Today people in at least twenty cities across the world will be calling attention to crimes against sex workers, namely prostitutes, in the wake of serial killer Gary Ridgeway’s dozens of murder victims. From San Francisco to Taiwan to Brussels, activists across the globe are calling attention to the need to decriminalize prostitution and afford sex workers the basic rights given to everyone.
The International Memorial Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, originally intended to be a one-off event, gained momentum as word spread and more and more cities joined up, organizing the sex workers to raise attention to their plight. It looks like it will be an annual event - Robyn Few, one of the organizers, told AVN.com that cities have already started asking to be able to participate in next year’s memorial.
“So, yeah. I guess is it going to be an annual event,” she said, moments before she walked into City Hall to present a petition to Oakland’s City Council calling for a decriminalization of prostitution. Few expects the city will be receptive to the petition.
“I’ll tell you why. They just arrested Shannon Williams (a Berkley teacher who was arrested for prostitution, whose case became a public relations disaster for the city) and made national news because of that,” Few said. “This is ridiculous and it’s s time to stop wasting our money going after prostitutes, when our murder and other violent crime rates are so high.”
It was Williams arrest after accepting money from an undercover officer while working from her home, that sparked Few and other sex workers in the area to form the Sex Workers Outreach Project , the organization that along with Call Off Your Tired Ethics (COYOTE) , sponsored today’s international movement.
The memorial today is for the victims of Gary Ridgeway, known as the Green River Killer, who killed at least 48 women over a span of twenty years, choosing women who were prostitutes or women he believed to be prostitutes as his victims. During his trial he admitted he specialized in sex workers because "I thought I could kill as many as I wanted without getting caught."
Many felt that the reason Ridgeway was allowed to continue his spree as long as he did was that he was right – no one cared about his victims.
The members of SWOP and COYOTE feel that it because sex workers ply a trade that is illegal that people like Ridgeway feel that they are allowed to prey on them. Thus, they seek to legalize their trade, so that they will be afforded the protections that all legal workers have.
“Sex workers should not continue to be treated as second-class citizens. Unequal protection under the law allows people to think and operate like the Green River killer. It is time for these laws to change,” said Few, who is executive director of SWOP-USA.
A number of members of the adult industry are participating, especially for the San Francisco candle light vigil, where 100 candles will be lit in memory of the victims of the Green River Killer. Scarlot Harlot, Robin Few, Good Vibrations Carol Queen, Margo St. James, Annie Sprinkle, and many others invite supporters to come with “your words, songs, and performances, alter items, poems, etc. to share in our circle” in the Civic Center Plaza at 5p.m.
”It is important to show that we care, and to insist on safer working
conditions for the vulnerable sex workers out there today. Together we
can help stop more of these horrible hate crimes,” wrote Annie Sprinkle in a statement calling attention to the movement.
In San Diego Candy Cane, porn star turned musician, will be hosting an event at Balboa Park, The Southeast Corner of Laurel and 6th street. Cane told of the murder of a friend of hers named Robert “Tiny” Gibson.
“Tiny was stabbed 25 times after performing a sexual act with his murderer. His murderer claims that the shock of discovering that Robert was “really a male” drove him to murder. My life has been changed forever by losing my warm and wonderful friend in such a senseless, savage way,” she said in a statement, illustrating that even sex workers are mourned when murdered.
Few hopes that the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Lawrence vs. Texas will open the door for the legalization of prostitution. “They have said that sex between consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes is legal; they didn’t say that sex between consenting adults was legal unless there was money exchanged.”
Organizers of the memorial are asking that supporters who cannot attend an event observe a moment of silence at 6:00p.m.
SWOP-USA could use your financial support to continue their activities. Donations or letters of support can be sent to:
SWOP
915 Cole St #202
San Francisco, CA 94117
Phone: (877) PRO-2004
