In a report issued last week and presented at the virtual YNOT Summit last Friday, the BIPOC Adult Industry Collective (BIPOC-AIC), the collective detailed the work the organization has done to-date, the demographics of those who have applied to BIPOC-AIC for assistance and the collective’s strategic plan for the year to come.
“The work BIPOC Collective has been able to do in just one year has given us a clearer picture of the current, most pressing needs of sex workers of color across the sex trades,” states the report, which was written by Kamilah Rouse and B. Vanessa Coleman. “Still, it has powerfully demonstrated the necessity of this work, shaping the direction we’ll take to serve the greater community.”
The first section of the report details the conditions and environment that necessitated the creation of BIPOC-AIC, including “unfair practices and historical issues with racism within the industry, including disparate wages based on ethnicity.”
“The Adult industry’s diversity, equity, and inclusion problem spans from production to tech, novelty items to strip clubs, leaving marginalized performers vulnerable to sexualized racism, with fewer opportunities for advancement and being underpaid for the same labor as their non-BIPOC coworkers,” the report adds.
In the report, BIPOC-AIC notes that the organization “employs a harm reduction model, offering culturally competent care and supporting sex workers of color to achieve their goals without judgment.”
“Its mission and vision are firmly rooted in helping, with dignity and respect, the diverse community of BIPOC adult performers and sex workers,” the report adds. “We achieve this through social media outreach, regular ongoing programming, and strategic partnerships to provide for community members in need.”
The report identifies the organization’s three “pillars” designated by BIPOC-AIC which encompass the scope of its work: Mental health and wellness, education and financial assistance/mutual aid.
After detailing its efforts in each of those major areas, the BIPOC-AIC report addresses the organization’s priorities going forward and the strategic plan to achieve its goals.
“With thanks and reverence for those we’ve served in our first year, over the next five years we aim to strategically increase, doubling year-over-year, the number of grants awarded, introduce programming focused on increasing skills with and access to technology for BIPOC adult creators, and increase the availability of our support groups as well as 1-on-1 mental health/therapy support for our community,” the report states.
The report lists BIPOC-AIC’s “high level goals” for the future as “Diversity & Inclusion training for adult industry companies; sex work and trauma-informed training for therapists; Intimacy Coordinator training for former sex workers specific to porn sets; incarcerated sex worker support; immigrant sex worker support; creating an online library of all previous education events; creation of a Sex Worker Speaker’s Bureau” and “compile a database of BIPOC content creators and companies.”
To read the report in full, go to the BIPOC-AIC website and click the “Reports” link on the top navigation bar, or click here for the pdf.
