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4th International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
December 12, 2006
This is from a press release $pread sent out yesterday - there are similar events in cities all over the world. You’ll have to kind of poke around the sex worker support orgs in your area (I write, as if every town has one) to see if anyone’s organizing anything - or organize one yourself!
Update - as I find out about them, I’ll add listings for events in cities other than NYC:
Washington, DC December 18 @ 4pm-6pm
Western Presbyterian Church 2401 Virginia Avenue NW
Sponsored by HIPS and Different Avenues
San Francisco December 17 @ 11:00am, 1323 Polk St.
Pastor Wilfried Glabach has invited people from the sex industry to the 1st Congregational Church, 11:00am in San Francisco, 1323 Polk St. After the church service we will pass out Sex Worker Community Hotline information along Polk St and give out brown bag lunches.
Oakland December 17 @ 10:30am at 2501 Harrison Street
In the East Bay, Pastors Ama Zenya and Lynice Pinkard have also extended an invitation to sex workers to come to their church service at 10:30am at 2501 Harrison Street in Oakland. Bring potluck items to share for a communal meal afterwards with the congregation in Oakland.
Montreal December 17 @ 6 pm
Montreal’s Coalition for the Rights of Sex Workers will be organizing an march on December 17th in front of Papineau métro. We will walk with our red umbrellas westwards to Café Cléopatre.
Las Vegas December 17 @ 5.30
University of Las Vegas, Student Union, room 205. Informational session on violence against sex workers- causes, issues, and policy exploration
NEW YORK CITY.. On Sunday, December 17th, sex workers and their supporters will gather at vigils around the world to mark the annual Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, honoring the sex workers who died as victims of violent crime this year, and raising the issue of violence against sex workers to the public.
In New York City, participants will gather for a candlelight vigil at 5 PM on the steps of the Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South in Manhattan. This year..s list of names of murdered sex workers will be read aloud, participants will be encouraged to speak or offer a prayer, and a moment of silence will be observed.
At the event, organizers will read a statement demanding that authorities step up their investigation of the Atlantic City serial killer and officially announce a moratorium on arresting prostitutes to encourage cooperation between local sex workers and police. The statement will also challenge the media to report on the case in a way that respects the humanity of the women who were murdered. Atlantic City is only one example of these sorts of problems. Many more violent crimes against prostitutes remain unaddressed by the justice system, but exploited in the media.
The event is organized by Prostitutes of New York (PONY), $pread Magazine, and the Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center. Members of the press and the public are also encouraged to attend.
The Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers was inaugurated in 2003, conceived by the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) based in Berkeley, California after the conviction of Gary Ridgway (the ..Green River Killer..), a serial killer responsible for the murder of at least 48 prostitutes in Washington State. One particular statement in his confession outraged sex workers, and determined the need for a very public memorial that raises issues of violence against sex workers to lawmakers, police, and the media: ..I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.”
For more information:
PONY
$pread Magazine
Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project
Sex Workers Outreach Project
Posted by Dacia at December 12, 2006 10:00 AM
Comments
You might want to lend some support to the UK, check out news.bbc.co.uk
Posted by: Anonymous at December 12, 2006 03:43 PM
