LOS ANGELES — Sex workers rights organization Erotic Professionals & Allies United has launched a nonpartisan voter mobilization effort alongside nonprofit Rock the Vote, with a video endorsement featuring comedian and actress Sarah Silverman.
On Tuesday, erotic professionals, fans, friends and families marked the campaign’s soft launch by sharing on social media the Silverman video, which urges sex workers to get out and vote this November.
Partnering with Rock the Vote, which leverages technology and media to mobilize voter registration, education and engagement, EPA United drafted Silverman to address the sex worker community with a direct plea.
“I’m here to tell you, your vote matters because you matter and your work matters and your life matters, and more than anything, your happiness matters,” Silverman urges in the video. “Voting is respecting that, respecting your happiness.”
A rep explained that after years of discrimination — ranging from banking restrictions to criminalization — EPA United “is rallying the community to vote and show politicians that erotic professionals and their allies are indeed a formidable voting bloc. By voting and raising their voices, adult industry professionals and their supporters can demonstrate to lawmakers that they cannot — and will not — be ignored.”
The effort has already garnered support from allies such as Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Free Speech Coalition, SWOP Behind Bars, New Moon Network, Spankchain, SextPanther and more.
EPA United Co-Director Savannah Sly said, “This initiative is driven for and by people who make a living as erotic professionals, who are too often excluded from policy decisions that affect their lives. We’re deeply grateful to Sarah Silverman for demonstrating her allyship to our community, and are excited to rock the vote this November.”
Co-Director Carly David added, "We hope this will help unify erotic professionals with our allies by collectively exercising our civil right to be active participants in the democratic process."
For more information, visit EPAUnited.org.
