We are the Chicago Chapter of the nation-wide Sex Worker's Outreach project. Check out http://www.swop-usa.org for more in depth info.

"SWOP, at its most basic, is an anti-violence campaign. As a multi-state network of sex workers and advocates, we address locally and nationally the violence that sex workers experience because of their criminal status. Operating in one of the most prominently violent societies today, sex workers in America experience this phenomenon pointedly in the context of their criminal status. Yet, sex workers are seldom afforded protection or recourse from violent acts committed against them because of the precarious, often graft-ridden relationship between sex work and law enforcement. Society tolerates violence against sex workers because of the stigma and myths that surround prostitution. Only until these falsehoods are corrected and sex workers are legitimized will we be able to effectively prevent and minimize the structural and occupational challenges of sex work. We are here for the Whore Revolution"

Sex Workers Rights March-- December 16th

Violence is NOT an occupational hazard! 2007-12-16 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16th @ 3pm-4pm

ADDISON AND HALSTED POLICE STATION

The current criminal laws surrounding prostitution make the REAL crimes of kidnap, rape, blackmail, and even murder of sex workers unreportable to police. Every human, regardless of who they are and what they do, deserves a right to be safe from violence. While the U.S. government is spending tons of taxpayers dollars to eliminate prostitution, the criminalization that results from the application of these laws prevents sex workers from having any social protection, thus making sex workers the easiest and most visible target for violence without consequences.

Join us in this GLOBAL EVENT as we rally and send a message to the justice system and to our community that we are no longer easy targets.

 For more informatiom please visit: http://swop-chicago.org/home.php

and : http://www.myspace.com/sexworkerschicago

 

Comments

The question is, do we legalize all aspects of prostitution or do we just decriminalize the prostitutes themselves? I think that the men (and in rare cases women) who buy prostitutes are doing something harmful to society. I have known some women who worked as sex workers. Even when the men who used them were not violent, they were still exploiting the women. These women carry these experiences with them to this day and say its among the worst things they could imagine going through. When working with youth in jail many of the young women I worked with had some of the most difficult life stories I have ever heard. But they always mentioned their time working as prostitutes as the absolute low. I don't think these women are to blame. I don't think they deserve even more trouble or abuse from police. I think we need to decriminalize prostitutes to make this happen. Offer them aide and access to needed services/resources, not jail... BUT the buyers deserve a consequence. What they do hurts these women and society as a whole.
I used to volunteer in a prostitution rehab home around there when I was in college. And I have to admit, the law enforcement was absolutely brutal with prostitutes who had been abused. And if the prostitute was a transvestite? The abuse was worse from law enforcement at times. And if the transvestite tried to come to the rehab house for protection, the law enforcement was quick to come and kick them out because this was an institution that was supposed to be female only. This is an issue that needs to be discussed within society. At some levels it reminds me of the issues that the widows of Varanasi face in India's holy city, Banares. The women are forced into a form of prostitution by the priests and when they are abused, people blame it on their position in society rather than dealing with the issue.