For our second installment of Big Mother Is Watching You, a guide to prominent anti-sex worker activists and officials, we’d like to remind you of a few salient facts about Hillary Clinton and her relationship to Somaly Mam, after the formal launch of Clinton’s second presidential bid on Sunday. While U.S. Secretary of State (2009-2013),… Continue reading Big Mother Is Watching You: Hillary Clinton
Author: Robin D
Robin D has been involved with SWOP since 2008 and Prax(us) (now closed) since 2011. She's a big believer in "meatspace" collective activism, building community/community organizing, and coalition-building. She obsessively shares articles about sex workers' rights and other social justice issues, and can spend an embarrassing amount of time on the internet, which is both magical and poisonous.
Big Mother Is Watching You: Mistresses of the Universe
Welcome to Big Mother Is Watching You, a guide to prominent anti-sex worker activists, most of them women. This new feature is brought to you by Robin D., veteran activist with SWOP-Denver. Today’s Mothers are a pair of powerful heiresses and philanthropists who, of late, have focused their efforts on influencing policy affecting sex workers. … Continue reading Big Mother Is Watching You: Mistresses of the Universe
Nicholas Kristof’s Sweatshop Boner
The Cambodian garment industry’s factories often serve as the canonical example of sweatshops. Women toil away in them for long hours with low pay and awful, unsafe working conditions. There are regular mass faintings due to poor ventilation, chemicals such as insecticides and shoe glue, long hours, and lack of access to health care. There… Continue reading Nicholas Kristof’s Sweatshop Boner
Outdated Fear: Criminalizing HIV+ Sex Workers
With thanks to members of SWOP-USA Laws that criminalize HIV exposure are supposed to benefit public health, but in practice are extremely harmful to public health and to the targeted HIV-positive individuals. Sex workers are highly vulnerable to these laws, which sometimes target HIV-positive prostitution specifically. Many require forcible HIV testing, and sometimes they simply… Continue reading Outdated Fear: Criminalizing HIV+ Sex Workers
Activist Spotlight: Magalie Lerman on Exploitation, the Anti-Prostitution Pledge, and Outreach
Magalie Lerman joined Prax(us), a Denver homeless youth and anti-trafficking organization, in 2010, as an outreach worker – one who knew the lay of the land in a way that others at Prax(us) did not. She now directs the outreach program and Hartcore, the constituent community organizing program. Hartcore and SWOP Denver (Sex Workers’ Outreach… Continue reading Activist Spotlight: Magalie Lerman on Exploitation, the Anti-Prostitution Pledge, and Outreach