Photo courtest Wiktor Szymanowicz / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Earlier this month, sex workers and allies walked 14 blocks down Michigan Avenue in Chicago in what they called a âFuneral for the Death of Sex Work.â The New Orleans-style funeral procession, complete with a brass band and women sporting mourning hats, veils, and stilettos, was organized by a sex worker and activist named Harpy Anna. Her goal, she said in an interview, was to draw attention to the loss of safe working conditions after the president signed controversial legislation that effectively limits the online tools sex workers use.The effects of FOSTA/SESTA, which intends to combat sex trafficking by holding online platforms liable for their usersâ potentially illegal activity but also makes no distinction for consensual sex work, were almost immediate, spurring the closure of several popular online spaces frequented by sex workers. Advocates say without these spaces, sex workers wonât be able to vet their clients and in some cases will be forced to return to street-based work, putting their safety and livelihoods at risk.One sex worker told Broadly that the closure of Backpage has forced them to become less discerning when it comes to clients. âI find myself responding to inquiries I might have ignored before,â said Anlina Sheng. âI feel if I say no to an unpleasant client now, I might have to say yes to a dangerous or pushy client in the near future.âWhile the march served as a means to draw attention to the plight of sex workers as they lose these important resources, it also was an opportunity for local sex workers to advocate together on a more personal level. Kate DâAdamo, one of the organizers behind the #SurvivorsAgainstSESTA campaign, tells Broadly that many sex workers in the last few years have relied on connecting to their community through online channels, including checking references with someone they only know through their website. One thing the passage of SESTA/FOSTA has done, in her opinion, is bring people back to helping each other in person.âBuilding community is just what folks do when theyâre marginalized and you canât necessarily rely on a lot of things that other people do or where community isnât naturalâwhen walking into a room where no one looks like you doesnât automatically facilitate community-building,â she explains. Asking a fellow sex worker for information âis a lot safer when you can check your gut with that person face to face,â she says.âItâs not only because of the loss of these online spaces, but also because of a real awareness of criminalization for a lot of folks,â she continues. âJust because Backpage went down doesnât mean that stings have stopped. A lot of people are not as trusting as they were a year ago or even six months ago.âIn addition to supporting one another through community, sex workers have also long been activists for womenâs and workersâ rights. DâAdamo, a longtime advocate for sex workers, says sheâs definitely had more people reaching out to her through various networks to ask about organizing in addition to safety measures. As she prepares to meet with lawmakers on Friday for the first ever National Sex Worker Lobby Day on June 1 to talk about sex worker rights and help get the word out about demonstrations and rallies happening across the country on June 2 for International Whores Day, DâAdamo says this advocacy work has also brought people together. âA lot of community groups have been coming together to meet each other and get to know each other,â she says. âBeing able to sit down and plan for a march or plan for a rally or plan on lobbyingâthatâs also community building.âAkynos is the founder of Black Sex Worker Collective, another informal grassroots network working on behalf of sex workers. In a similar spirit of bringing people together, she will host an International Whores Day Burlesk Show in Brooklyn on Thursday. âRight now sex workers have lost their livelihoodâare forced to make a choice between making rent and being able to eatâdue to the recent FOSTA/SESTA legislation that restricts online speech and has closed down advertising sites,â Akynos explained in a statement. âBlack sex workers are among the most harmed. Any money raised will be poured into the support of these sex workers.â
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The Black Sex Worker Collective officially launched shortly after SESTA/FOSTA started gathering steam, Akynos tells Broadly. While she hopes to help normalize conversations around sex work and make black and trans sex workers more visible as leaders in the sex workersâ rights movement, the collectiveâs purpose is to offer support services for current and former black sex workers. The organization is still really new, but Akynos says sheâs already had people reach out to her for help.âEven before SESTA/FOSTA, there were never any protections for us as humans within this industry, and weâve always operated outside of that,â Akynos explains. âWeâre not victims. There were never any laws in place to protect us. Weâre still trying to make money, weâre still trying to figure out new spaces to work. Weâre still leaning on each other for support, and weâre still finding ways around the system.â"We’re still leaning on each other for support, and we’re still finding ways around the system.”