How To Be an Ally To Sex Workers
1) Dont Assume. Dont assume you know why a person is in the sex industry. Were not all trafficked or victims of abuse. Some people make a choice to enter this industry because they enjoy it, others may be struggling for money and have less of a choice.
2) Be Discreet and Respect Personal Boundaries. If you know a sex worker, its OK to engage in conversation in dialogue with them in private, but respect their privacy surrounding their work in public settings. Dont ask personal questions such as does your family know what you do? If a sex worker is not out to their friends, family, or co-workers, its not your place to tell everyone what they do.
3) Dont Judge. Know your own prejudices and realize that not everyone shares the same opinions as you. Whether you think sex work is a dangerous and exploitative profession or not is irrelevant compared to the actual experiences of the person who works in the industry. Its not your place to pass judgment on how another person earns the money they need to survive.
4) Watch Your Language. Cracking jokes or using derogatory terms such as hooker, whore, slut, or ho is not acceptable. While some sex workers have taken back these words and use them among themselves, they are usually used to demean sex workers when spoken by outsiders.
5) Address Your Prejudices. If you have a deep bias or underlying fear that all sex workers are bad people and/or full of diseases, then perhaps these are issues within yourself that you need to address. In fact, the majority of sex workers practice safer sex than their peers and get tested regularly.
6) Dont Play Rescuer. Not all sex workers are trying to get out of the industry or in need of help. Ask them what they need, but not everyone is looking for Captain Save-A-Ho or the Pretty Woman ending.
7) If you are a client or patron of sex workers, be respectful of boundaries. Youre buying a service, not a person. Dont ask for real names, call at all hours of the day/night, or think that your favorite sex worker is going to enter into a relationship with you off the clock.
8 ) Do Your Own Research. Most mainstream media is biased against sex workers and the statistics you read in the news about the sex industry are usually inaccurate. Be critical of what you read or hear and educate yourself on who exactly is transmitting diseases or being trafficked.
9) Respect that Sex Work is Real Work. Theres a set of professional skills involved and its not necessarily an industry that everyone can enter into. Dont tell someone to get a real job when they already have one that suits them just fine.
10) Just because someone is a sex worker doesnt mean they will have sex with you. No matter what area of the sex industry that someone works in, dont assume that they are promiscuous and willing to have sex with anyone at any time.
11) Be Supportive and Share Resources. If you know of someone who is new to the industry or in an abusive situation with an employer, by all means offer advice and support without being condescending. Some people do enter into the sex industry without educating themselves about what they are getting into and may need help. Despite the situation, calling the police is usually never a good option. Try to find other organizations that are sensitive to the needs of sex workers by contacting the organizations listed below.
12) As you learn the above things, stand up for sex workers when conversations happen. Share your personal stories if you so choose. Dont let the stigma, bigotry and shame around sex work continue. Remember its important that sex workers be allowed to speak for themselves and for allies to not speak for sex workers but to speak with sex workers.
Realize that sex work transcends visible notions of race, gender, class, sexuality, education, and identities; sex workers are your sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, lovers, and friends. Respect them!
Get Active! Contact your local SWOP Chapter to find out what you can do or form your own in the city you live in.
This list composed by the members and allies of Sex Workers Outreach Project-Chicago. Visit us on the web at www.swop-chicago.org
1) Dont Assume. Dont assume you know why a person is in the sex industry. Were not all trafficked or victims of abuse. Some people make a choice to enter this industry because they enjoy it, others may be struggling for money and have less of a choice.
2) Be Discreet and Respect Personal Boundaries. If you know a sex worker, its OK to engage in conversation in dialogue with them in private, but respect their privacy surrounding their work in public settings. Dont ask personal questions such as does your family know what you do? If a sex worker is not out to their friends, family, or co-workers, its not your place to tell everyone what they do.
3) Dont Judge. Know your own prejudices and realize that not everyone shares the same opinions as you. Whether you think sex work is a dangerous and exploitative profession or not is irrelevant compared to the actual experiences of the person who works in the industry. Its not your place to pass judgment on how another person earns the money they need to survive.
4) Watch Your Language. Cracking jokes or using derogatory terms such as hooker, whore, slut, or ho is not acceptable. While some sex workers have taken back these words and use them among themselves, they are usually used to demean sex workers when spoken by outsiders.
5) Address Your Prejudices. If you have a deep bias or underlying fear that all sex workers are bad people and/or full of diseases, then perhaps these are issues within yourself that you need to address. In fact, the majority of sex workers practice safer sex than their peers and get tested regularly.
6) Dont Play Rescuer. Not all sex workers are trying to get out of the industry or in need of help. Ask them what they need, but not everyone is looking for Captain Save-A-Ho or the Pretty Woman ending.
7) If you are a client or patron of sex workers, be respectful of boundaries. Youre buying a service, not a person. Dont ask for real names, call at all hours of the day/night, or think that your favorite sex worker is going to enter into a relationship with you off the clock.
8 ) Do Your Own Research. Most mainstream media is biased against sex workers and the statistics you read in the news about the sex industry are usually inaccurate. Be critical of what you read or hear and educate yourself on who exactly is transmitting diseases or being trafficked.
9) Respect that Sex Work is Real Work. Theres a set of professional skills involved and its not necessarily an industry that everyone can enter into. Dont tell someone to get a real job when they already have one that suits them just fine.
10) Just because someone is a sex worker doesnt mean they will have sex with you. No matter what area of the sex industry that someone works in, dont assume that they are promiscuous and willing to have sex with anyone at any time.
11) Be Supportive and Share Resources. If you know of someone who is new to the industry or in an abusive situation with an employer, by all means offer advice and support without being condescending. Some people do enter into the sex industry without educating themselves about what they are getting into and may need help. Despite the situation, calling the police is usually never a good option. Try to find other organizations that are sensitive to the needs of sex workers by contacting the organizations listed below.
12) As you learn the above things, stand up for sex workers when conversations happen. Share your personal stories if you so choose. Dont let the stigma, bigotry and shame around sex work continue. Remember its important that sex workers be allowed to speak for themselves and for allies to not speak for sex workers but to speak with sex workers.
Realize that sex work transcends visible notions of race, gender, class, sexuality, education, and identities; sex workers are your sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, lovers, and friends. Respect them!
Get Active! Contact your local SWOP Chapter to find out what you can do or form your own in the city you live in.
This list composed by the members and allies of Sex Workers Outreach Project-Chicago. Visit us on the web at www.swop-chicago.org
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
dorsal:
Indeed. Glad you're spreading the word!
eveski:
lol yea it was kinda scary hahaha thanks hun!