Sex Worker Rights
'Last Week Tonight With John Oliver' Spotlights Sex Work, Decriminalization
HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” aired a segment Sunday night highlighting sex worker rights and the fight for decriminalization.
Woodhull to Host 'Sex Trafficking at the Super Bowl' Webinar
Woodhull Freedom Foundation will host a virtual panel titled "Fact or Fiction: Sex Trafficking at the Super Bowl" on Thursday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m. (PST).
Court Upholds Former Performer's Discrimination Claims Against Oregon Nursing School
An Oregon court held that a former performer who alleged discrimination during her time at a nursing school, after staff found out about her decade-old adult work, could move forward with her Title IX claim against the institution.
Lorelei Lee Receives Prestigious Nonfiction Grant
Lorelei Lee has been announced as one of the 2021 recipients of the Whiting Foundation's prestigious Creative Nonfiction Grant, which will allow them to continue work on their upcoming HarperCollins book, “Anything of Value.”
New York Times Publishes Rare Op-Ed by a Sex Worker
The New York Times’ Opinion section, which under editor Kathleen Kingsbury has routinely foregrounded the voices of anti-porn activists, SWERFs and assorted sex-work deniers, yesterday published a rare op-ed penned by a sex worker.
Indiana-Based Ministry Offers 'Friendship' to Adult Entertainers
Indiana-based religious ministry Unconditional — which has targeted sex workers as potential converts since 2012 — is rebranding its messaging as an offer of “friendship” for “adult entertainers.”
Cherie DeVille Writes 2 Op-Eds on Current 'War on Porn'
Twice-crowned and reigning XBIZ "MILF Performer of the Year" Cherie DeVille penned two op-eds on sex workers' rights published this weekend by The Daily Beast and Mashable, respectively.
LGBTQ+ Sex Workers Lead #AcceptanceMatters Campaign Against Banking Discrimination
A group of national and local sex worker collectives, led by LGBTQ+ activists in the community, have launched the #AcceptanceMatters campaign “to demand an immediate pause on Mastercard's new planned adult content policies pending the creation of stakeholder advisory councils, and to protest ongoing discrimination from the banking industry.”
Sex Worker Collectives to Protest Against Banking Discrimination Tomorrow
A group of national and local sex worker collectives is planning a series of online actions and offline protests Wednesday, to “demand an immediate pause” on Mastercard's new adult content guidelines and to “protest ongoing discrimination from the banking industry.”
ACLU: End Financial Discrimination Against Sex Workers
As part of this week’s public debate about OnlyFans blaming “banks” for its decision — later reversed — to ban sexual content, the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) highlighted today a June editorial by the ACLU. In it, the civil liberties group urges PayPal and Venmo to discontinue financially discriminatory practices against sex workers “that harm vulnerable communities by shutting people out without due process.”
Rep. Ann Wagner Asks for OnlyFans Investigation, Calls All Sex Work 'Illegal'
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), the religious-right Republican legislator who was the original drafter of FOSTA-SESTA, has released a letter to the Justice Department asking for an investigation into OnlyFans, claiming — without offering any clear evidence — that the platform has “become a major marketplace for buying and selling Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) in the United States, as well as soliciting sexual activity with minors.”
Texas Judge Upholds Under-21 Stripper Ban, Claims 'Belief' It May Curb 'Human Trafficking' Trumps 1st Amendment
A U.S. District Court Judge in Texas has denied a proposed preliminary injunction against the recent state law preventing sex workers aged 18-21 from being employed at strip clubs and other “sexually oriented businesses.”
Texas Supreme Court Denies Section 230 Protection for Third-Party Content, Citing FOSTA/SESTAA
n a stunning 33-page decision, the Texas Supreme Court denied Facebook’s liability immunity for third party content based on Section 230 — the so-called “First Amendment of the internet" — with the majority opinion quoting FOSTA/SESTA to state that Section 230 “was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that facilitate traffickers in advertising the sale of unlawful sex acts with sex trafficking victims.”
FBI: Taking Down Backpage.com 'Significantly' Damaged Trafficking Investigations
TKConfirming what the vast majority of sex workers and advocates had warned about in 2017 and 2018, the FBI told the Government Accountability Office that their “ability to identify and locate sex trafficking victims and perpetrators was significantly decreased following the takedown of Backpage.com.”
Federal Oversight Office's Report Highlights FOSTA/SESTA's Failure
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a top federal oversight body, released a report on Monday evaluating the effectivity of FOSTA/SESTA since its April 2018 implementation.
Backpage: Appeals Court Rejects Judge Recusal Over Husband's Activism
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected yesterday a petition by the defense of the former owners of Backpage.com that they order a recusal of Judge Susan Brnovich over a conflict of interest concerning her husband, Arizona Attorney General and anti-sex work activist Mark Brnovich.
Asian Sex Worker Collective 'Red Canary Song' Leads Response to Atlanta Shootings
The grassroots collective of Asian sex workers and allies Red Canary Song released a statement about the shootings at Gold Massage Spa, Young’s Asian Massage and Aroma Therapy Spa in Atlanta, Georgia last Tuesday.
The Guardian Continues Campaign Stigmatizing Sex Work
The Guardian continued this week its ongoing campaign to stigmatize sex work with a piece on efforts to shut down Bristol, U.K. strip clubs, with the publication outrageously claiming that “evidence suggests that the harassment of women and domestic killings are linked to entertainment venues.”
International Sex Workers Rights Day: Campaign Advocates for Science-Based Approach
In commemoration of today's International Sex Workers Rights Day, a group of 250 researchers and scientists worldwide have issued a campaign, citing empirical evidence, calling on President Biden and Vice-President Harris to support the decriminalization of sex work as part of their broader efforts toward criminal justice reform.
Rep. Ro Khanna to Reintroduce Bill to Study FOSTA/SESTA Effects
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) has announced he is planning to re-introduce a bill to study the effects that FOSTA-SESTA legislation has had on sex worker rights and issues.