Em-URGE-ing Voices

Posts Tagged: sex workers rights

Instead of Trying to “save” Sex Workers—Pay Them

Saturday, September 14th, 2019 was the first-ever Sex Worker Pride day. The day was aimed at highlighting the beauty and self-told stories of sex workers and bringing positivity around a career that is often stigmatized and criminalized by the media and the general public. I saw so many beautiful posts about the love, support, and sexual liberation that many sex workers have experienced and have been surrounded by. Launched by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, this day of pride is focused on these tenants: Sex Worker Pride is an opportunity to celebrate and share stories of sex workers’ self-determination and the achievements of the sex worker rights movement over the last year. Sex Worker Pride extends to all marginalised by criminalisation, discrimination and stigma across the sex worker movement… Read more »

Condoms Are Great. Prop 60 Is Not.

One of the measures on California’s massive ballot this election cycle is Proposition 60, an initiative that would mandate the use of condoms by performers in adult films. At first glance, the measure sounds great; condoms are an important harm reduction intervention within and outside of sex work and have been proven to reduce STI and HIV transmission. Prop. 60, however, would allow any California resident to sue producers of films that don’t visibly use condoms, something that a variety of prevalent players within sexual and reproductive healthcare systems don’t support including (and perhaps most especially) adult film actors themselves. The controversial president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Michael Weinstein proposed Prop. 60 as a measure to reduce transmission of STIs by putting into law the Safer Sex in… Read more »