Making S*x Work Seen and Safe
Destigmatize. Decriminalize. Protect. LAST S*x Worker Support Group Starts Tonight!
Making S*x Work Seen and Safe: Destigmatize. Decriminalize. Protect.
By Jamie Azar Sex, Relationship, and Intimacy Coach
Society, for the most part, is largely ignorant to the systemic challenges and emotional impacts legal barriers and rights to safety have on s*x workers. S*x work is one of the oldest forms of labor, existing across decades, generations, cultures, and societies; it has existed in virtually every society, woven into the fabrics of the personal, social, political, economic and spiritual spheres of different worlds. S*x work has been revered in certain cultures, honored as a ceremonial and sacred act, contrary to the shame and criminalization of our modern legal systems and general ethos of the public.
Fast forward to today: s*x workers face countless systemic challenges, from criminalization and legal barriers like a lack of labor rights and protection, to stigma and social marginalization, all of which can have detrimental mental health impacts and which invalidate s*x workers' right to safety, protection, and freedom.
Criminalization and Lack of Labor Rights
Due to the criminalization of s*x work in many regions, many people are faced to operate under unsafe conditions to avoid police detection. Working without legal protection can create risks for sex workers, their families, clients, landlords, and support networks. Criminalization and lack of legal protections and rights to safety also empower police to abuse their power. Additionally, without a place to report violence or abuse, many sex workers are forced to endure this inhumane and unethical treatment in silence, creating fear, shame, and invisibilizing s*x workers’ voices and their rights to legal security, protection, and safety.
Stigma and Social Marginalization
The invisibilization and silencing of s8x workers is born out of societal shame, fear, stigma, and a perverse projection of puritanism cocktailed with abuses of power. Societal stigma isn’t just met in a glance, a feeling– this stigma pervades our systems as those in power gatekeep people’s access to these privileges, born out of the catacombs of bias, ignorance, and repression. Stigma not only dehumanizes sex workers; it can affect their access to housing, employment, and healthcare. On a microlevel, sex workers might be discriminated against in parenting, education, community participation, or made to feel like outsiders, contributing to feelings of isolation and shame for many people. This social marginalization is not only unethical, it’s inhumane and deeply impactful for those who are met on the other end of this exclusion, discrimination, and othering.
Decriminalization and Education
Systemically, we need to decriminalize s*x work and ensure s*x workers right to labor protections and safe working conditions, which has proven to reduce the negative impacts of mental health outcomes by affirming folks’ right to safety. Destigmizating involves a change in our ethos and understanding of sex work outside of myths and misconceptions. Decriminalization involves reforming our legislative protections for sex workers and legalizing *ex work. Educating ourselves and others on the realities many sex workers face can promote empathy, understanding, and reduce cultural stigma and discrimination against sex work. Community centers where sex workers can connect with one another, rest, get resources, and find safety in addition to peer support networks and access to mental health care can help address emotional harm, combat isolation, and foster empowerment for many folks, who deserve access to this expansive and affirming care and more.
S*x workers deserve the right to safety, security, and a sense of belonging. The silencing, erasure, and marginalization of sex workers is born out of stigma, shame, and abuses of power. S*x work is work, and challenging stigma while transforming the systems that cause harm is part of our shared responsibility to uphold s*x workers’ right to dignity, autonomy, and protection.
Are you a current or former s8x worker seeking more support? We invite you to join our support group here at LAST. You can read more about it below or email admin@lastcollective.org to sign up or reach out with any questions you may have.
S*x Worker Support Group TONIGHT 5 pm PST!
Cost & Attendance:
Free to attend and open to all current and former s-x workers (18+) regardless of state of residency or immigration status.
Please note: a brief screening may be required for non-clients to ensure our group remains a s-x worker-only space
Peer-led support group for current and former s*x workers ONLY. Hosted by Rebecca Renee Faust, AMFT
Every other Monday, 4pm-5pm PST
STARTS TONIGHT!
See you there!
ALSO…. THIS THURSDAY!! Mou will be back to co-host with Wayne LeSane!
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