Sex Workers Tip-Toe Back to Business, With Renewed Focus On Fighting Oppression
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International Whores’ Day, 2018. (Photo: Mistress Blunt)
As thousands protest in the streets against the police killing of George Floyd, sex workers in New York rose in solidarity during a livestream to mark International Whores’ Day. The virtual rally came this afternoon, hours before they were to head to Stonewall Inn to speak out against police violence against black transgender people.
International Whores’ Day originated in 1975 when over 100 sex workers occupied the Saint-Nizier church in Lyon, France to bring attention to inhumane working conditions. Much of what they were protesting back then– the criminalization of sex work, a brutal police crackdown, the forced closing of businesses– still afflict many sex workers today worldwide.