On April 22nd, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc. concerning whether the Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Oath (APLO), written into the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), violates the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The contested legislation is the U.S.… Continue reading Lonely Little Red Umbrella: Sex Workers’ Rights in the Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Pledge Hearing
Category: Politics
Why Does Portland Have So Many Strip Clubs?
You can’t just take at face value the unofficial slogans of the Portland Chamber of Commerce. “There are more strip clubs per capita than any other city in the country,” “You’re never more than fifteen minutes by foot from a microbrewery,” and “We do too have a professional sports team in one of the major… Continue reading Why Does Portland Have So Many Strip Clubs?
What’s Trafficking Got To Do With It: The Media and the Cleveland Kidnappings
Last week in Cleveland, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, and Amanda Berry escaped from Ariel Castro’s “house of horrors” where he imprisoned the women in a nightmare of rape and torture for almost a decade. Castro has been arraigned on four charges of kidnapping and three charges of rape. The courageous women escaped with the help… Continue reading What’s Trafficking Got To Do With It: The Media and the Cleveland Kidnappings
What Antis Can Do To Help, Part Two: Aiding Those Leaving The Industry
In case you missed it, read Part One here. I am a sex worker who not only hates the sex industry, but, more often than not, sex work itself. At the very least, I am not the Charlotte York of Sex Work and the City; I didn’t set out on my current career path screaming, “I… Continue reading What Antis Can Do To Help, Part Two: Aiding Those Leaving The Industry
The Merseyside Model, Part I: Can Sex Worker Activists Partner with the Police and a Conservative London Politician?
In Merseyside, England, violence against sex workers is treated by the police as a hate crime. This means that when a sex worker is the victim of an assault, robbery, or rape, she or he can report the incident without fear of being charged with prostitution, because the police have agreed to place a higher… Continue reading The Merseyside Model, Part I: Can Sex Worker Activists Partner with the Police and a Conservative London Politician?