Washington, DC — On Friday June 1, sex workers and allies will come together from across the country in Washington, DC. Their goal: to meet with government staffers and officials to share valuable information and stories regarding sex worker community needs.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about sex work. I believe it is important that our representatives understand what sex work is, the conflation of sex work and trafficking, the issues sex worker face and how SESTA and FOSTA harms sex workers. It is vital that this voice comes from someone who is directly affected by these laws,” noted TS Jane, Vice President of the SWOP-USA Board of Directors.

Congress recently passed FOSTA (HR 1865), a bill which expanded criminal and civil liability around sex trade. Previous coverage via YNOT described FOSTA as “…a controversial bill which its supporters say is designed to clarify that section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) ‘does not grant immunity to websites that facilitate sex trafficking,’ but critics say excessively erodes the protection available to website operators with respect to content posted by third parties.”

Since the bill’s passage, websites utilized by sex workers to find clients, safety and community have shut down. According to meeting organizers, sex workers have consequently faced increased economic instability and vulnerability to exploitation and trafficking.

In coalition with groups including HIPS, BYP100 and the Coalition for Access to Safer Spaces, the event will equip participants with skills and information to advocate for policies which value the lives and safety of people who trade sex.

“SESTA and FOSTA have put DC’s most marginalized sex workers at even greater risk of violence on the street,” said Jessica Raven of Collective Action for Safer Spaces. “This harmful legislation is predicated on the myth that the needs of sex workers are at odds with the needs of sex trafficking victims when the fact is that both of these communities need housing, safety from the stigma and violence of criminalization and access to basic resources.”

Said organizer Kara Alexander, “I’m coming to talk to my representatives because many of the sex trafficking survivors I know are struggling to keep our heads above water. There are a lot of us that have been forced back into sex work because there aren’t enough resources.”

“Passing SESTA and closing Backpage has made things chaos. I personally have lost everything and can hardly keep a roof over my head,” Alexander added.

For more information, contact Kate D’Adamo at 925-699-4519 and via survivorsagainstsesta.org.