysteria around what, for us, can
prove to be simply a decent way to make a living.
The circumstances surrounding Ms. Palfrey's death suggest that Americans
reconsider the current state and federal policies that govern sex worki, as
By J. D. Obenberger, Attorney at Law
© MMI J. D. Obenberger
Laws in your State
in the United States, there is some federal laws regarding prostitution, but they don't outright make it illegal unless you are going across state borders, or near a naval or army base. Most states, except some counties in Nevada make prostitution illegal. Here is a good overview of the different laws in the various states.
Focus on Safety
See our Legal Resource Guide:
- xxxlaw.net (Chicago)
(Adobe PDF Format)
Other Resources:
