slavegirljoy
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Joined: 11/6/2006
From: North Carolina, USA
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This is not intended to be an argument in favor of prostitution or to say that sex-for-hire is right or wrong. That, i believe, is up to each individual to decide for herself and himself. (Let's not forget that there are also plenty of prostitutes who are heterosexual and homosexual males, as well as trangender and transvestite. It's not just woman's work.) This is intended to be an argument in favor of civil rights and the ability of free thinking adults to decide for themselves what sort of sexual activity they want to enjoy. It's an argument in favor of liberty and freedom and against restricting one person's freedom and liberty based, solely on another person's beliefs. Each person needs to be allowed to decide what they want to do with their own body and take responsibility for that decision. If they want someone to pay them to use their body, that should be up to them to decide, just as each individual decides for themself what other types of sexual activity they want to participate in, either alone or with other consenting adults, and it shouldn't be up to the government or anyone else to tell them that it's wrong and they can't do it. This is an argument in favor of decriminalizing all sexual activities between consenting adults, including sex-for-hire, commonly called Prostitution. There is a movement underway, by those in the field of professional sex providers, otherwise known as Prostitutes, to decriminalize their profession. For anyone who cares about sexual freedom in this country, please skip the bulk of this post (if you want) and go directly to the bottom for links to some of these organizations, where you can read what they have to say about the work they do, the discrimination and harassment they face because of the laws and negative stereotypes in place against them, and their desire to live as they choose without having to justify to anyone the correctness of their choice. Thank you, in advance for taking the time to read this. "The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress." -- Joseph Joubert quote:
ORIGINAL: ChainsandFreedom
slave joy
look at the fda, irs, ins.
why would prostitution be the first time in american history that governmental regulation actually increases the welfare of those involved the way it was supposed to?
"The United States was founded on the principles of individual freedom, free markets, private property, and limited government. As the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution reflect, individuals have the natural and God-given right to live their lives any way they choose, so long as their conduct is peaceful. It is the duty of government to protect, not destroy, these inherent and inalienable rights. Operating through the IRS, DEA, ATF, INS, FDA, FTC, and a multitude of other bureaucracies, our government has waged immoral and destructive wars on our freedom, our property, and our well-being." The Future of Freedom Foundation http://www.fff.org/aboutUs/index.asp
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if people pay between, lets say, 15.00-5000.00 for a simple blowjob, how would regulation bring about uniform standards of fairness and safety? By letting the Free Market and laws of supply & demand, etc. work within the sex industry the same way other "leisure and pleasure" industries function. We have health and safety regulations covering many products and services in this country, already. Legalized sex-for-hire work would be no different. quote:
expensive pro's would have a certificate saying their clean and safe, just like they can more or less garuntee now, while the desperate, exploited by pimps and drugs pro's would go on providing services while not meeting the minimum standards and continue to be violating the bussiness laws you propose. The ones who are in greatest need of decriminalizing prostitution are the poor and less educated sex workers. They are the ones who are easily intimidated and exploited by the pimps, human traffickers and sex worker predators and profiteers. By using fear tactics about the possibility of being arrested and jailed and, in the case of workers with children, of losing their parental rights, the poor and uneducated prostitute is forced to remain working for unscrupulous people who take advantage of them. If prostitution were decriminalized, sex workers who were being abused would be able to go to the police for help, without fear of arrest. Also, these women could find legal professional sex agents and managers to work for and not have to work for scumbags who treat them badly. Just as the repeal of Prohibition took the making and selling of alcohol out of the criminals hands and brought about an end to the "bootleggers" and "rum runners", so would decriminalizing prostitution help to eradicate the pimps, human traffickers, and others who profiteer from the illegality of prostitution. This would have a very positive affect on the health and safety of prostitutes and their working conditions. quote:
I've never heard of a union educating its workers to the point they can easily get a job outside of the union. Company-sponsored education and retraining programs have been a feature of union negotiations for a long time. Sometimes these programs are used for advancing a worker to another job within the company and sometimes used to train workers for new jobs because of job loss due to layoffs, downsizing, outsourcing, or technology becoming obsolete. A man, who i had a long term relationship with, was a member of the United Steel Workers union at Bethlehem Steel in Maryland for many years. He started out operating some sort of equipment inside the furnace area and then he took an opportunity, that was offered to him through his union, to get training to become a Heavy Equipment operator and, many years later, was able to sign-up to receive training to drive a train, again offered to him through his union. The training provided to him through his union allowed him to have more job opportunities when the steel mill was changing ownership and he was in danger of losing his job. Here are some more examples of how unions have worked to get training and retraining programs for their members.
HIGH TECHNOLOGY; UNIONS PUSH RETRAINING PROGRAMS
By KENNETH B. NOBLE Published: March 23, 1986 "Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company headquarters, resides an adult-education program whose contributions to workers stand in sharp contrast to its unassuming surroundings. Since 1983 this, and dozens of makeshift classrooms like it, have played a key role in helping tens of thousands of employees train for jobs in the rapidly changing telecommunications industry." "employee-training programs are part of a larger management-labor effort to confront job losses resulting from new technologies. Similar programs have been won recently in contracts between the United Automobile Workers and the General Motors Corporation and the Ford Motor and recall similar past efforts by unions in the railroad, longshoremen's and printing industries."http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE1DE1E31F930A15750C0A960948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
During collective bargaining with the United Auto Workers union, Caterpillar agreed to establish an employee development and training program.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1153/is_v109/ai_4459845
UAW officials who are jointly appointed to oversee various labor-management schemes, such as quality and safety teams, worker retraining and employee-assistance programs. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/nov2005/delp-n01.shtml
UNION RETRAINING PROGRAMS AND THE ROLE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN COMBATING CHRONIC UNEMPLOYMENT
DURING THE PAST FEW DECADES, A NUMBER OF UNIONS HAVE HELPED MEMBERS TO RETRAIN TO COPE WITH TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE OR TO UPGRADE TRADE OR CRAFT SKILLS, AND SOME UNIONS HAVE PARTICIPATED WITH EMPLOYERS IN JOINT APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS AND SIMILAR EFFORTS. THIS DOCUMENT APPEARED IN LABOR LAW JOURNAL, VOLUME 11, JUNE 1964.
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED014677&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED014677
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Unions where the income disparity is vast and potential need for individual leagal representation costs don't tend to represent their workers well as it stands. Unions have a well-documented history of getting increased salaries for their members. That has always been one of their main strengths and most union-organized walk-outs and strikes have been for the purpose of getting pay raises for their members, as well as other benefits and better working conditions.
Hotel Workers Union Starts Wage Campaign
By Amy Joyce Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 19, 2006 The major hotel workers union launched a campaign yesterday designed to narrow the wage gap between workers in various states, pointing out that hospitality employees in highly unionized areas make more than double those in less-unionized areas.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011802376.html
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look how many pro's are in it because of drugs. if they're not pretty enough, smart enough, well spoken enough, or grew up in a well off enough family their still going to be paying for 40 dollar a day drug habits rather than healthcare. simply having a union and regulation doesnt dry up the low-cost market and people are still going to fill that low-paying market. Drug abuse isn't limited to prostitutes or the poor. They are probably the most likely to be arrested and jailed on drug charges but there are drug abusers in every walk of life. There are drug abuse hotlines and free clinics available to help anyone wanting to end their dependency on drugs. Having a sex industry union can do a lot to get health benefits for their members, to include drug treatment. Of course, unions and regulations don't solve every problem but there is "strength in numbers" and unions have been instrumental in getting child labor laws passed, getting an 8-hour workday established, getting pension plans for their members, fair work practices, anti-discrimination laws passed, etc. etc.
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if the government made s&m illeagle, i'd continue living my life and any private parties I go to would continue to be made in private. And, then you would be guilty of breaking the law, if that were the case, just as prostitutes are currently breaking the law because they continue to live their lives and attend private parties and such. quote:
You can't get sympathy for an issue because of an unrelated and unthreatend issue. kink doesnt often exploit. Prostitution, culture to culture throughout history, does.S&M and D/s arn't prostitution and nobody wants to criminalize them and thats an unfair argument, apples being apples and oranges being oranges. It's not a matter of trying to get sympathy for this issue. It's a matter of the hypocrisy of the law, as it currently stands. There is no justification for saying that giving free blow jobs is legal but don't ask for, offer, give, or recieve 1 cent for that blow job or you will be in violation of the law and subject to arrest, penalties, and a criminal record. If my Master wants to give me money to suck His dick, that shouldn't be anyone's business and it shouldn't be against the law. If i want to give Him money to whip my ass and pinch my tits, that shouldn't be a crime, either. If the government can make one sexual activity between consulting adults illegal, it can make other sexual activities between consulting adults illegal. In fact, it should make all sexual acts between all persons illegal, except for sex between married couples for the purpose of procreation, if the justice system is to treat everyone equally. Otherwise, it should make all sexual acts between consenting adults legal. One or the other, to be fair. You don't have to believe that prostitution is right, in order to believe that it shouldn't be a crime or that adults who participate voluntarily in it shouldn't be treated as criminals. Just as, you don't have to believe that it's right for adults to be blindfolded, gagged, tied, whipped, stuck with needles, slapped, pissed on, fucked in the ass, made to crawl on the floor, and sleep naked in a cage. But, many adults choose to do these activities and they are not, typically, treated as criminals. But, let one of them dare to offer to give the other money, in exchange for their sexual pleasure and, suddenly, it's a criminal offense. It isn't an apples to oranges comparison. Sex is sex, regardless of what form or variety the individual chooses to enjoy. If one sexual activity between consenting adults is illegal then all sexual activity between consenting adults should be made illegal or, they should all be considered legal. If you think that S&M and other sexual activities aren't subject to law enforcement, then you are misinformed about the law and have missed some recent arrests that have been publicized lately. Cities and law enforcement have been using prostitution laws and zoning laws and, in some cases creating new laws, in order to prosecute, or shut down a variety of activities involving consenting adults, including S&M conducted by individuals in private residences and private swingers clubs.
"Prostitution is defined as exchanging a "lewd act" for money or something else of value. This does not mean that you actually had sexual intercourse. Lewd is described as physical contact between two people in which one person touches the genitals, buttocks or (female) breasts of the other person, for the purpose of sexual gratification. Spanking someone with a paddle is considered physical contact under the law, even if no body parts touch. If the act of spanking someone (for money or something else of value) is done for the purpose of sexual gratification, then an act of prostitution has been committed. These crimes are commonly charged under the California penal code section 647(b). 1"http://www.swop-usa.org/BESMART.php
Here are some examples of how law enforcement is being used to stop consenting adults from enjoying erotic pleasures. There are many more that involve adult bookstores, spas, massage parlors, and bars with adult entertainment.
Dominatrix charged with prostitution
Woman leased estate from rabbinical school to run business, police say
March 1, 2007 NEW YORK - A dominatrix was arrested on prostitution charges at a suburban estate that she leased from the rabbinical school next door, and school officials faced the unusual prospect of having to cleanse the building once the whips and chains are gone. Sandra Chemero, 46, was charged Wednesday with prostitution and criminal possession of a stun gun at what she called "The Sovereign Estate" - four acres in tony Bedford that she leased last year.She advertised her services on a Web site, promising that the estate was "a place like no other. ... There is something unique about serving your mistress in a home designed and appointed especially for her enjoyment."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17406279/
Mother in Salem faces charges of prostitution
by staff writer
Boston Globe
April 7, 2007
Police charged a Salem mother with prostitution after investigators said her husband told patrolmen she had transformed the family basement into a dominatrix lair to earn extra money. The husband talked about Paula Webb's bondage business after the couple got in an argument on March 16, police said. They said Stephen Webb, 54, showed them ropes, whips, a leather mask, and other accessories in a mock dungeon. Detective William Jennings went undercover and answered an ad posted online.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/04/07/mother_in_salem_faces_charges_of_prostitution/
The TES 30th anniversary celebration was raided by New Jersey State Police. At issue was a S/M play party taking place in a venue that hold a state liquor licence. Event promoters thought they had done all their homework and covered all the bases in preparing for this event
http://www.ds-arts.com/academy/LegalAffairs.html
THE DECATUR DAILY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2007
Court upholds sex toys' sale ban
Devices won't disappear from shelves in state until appeals process complete
By Phillip Rawls
Associated Press Writer
MONTGOMERY - A federal appeals court issued a Valentine's Day ruling upholding an Alabama law banning the sale of sex toys. But the devices won't disappear from store shelves, including at one Decatur store, immediately. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Alabama's sex toy ban is constitutional because "the state's interest in preserving and promoting public morality provides a rational basis for the challenged statue."
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/070216/sex.shtml 11th Circuit Nixes Sex Toys, Sex Rights
Jonathan Ringel
Fulton County Daily Report
Americans do not have a fundamental right to sexual privacy, a 2-1 decision of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said on Wednesday.
The split panel upheld an Alabama law -- nearly identical to one in Georgia -- that made the sale of sex toys a crime punishable by up to a year in prison.
Birch maintains that although the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down a Texas law criminalizing homosexual sodomy, the justices have not decided fully that sexual privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1090180191546
Sherri Williams v. Troy King, February 14, 2007 (Public Morality Laws) This decision upheld the constitutionality of a 1998 law that bans the sale of sex toys in Alabama and said states have a "legitimate rational basis" for making rules to preserve public morality. Sponsored by state Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, the anti-obscenity law bans the sale of any device whose main purpose is to stimulate human genitals. It also prohibits nude dancing and limits where strip clubs and X-rated theaters can operate.
http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/searchpage.php
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Ohio stripper regulations, other limits to be law
Bill to take effect without Strickland signature
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU
COLUMBUS - Gov. Ted Strickland said yesterday that he will allow a bill cracking down on the operation of strip clubs, adult book stores, and other "sexually oriented businesses" to become law without his signature. The adult entertainment industry vowed to challenge the law's constitutionality in court."Let's be honest. The real goal of this bill is to close down adult cabarets," said Charity Fickisen, chairman of Dancers for Democracy. "If you don't like strip clubs, you have the right to stay home, but you have no right to try and take away my job."http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070523/NEWS24/705230436
Council targets swinger clubs:
Schenectady considers what, if anything, to do about controversial B&B
by Mike Goodwin
The Albany Time Union (NY)
March 21, 2006 SCHENECTADY -- Lawmakers, weighing a ban on sex clubs, plan to hold a public hearing to gauge public opinion about the Union Street Bed & Breakfast, a Northside inn neighbors recently revealed as the home base for a local swingers club.
More trouble for bed and breakfast
1/27/2006 12:04 PM
By: Capital News 9 Web Staff Schenectady County officials have found a law that might force a controversial bed and breakfast to close up shop. According to Friday's Daily Gazette, county officials have found a state law that said the swingers club on Union Street is a threat to public health and must be shut down -- a pretty serious allegation.http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=166113&SecID=33
Civil Libertines
The battle over Phoenix's groundbreaking sex-club ban moves into federal courtBy David HolthousePublished: March 18, 1999 The Phoenix City Council made sex-law history when it unanimously passed a new ordinance that makes it a crime to own or operate a swingers' club in Phoenix. The ordinance is the first of its kind in this country, and appears primed to spark a monumental battle in the legal war over the business of sex in America. Until Phoenix, no U.S. city had passed a law specifically banning swingers' clubs, which have quietly existed in most major metropolitan areas since the early to mid-1970s. Now, officials in at least four other cities, including Las Vegas, Nevada, and Indianapolis, Indiana, have drafted their own swingers' club laws, using the Phoenix ordinance as a model. Before they make their next move, those officials are waiting to see how the Phoenix law stands up to the first waves of a constitutional attack in federal court. The city council of Glendale, AZ, without any public hearings or debate, unanimously passed an exact replica of the Phoenix law, even though there are no known swingers' clubs in Glendale.www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1999-03-18/news/civil-libertines Apparently the police in New Hampshire (the "Live free or die" state) have no real criminals to chase down and arrest so, they have to create some by setting-up a phony prostitution situation to lure law-abiding men in.Kingston
NHTI official faces charge in sex sting
Police accuse several in prostitution case By WALTER ALARKON
Monitor staffJuly 21. 2007 12:25AM Undercover police posing as prostitutes arrested Richard Osborne, communications director of the New Hampshire Technical Institute and the radio voice of the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team, on a charge that he tried to solicit sex during a sting in Kingston on Wednesday. The police said that Osborne, 64, of Concord, and five other men came to a house in response to postings made by detectives on the "erotic" message board of craigslist, a popular online classifieds site. The six men each face a misdemeanor charge for soliciting prostitution, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, the police said. Osborne is scheduled for arraignment Aug. 27 at Plaistow District Court, but Volinsky said that the court is likely to waive that hearing and schedule a trial date.
Over the past month, detectives have maintained a craigslist ad that referred to a "lonely gal."The Kingston operation was second prostitution bust in New Hampshire in a month; three weeks ago, the police in Nashua arrested eight men on solicitation charges.http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070721/REPOSITORY/707210339/0/NEWS01
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People are forced into prostitution and people are forced to stay prostitutes-it isn't inherently about consenting adults.
Carol Leigh, Founder of Bay Area Sex Workers Advocacy Network (BAYSWAN) and former prostitute, said on "Justice Talking" on National Public Radio (NPR) on Mar. 4, 2002 that:
"Decriminalization is not at all a solution to every injustice that exists in the sex industry; it is a starting point. If prostitution were not an underground activity it would allow us to much more effectively address the serious problems of forced prostitution and juvenile prostitution and the other abuses which are part of an industry that operates completely in the shadows. And then there are also those who organize for their rights and are not quitting at the moment and they should be afforded options, their rights, and self-determination as well. Whatever ills are attendant to prostitution, criminalization of prostitutes exacerbates the abuse."
Eddie Tabash, J.D., former General Counsel to Call Off Your Tired Ethics (COYOTE) chapter in Los Angeles, wrote in the Aug. 11, 1993 LA Times that:
"If we, as a society, really care about women, we will not only provide them with equal rights and opportunity, but we will stop turning some of them into criminals merely because they have chosen to exchange sex for money. Women, who, for whatever reason, choose to engage in prostitution, do not need to be incarcerated for their own good."
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But then again I dont think consenting adults should have the right to become rich while employing others at poverty wages, or sucking up gas in a truck for no weather/offroad/professional reason that they use two parking spots to park in a city, either. consenting adults have the freedom of choice only because society is wealthy enough to afford those freedoms, and with this wealthy society comes certain responsibilities of public maintenance. When the rights of the individual are taken away for the "common good" of society you have what's known as communism, and i, for one, don't want to live in that sort of society.
"The fair majority was given the power to choose personal freedom and individual liberty and for almost 200 years, they did. Today, they are choosing a collective communal good instead. ...[F]or almost 100 years now, since the 1940’s in particular, those seeking the interests of the community at large, the commune, in opposition to individual rights of freedom and liberty, have grown to become the new American majority. Few in modern America understand that individual freedom and liberty can not co-exist with socialism or communism. Today’s Democrat Party exists [and] operates on the governing principle, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need". This is the greater common good that drives the voters that drive today’s Democrat Party. It’s a very socially conscious sounding idea, isn’t it? It was written by Karl Marx, as the foundational principle for his governing system, Socialism. Every Democrat vote is cast based upon this principle today. Every penny poured into the Democrat Party is intended to advance this agenda. Democrat leaders know well that their party now represents the principles written by Karl Marx, the father of Marxism, Socialism, as the transitional stepping stone on the road from capitalism to communism." From, "How Much Longer Can America Survive an Ignorant Electorate?" By JB Williams on Aug 10, 07 http://greatmindsthinkright.com/more.php?id=914_0_1_0_M(Courtesy of: The Conservative Voice http://www.theconservativevoice.com)
This country was founded on the principle of individual rights and freedom. With that freedom, comes individual responsibility and people do need to be held accountable for their actions and bear the consequences of their choices. If those choices cause harm to another person or another person's property, then they are at fault and must be disciplined through our judicial system. But, when those personal choices are not causing harm to or posing a threat to public safety, then there should be no law against it. Accepting money for sexual acts, in and of itself, causes no harm to another person or another person's property and poses no threat to public safety. Their are criminal elements involved in prostitution because it is illegal, just as there were criminals involved in the making, selling, and distribution of alcohol during Prohibition. Eliminate the crime and you eliminate the criminal involvement or, at least, greatly reduce it and provide a means for the oppressed sex worker to get assistance from law enforcement to deal with the criminals.
Anyone interested in the ideas of freedom? The following sites provide plenty of information about work that is being done for the cause of individual sexual freedom in our country. Whether you think prostitution is right or not, if you care about the rights of the individual and you don't want a police state telling you what you can and can not do, sexually and in private with another (or more) consenting adult(s), then you might be interested in looking at these sites. Thank you, again, for taking the time to read this and for your careful consideration regarding this topic. slave joyOwned property of Master David "Commitment transforms a promise into a reality."
http://www.prostitutionprocon.orgProCon.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation whose purpose is to educate the public about controversial issues by presenting facts, news, and thousands of diverse opinions in a pro-con format.
http://www.ncsfreedom.org/
The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) was formed in 1997 by a small group led by Susan Wright under the auspices of the New York SM Activists. The goal was to fight for sexual freedom and privacy rights for all adults who engage in safe, sane and consensual behavior. The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.
www.woodhullfoundation.org
The Woodhull Freedom Foundation and Federation (WFF), a non-profit organization that works to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right by protecting and advancing freedom of speech and sexual expression, working through research, advocacy, and public education addresses laws, government policies, and corporate practices that restrict sexual freedom and discriminate against people on the basis of their consensual sexual expression.
http://www.theadvocates.org/library/issues-sexlaws.html
The Advocates for Self-Government is a non-profit, non-partisan libertarian educational organization, founded in 1985. Nothing is more personal than the way people choose to shape their sexual relationships. Government has no business intruding. This doesn't mean we must personally approve of the sexual behaviors of others. It simply means that as long as the participants are consenting adults, no one has the right to use the force of government laws to try to stop or punish them. There is no justification for throwing peaceful Americans in jail because of their sexual choices. Let's respect people's right to control their own bodies. Decriminalize sex, and let it be a private affair.
http://www.tes.org/THE EULENSPIEGEL SOCIETY (TES) is a not-for-profit organization which promotes sexual liberation for all adults. Especially for people who enjoy consensual SM. http://www.desireealliance.orgDesiree Alliance is a coalition of sex workers, health professionals, social scientists, professional sex educators and their supporting networks. We seek to encourage a better understanding of human sexuality by promoting ethical and unbiased research into sexual subcultures; to promote saner and more sensible approaches to policies relating to adult sexual health and behavior. We use this information to educate and empower the public to have healthy and rational attitudes about sexuality. Our focus is on building leadership and constructive activism in the sex worker population to advocate for sex workers' human, labor and civil rights. We are still a young movement and we are in the early phases of community organizing. Being criminalized and stigmatized as whores makes this work a challenge for all of us. Through our efforts to emphasize diversity, we hope we can lay the groundwork for a strong movement and overcome social divisions and prejudice between us and the rest of society and within our communities. Sex Workers' Rights are Human Rights! http://www.sexworkersproject.orgThe Sex Workers Project,created in December 2001, is the first program in New York City and in the country to focus on the provision of legal services, legal training, documentation, and policy advocacy for sex workers. Using a harm reduction and human rights model, the SWP protects the rights and safety of sex workers who by choice, circumstance, or coercion remain in the industry. The SWP is a project at the Urban Justice Center (UJC). The UJC serves low-income and marginalized New Yorkers through a unique combination of direct legal services, systemic advocacy, community education, and organizing. We use documentation-based advocacy, policy analysis, training and education, and collaboration with community-based service providers to advance practical, long-term solutions to the problems faced by this vulnerable and marginalized population. We document the lives of sex workers and put a human face on violations of their human rights. For information about the UJC's work: http://www.urbanjustice.org/ujc/projects/sex.html http://www.swop-usa.org/Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) focuses on safety, dignity, diversity and the changing needs of sex industry workers, to foster an environment which enables and affirms individual choices and occupational rights.
< Message edited by slavegirljoy -- 8/20/2007 4:03:34 AM >
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