Sex worker groups have organised an international day of action on 21st September to honour the memory of Vanessa Campos, a sex worker who was killed in Paris in August.
The New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC) have cautioned the local city council in Christchurch, New Zealand against taking the approach of introducing a new by law pushing sex workers out of their workspaces.
Over 95 sex workers held a rally for International Sex Worker Rights Day in Shahbagh, Bangladesh on 3 March. Police tried to prevent them from going ahead with the rally, so sex workers rallied without banners and planned a route that was unknown to the police.
Michael Lodberg Olsen has launched Sexelance, a project that makes street-based sex work more safe. Sexelance is an ambulance car that can be used by street-based sex workers to see clients. Inside the car there are banners saying that the volunteers will call the police if there are signs of violence. The banners also encourage sex workers to inform the authorities if they are victims of trafficking.
In Sacramento California, police continue to raid and close massage parlours. These raids are devastating for the sex workers employed in the parlours who, when left without adequate income sources, often find themselves homeless.
Quito has many organisations of sex workers, including "Por un Futuro Mejor" association with 280 members, "Esperanza Futuro" with more than 60 members, and "1° de Mayo" with more than 60 partners. In April they created a coalition to engage in dialogue with national and municipal authorities. The municipality has proposed to displace sex workers outside of the city, including the Cantera brothel in the historic district of Quito. The municipality would like to move sex workers from outdoor and visible locations into indoor and private locations.
Remembering Bedford est un résumé de la recherche de Arlene Jane Pitt avec 6 travailleuses du sexe de rue à Toronto, Canada. Elle montre comment les travailleuses du sexe de la rue démontrent la résistance et la résilience face aux lois oppressives au Canada. Elle montre les effets de la criminalisation et la façon dont les travailleuses du sexe utulisatrices des drogues doivent parfois compter sur leurs trafiquants de drogue pour leur sécurité.
Remembering Bedford is a summary of Arlene Jane Pitt’s research with 6 street-based sex workers in Toronto, Canada. She shows how street-based sex workers demonstrate resistance and resilience in the face of oppressive laws in Canada. She shows the impacts of criminalisation and how sex workers who use drugs sometimes need to rely on their drug dealers for safety. This article was published as a part of Research for Sex Work 15: Resistance and Resilience.
An Oklahoma sex worker has pleaded guilty to charges after being caught on camera by a vigilante’s drone camera. NSWP has chosen not to reproduce the sex worker’s name to reduce the harm of media visibility in her case. She has been sentenced to one year in state prison for the misdemeanor charge. Her alleged client’s case remains pending.
An Oklahoma City resident has made it his personal mission to surveil sex workers and post the footage on his website and YouTube Channel. In this case, he also sent the footage to the police.
The City Council of Alicante, Spain has approved the repeal of the bylaw on panhandling and sex work adopted by the previous government.
