Happy Spring!
We want to extend a HUGE thank you to anyone who shared or donated to the LA Asian Migrant Sex Worker Outreach Fund Gofundme promoted in our last newsletter.
Thanks to your support we have raised $5,595 in community funds! Your contributions (and an Incredibly generous $2000 grant from the Liberty Hill Foundation) have brought us only $405 short of our goal of $8000! These funds could not be raised without your support, and the money raised will go directly towards providing support and services to massage workers in LA Chinatown.
Please continue to share this Gofundme with friends and family using the following link: https://gofund.me/fecbe235
Continue reading to hear about more SWOP LA projects that could use your support. ❤️
INTERNATIONAL WHORE’S DAY!
As summer quickly approaches, we have started planning for International Whore’s Day (June 2nd)! This annual celebration honors sex workers while recognizing the often harmful working conditions we face. In order to organize an event that captures the importance of this day to our community, we are asking the help of anyone who is interested in planning, procurement, or coordination.
If you would like to get involved with this event please fill out this SWOP LA volunteer form, or send an email to losangelesswop@gmail.com.
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Community Resource List
Because of the vital role that the sex working community plays in keeping each other safe, we would love your help in building our resource list! This list will compile your recommendations for community resources and services providers that are SWer friendly and respect our human rights. If you have any suggestions, please submit them to our website here.
Bad Date List
We have also started on a project to develop a Bad Date List for the LA Metro Area. This list will collect information on clients that workers have had negative experiences with in order to be shared with other LA workers for their safety. You can submit your Bad Dates to our website here.
All submissions will be confidential and information on the list will only shared with other sex workers.
SAFE SEX WORKERS STUDY ACT
April 11, marked four years since Congress passed FOSTA/SESTA into law. This bill was devastating to our community and expanded criminal and civil liability for internet platforms containing information about the sex trade. The effects of this bill were felt immediately by sex workers as, they lost access to multiple income and harm reduction platforms.
Sex workers and sex work-affiliated orgs have been working tirelessly against this legislation since before it’s implementation. SWOP LA is asking for help in calling your Representatives and Senators and urging them to support the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act (HR 6928 and SB 3758), a bill which asks the government to research and fully understand what happens when those in the sex trade lose safe access to the internet. You can read more about the bill here.
Other News!
On March 24th, SWOP LA was invited to table at the The Asian American Drug Abuse Program’s (AADAP) ‘New You’ Resource Fair at the Curtis Tucker Center for Community Wellness in Inglewood. This resource fair occurs monthly on each 4th Thursday at the Curtis Tucker Center. Resources available include Covid-19 & Flu vaccination, HIV Testing & PreP information, Health Navigation, Harm Reduction Services, and so much more!
Check out AADAP’s website to connect with their resources or follow them on social media @aadapinc.
DecrimSexWorkCA Budget Proposal: HOUSING AS HEALTHCARE
We are e
xcited to announce that SWOP LA board member Ashley Madness has working in partnership with the DecrimSexWorkCA Coalition on a California State budget ask which focuses on housing services for current and former sex workers.
You can read the entire budget ask here!
The finalized proposal asks for:
- $147 million for a pilot program to support 5-10 housing programs for unhoused and housing insecure current and former sex workers, including connections to culturally competent services.
- $9 million for the Department of Healthcare Services to administer and evaluate the program with a program development advisory board composed of people with various types of expertise, including lived experience.
To learn more about the DecrimSexWorkCA Coalition visit their website: https://www.decrimsexworkca.com/
FROM THE FRONTLINES: UNDERSTANDING SEX WORKER-LED MOVEMENTS
SWOP LA was mentioned in an article written by Brandi Collins-Calhoun for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, on the importance of funding for sex worker-led movements.
Collins-Calhoun states that “there is not a single issue or movement that does not center or intersect with the oppressions that sex workers face.”
SURVIVAL AND LIBERATION: OUR STRUGGLES AS A SEX WORKER ORGANIZATION IN LOS ANGELES
SWOP LA board members Kim Fuentes, Tiffany H., Lucy Khan, and Ashley Madness wrote a piece for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy on the unique work that SWOP LA does, the struggles of criminalization, bureaucracy, and funding, and the power of our community!
Be on the lookout for more information about International Whore’s Day events, to be shared in our next newsletter! You can sign up for the SWOP LA newsletter by scrolling to the bottom of this page to where it says “Get Our Newsletter”.