Category: Press Release

Sex Workers Respond to Gilgo Beach Arrest

Press Release: August 2023

Re: Sex Workers Respond to Gilgo Beach Arrest

U.S. Sex Workers rights organizations have gathered in response to the arrest of the Gilgo Beach suspect, Rex Heuremann. We hope that the families affected by this case can gain some comfort in knowing that a suspect is being held in custody and we may be one step closer to keeping our communities safe. 

However, as many family members and Sex Worker rights advocates know, the investigation into who has been murdering community members and leaving their bodies at Gilgo Beach has been botched for years. The fate of those left on Gilgo Beach has been overshadowed by ongoing violence perpetrated by law enforcement enabled by political corruption in Suffolk County. 

Rex Heuremann is far from the first serial killer that has harmed Sex Workers at their leisure for years/decades at a time. This will continue until law enforcement and the government recognize that violence against us is condoned, and at times, perpetrated by the very people sworn to protect everyone in every community. This case is a reminder that law enforcement continues to harm Sex Workers and the injustice system is still not a safe place for survivors and families of victims. 

It is deeply traumatizing that our communities face this on a daily basis due to criminalization, stigma, misogyny, and hate. It is a great emotional cost to be asked for a quote, an interview, a blurb, etc., as a community and our  families have lived in fear from those who can easily maneuver murderous activities. Since Heuremann’s arrest another victim’s body has been found and her name was released before her family was notified. Journalists can do better. Please take the time to listen to Sex Workers about what the issues are here, and  do so in ways that are not triggering and traumatizing.

We ask that the press and social media handle coverage of Gilgo Beach with depth and sensitivity rather than painting a tragic picture of who Sex Workers are and uncritically depicting police in Suffolk County as heroes and saviors. The real heroes here are the families of those found at Gilgo Beach who have fought for years for the cases to be investigated, and Sex Worker rights organizers who have been in solidarity with this case all along.

Desiree Alliance

New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance

Best Practices Policy Project

The Black Sex Workers Collective

The Outlaw Project

March 3rd and Rights

By Janet Duran

On March 3rd we honor our history and all the shoulders we are standing on globally in our quest for rights. Look no further for an accurate history of March 3rd and sex worker rights, than this posting by Carol Leigh of BAYSWAN.

The 3rd of March is International Sex Worker Rights Day. The day originated in 2001 when over 25,000 sex workers gathered in India for a sex worker festival. The organizers, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, a Calcutta based group whose membership consists of somewhere upwards of 50,000 sex workers and members of their communities. Sex worker groups across the world have subsequently celebrated 3 March as International Sex Workers’ Rights Day.

Live History Archive, www.bayswan.org/March3/

How will we celebrate this day in 2022? We have two ways. Want to chill, hear poems, a potted history and original music? Learn about March 3rd in audio form with this blast from the past poetry podcast from PJ Starr and NJRUA.

Want to get active in the spirit of March 3rd? This year we are happy to celebrate with the March 3rd edition of Heaux Skills with Jenna Torres and the BSWC. Want to learn how to organize around electoral issues? Then this March 3rd Electoral Rundown and Organizing 101 with Jenna Torres is the right place to be at 4 pm US Eastern.

An Open Letter to AIDS United et al:

Sex worker “focused” is not sex worker-led (20 Dec 2021)

We are writing this open letter in defense of all sex workers and in the spirit of finding solutions to long-standing dynamics in the HIV/AIDS sector globally that have led to the marginalization of the leadership of sex workers who are most affected and impacted. Please sign on here to future actions.

On December 16, 2021, without any discussion, communication or connecting of campaigns, AIDS United, Sex Workers Project (SWP), Reframing Health and Justice and the Postive Women’s Network (PWN), based their letter campaign and “movement-building” on policy work done by a coalition of sex worker-led organizations. See also, this statement by AIDS United on December 17

We are aware that our organizing and policy work in HIV and AIDS forums is carefully done, based on more than 30 years of experience and is held in high regard. It makes sense that other groups would want to build upon our groundbreaking work. 

We want to be clear about what has occurred so close to the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This is not about building on the work of others to strengthen sex workers’ voices (which, of course, we do support), this is blatant theft. The organizing and social capital of our work on HIV/AIDS policy and justice are being taken by privileged groups with unlimited access to resources who were in no way involved and with no consultation. And, this has been done by groups that gatekeep funding, have millions of dollars, and use respectability politics surrounding sex work.

We want to be very clear that while we are highlighting a specific instance we are not surprised that our work and organizing has been appropriated. The astro-turfing of work done by sex workers is something that happens frequently. This letter is not only about documenting what happened to us. We hope it serves as an example to other communities of sex workers that have had this happen to them already and for future sex worker rights organizers. This coalition presents a question for all to consider: Who will be at the table for furthering sex worker HIV policies? This question presents a bigger issue on who gets chosen to sit at the table that we built? For these mentioned groups to have a hand in policy-making and not include this coalition disregards our roles as leaders. This should give all in the sector pause.

Adding our organizational links to the letter is not recognition. It portrays sex workers as coming into this policy work when we are clearly leaders in this fight. Our organizations specifically mentioned in our NHAS open letter (one of the links used), that our rights and principles would no longer allow “advocates” to speak for us, but yet, this appropriation of our work clearly shows that our demands were not honored. Every one of the mentioned organizations has leadership that knows there is no greater offense than grifting work off marginalized populations. 

In the spirit of solutions we list the following remedies. AIDS United, SWP, PWN and Reframe Health and Justice must take down the letter/form, publicly apologize and support the work of grassroots organizations that did this work unfunded when the issues were not yet accepted. We are here waiting for your call so you can make this right and we look forward to working with you. Additionally, each organization involved in this must change their internal policies so something like this can never happen again. Each organization should pay the sex workers most impacted by these issues to advise them on how to make these changes. Our leaders and organizers have put their lives on the line for this work without payment for decades. If funding has been obtained by the intellectual and written appropriation of our work, then our groups’ deserve compensation. Monetary compensation is very important to our organizations as it literally allows our survival to sustain the work we do towards human rights for all. We refuse to allow more privileged groups and non-sex workers take from us now because they suspect that sex worker rights has become a popular issue and catching funders and donors attention. 

For people and organizations who are not closely associated with this work, you may wonder why we didn’t try to handle this internally. The answer is we have tried without success and now after this incident, we will not hold secrets when the community of sex workers and trans-led organizations continue to suffer from erasure, astroturfing, and appropriation. We tried to get AIDS United to return our messages for years–almost a decade–after we observed numerous policy missteps and erasures. We made countless efforts to connect with AIDS United as sex worker leaders and Black trans leaders. We even had AIDS United staffers speak to policy directors on our behalf to no avail. Other organizations involved in this action, such as Reframe Health and Justice, have repeatedly been advised privately to stop taking the work of grassroots organizations as their own. And, we have all of these years of reaching out documented in our archives; We have the receipts. 

Our work is our work and we must be acknowledged as such. UN UPR Recommendation 86 is also the work of sex worker-led groups. The legwork of organizing sex workers representing in Geneva for the 2010, 2015, and 2020 Universal Periodic Review was done by sex workers.  

Our roots in this work go very deep and it is an affront to every organization listed here that the seminal work of Black trans leader Sharmus Outlaw is also being taken without acknowledgement. It is foundational in whorephobia and transphobia to erase us from our own history. In 2011, many years into her advocacy, Sharmus addressed the Global Dialogue on HIV/AIDS and shared our joint policy agenda. She was also a central part in globally organizing, presenting, and participating in the many IAS conferences. This work cannot be erased.

Sincerely,

BPPP

Desiree Alliance

The BSWC

NJRUA 

The Outlaw Project

“Centrado” en las trabajadoras sexuales no es lo mismo que dirigido por trabajadoras sexuales (20 de diciembre de 2021)

Estamos escribiendo esta carta abierta en defensa de todas las trabajadoras sexuales y con el espíritu de encontrar soluciones a las dinámicas de larga data en el sector del VIH/SIDA a nivel mundial que han llevado a la marginación del liderazgo de las trabajadoras sexuales que son las más afectadas e impactadas. Por favor regístrese aquí para acciones futuras.

El 16 de diciembre de 2021, sin ninguna discusión, comunicación o conexión de campañas, AIDS United (SIDA Unidos), Sex Workers Project – SWP (Proyecto de Trabajadores Sexuales), Reframe Health and Justice (Replantea la Salud y Justicia) y Positive Women’s Netwotk – PWN (la Red de Mujeres Positivas), basaron sus cartas de campaña y la “construcción del movimiento” en trabajo político realizado por una coalición de organizaciones dirigidas por trabajadoras sexuales. Consulte también esta declaración de AIDS United del 17 de diciembre.

Somos conscientes de que nuestro trabajo organizativo y político en los foros sobre el VIH y el SIDA se realiza con cuidado, basado en más de 30 años de experiencia y goza de un gran respeto. Tiene sentido que otros grupos quieran construir sobre nuestro trabajo innovador.

Queremos dejar claro lo que ha ocurrido tan cerca del Día Internacional para Poner Fin a la Violencia contra las Trabajadoras Sexuales. Esto no se trata de la construcción sobre el trabajo de otros para fortalecer las voces de las trabajadoras sexuales (que, por supuesto, apoyamos), esto es un flagrante robo. El capital social y organizativo de nuestro trabajo sobre políticas y justicia sobre el VIH/SIDA está siendo tomado por grupos privilegiados con acceso ilimitado a recursos que de ninguna manera estuvieron involucrados y sin consulta. Y esto lo han hecho grupos que controlan la financiación, tienen millones de dólares y utilizan políticas de respetabilidad en torno al trabajo sexual.

Queremos dejar muy claro que, si bien estamos destacando una instancia concreta, no nos sorprende que nuestro trabajo y organización se haya apropiado. El astroturfing del trabajo realizado por las trabajadoras sexuales es algo que ocurre con frecuencia. Esta carta no se trata sólo de documentar lo que nos sucedió. Esperamos que sirva de ejemplo para otras comunidades de trabajadoras sexuales a las que ya les ha pasado esto y para futuros organizadores de los derechos de las trabajadoras sexuales. Esta coalición presenta una pregunta para que todos la consideren: ¿Quiénes estarán en la mesa para promover las políticas del VIH para las trabajadoras sexuales? Esta pregunta presenta un problema mayor sobre quién es elegido para sentarse en la mesa que construimos. Para que estos grupos mencionados participen en la formulación de políticas y no incluyan a esta coalición ellos ignoran nuestros roles como líderes. Esto debería dar una pausa a todos en el sector.

Agregar nuestros links organizacionales a la carta no es un reconocimiento. Retrata a las trabajadoras sexuales como parte de este trabajo político cuando claramente somos líderes en esta lucha. Nuestras organizaciones mencionaron específicamente en nuestra carta abierta de la NHAS (uno de los links utilizados), que nuestros derechos y principios ya no permitirían que los “defensores” hablen por nosotros, pero, sin embargo, esta apropiación de nuestro trabajo muestra claramente que nuestras demandas no fueron cumplidas. Cada una de las organizaciones mencionadas tiene un liderazgo que sabe que no hay mayor insulto que arrebatar el trabajo a las poblaciones marginadas.

En el espíritu de las soluciones, enumeramos los siguientes remedios. AIDS United, SWP, PWN y Reframe Health and Justice deben retirar la carta/formulario, disculparse públicamente y apoyar el trabajo de las organizaciones de base que hicieron este trabajo sin financiamiento cuando los temas aún no fueron aceptados. Estamos aquí esperando su llamada para que pueda solucionar este problema y esperamos trabajar con usted. Además, cada organización involucrada en esto debe cambiar sus políticas internas para que algo como esto nunca vuelva a suceder. Cada organización debe pagar a las trabajadoras sexuales más afectadas por estos problemas para que las asesoren sobre cómo realizar estos cambios. Nuestros líderes y organizadores han arriesgado sus vidas por este trabajo sin pago durante décadas. Si la financiación se ha obtenido mediante la apropiación intelectual y escrita de nuestro trabajo, entonces nuestros grupos merecen una compensación. La compensación monetaria es muy importante para nuestras organizaciones, ya que literalmente permite que nuestra supervivencia sustente el trabajo que hacemos en pro de los derechos humanos para todos. Nos negamos a permitir que los grupos más privilegiados y las que no son trabajadoras sexuales nos quiten ahora porque sospechan que los derechos de las trabajadoras sexuales se han convertido en un tema popular y atrayendo la atención de los financiadores y donantes.

Para las personas y organizaciones que no están estrechamente asociadas con este trabajo, es posible que se pregunten por qué no intentamos manejar esto internamente. La respuesta es que lo hemos intentado sin éxito y ahora, después de este incidente, no guardaremos secretos cuando la comunidad de trabajadoras sexuales y organizaciones lideradas por personas trans continúe sufriendo el borrado, el astroturf y la apropiación. Intentamos que AIDS United respondiera nuestros mensajes durante años, casi una década, después de observar numerosos errores y borrados en las políticas. Hicimos innumerables esfuerzos para conectarnos con AIDS United como líderes trabajadoras sexuales y líderes trans negras. Incluso hicimos que el personal de AIDS United hablara con los directores de políticas en nuestro nombre sin éxito. A otras organizaciones involucradas en esta acción, como Reframe Health and Justice, se les ha aconsejado en repetidas ocasiones en forma privada que dejen de tomar el trabajo de las organizaciones de base como propio. Y tenemos todos estos años de contacto documentados en nuestros archivos; Tenemos los recibos.

Nuestro trabajo es nuestro trabajo y debe ser reconocido como tal. La Recomendación 86 del EPU de la ONU también es obra de grupos dirigidos por trabajadoras sexuales. El trabajo preliminar de organizar a las trabajadoras sexuales para que representen en Ginebra para el Examen Periódico Universal de 2010, 2015 y 2020 fue realizado por trabajadoras sexuales.

Nuestras raíces en este trabajo son muy profundas y es una afrenta para todas las organizaciones enumeradas aquí que el trabajo fundamental de la líder trans negra Sharmus Outlaw también se esté tomando sin reconocimiento. Es la base de la putafobia y la transfobia borrarnos de nuestra propia historia. En 2011, muchos años después de su labor, Sharmus se dirigió al Diálogo Mundial sobre el VIH/SIDA y compartió nuestra agenda política conjunta. También fue una parte central en la organización, presentación y participación a nivel mundial en las numerosas conferencias de la IAS. Este trabajo no se puede borrar.

Atentamente,

BPPP

Desiree Alliance

The BSWC

NJRUA 

The Outlaw Project