Did Congress really think that Sex Workers were gonna just lay down?
I have always said that sex workers are some of the most resilient people I know.
Last week Bella Robinson, executive director of Coyote RI (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) attended a historical US sex worker Summit in LA. It was awesome. Coyote RI was thrilled that we were recognized as one of the top nationwide leaders and that we were invited to the table.
There were frustration, tears, joy and a lot of love in that room, but we managed to hammer out the National Sex-Worker Anti- Criminalization Principles which were based on the 1983 Denver Principles.
US sex workers had the ability to sit down with the ACLU of Southern California and the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) to discuss the immediate effects Fosta (Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) had on sex workers and discuss strategies and next steps. Legal Brief can be found here
Then on June 28th, 2018, the EFF filed a constitutional challenge on Fosta. David Greene, senior staff attorney at the EFF, says they used “The After Fosta Survey” that documented the immediate effects that Fosta had on 260 US Sex Workers to prepare the complaint. Mr. Greene says that they really hope that sex workers and their supporters will use the filing of the lawsuit to get some of their stories into the press (that is the
press that doesn’t usually cover their stories).
Coyote RI’s sister organization Swop Behind Bars is one of the plaintiffs in this case.
Sex workers around the world are celebrating our victory, and while we still have a long way to go; we are grateful for all of our allies and community partners, that have supported us through the struggle in the fight for our human rights.
A huge thank you to Cris Sardina, executive director of Desiree Alliance, for sharing your resources and bring us all to the table.
#Stronger Together