There is significant debate within our sex worker community about whether LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) programming, a pre-booking diversion program for low-level drug and sex work related offenses, is a good or bad thing. The first LEAD program launched in Seattle, Washington in 2011, with private funding from the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations,… Continue reading Diversion Programs Are For Cops
Tag: open society foundations
The Week in Links—December 20th
You can contribute to longtime sex worker activists Jill Brenneman and Amanda Brooks to help them pay their medical expenses using the email abrooks2014@hush.com through Giftrocket. Brenneman and Brooks were abused and terrorized by a client over a span of two and a half years—they discussed their devastating story with Tits and Sass co-editors Caty and… Continue reading The Week in Links—December 20th
The P Word: A 101
Though most don’t consider the word “prostitute” pejorative, it’s more damaging to sex workers than any other slur. There’s no true neutrality to be found in a word whose verb form Merriam-Webster defines as “to devote to corrupt or unworthy purposes.” But precisely because it is used in polite language, because of its patina of… Continue reading The P Word: A 101
Activist Spotlight: Melissa Ditmore on Responsible Advocacy and No-BS Research
Dr. Melissa Ditmore is one of the sex workers’ rights movement’s most cherished academics. For twelve years, she has worked as a freelance research consultant, with an impressive list of clients that includes AIDS Fonds Netherland, UNAIDS, The Sex Workers’ Rights Project at the Urban Justice Center, and The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP).… Continue reading Activist Spotlight: Melissa Ditmore on Responsible Advocacy and No-BS Research
Lonely Little Red Umbrella: Sex Workers’ Rights in the Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Pledge Hearing
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