International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

On Thursday December 17, Sex Workers Outreach Project Boston held a memorial and a march in honor of International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

I gave a short speech about my experiences making the film “Happy Endings?”  When I began the film, the “Rhody Ripper” Jeffery Mailhot was on trial for murdering 3 women in Woonsocket.  12 women escaped.  It is unfortunate that none had gone to the police, it is possible that Mailhot could have been stopped before graduating to murder.

After I spoke, there was a presentation from the Sex Worker’s Internet Radio Library (or SWIRL) with recordings of people who work in all forms of sex work, from phone sex operators to erotic dancers.

Some people came out of the audience of over 20 to speak.  One transgendered woman spoke about her experiences.  She said that between 40-60% of all transgendered women have been a sex worker at some point of their lives.  She told of the violence she had faced as a sex worker, she had been robbed, beaten, and even raped three times.  She also spoke of  more nuanced violence, like housing discrimination.  While she spoke, I sat and came to the realization that sex worker rights are just a natural extension of gay, lesbian, transexual rights.  I believe all glbt rights, woman’s rights, and sex worker rights fall under the same umbrella.  Maybe the red umbrella is a perfect symbol for these rights, as they all are HUMAN RIGHTS.

A man also spoke, for the first time in his life he stated he was a sex worker.  He had given erotic massages.

One African American woman spoke as well.  She said that only recently had she been able to come to terms with the “Nice white man who would visit her mom once in a while was actually a John” and her mom was a  sex worker.

After 5 speakers, names of sex workers who had been victims of murder were read.  The names were followed by the country, a few victims were listed as “Unknown”.  4 of the victims were pregnant.

After the memorial, participants grabbed red umbrellas and marched in the frigid cold to the Copley Marriott where a moment of silence was observed for the most notable victim, Julissa Brisman.

Dirty Money

Two stories were published this past weekend in the Providence Journal.  The first, RI sex lobby weeks larger voice at the General Assembly, went into how there is big money in the sex industry, and some of that money ends up in the hands of RI’s politicians.  I don’t know how this is any different from the story a few months ago on the Asian massage parlors “donating” to the State and local police.

I guess the politicians and the police are not much different, taking money with one hand and shaking a condemning finger with the other.

The second story was “New prostitution law buttons up the Strip Clubs” The main point of this story was how tax revenue was down and the clubs were changing the way they do business.

Revenues at adult entertainment clubs already had been declining along with the economy. Sales tax revenues fell to $11.1 million last year, from $12.1 million in 2004, according to the state tax office. Even The Foxy Lady, the state’s oldest and best known strip club, has seen its business decline to about $4 million a year, down from as high as $5 million during the late 1990s, said the club’s manager, Richard Angell.

Club managers aren’t the only ones feeling anxious. Since indoor prostitution was outlawed, customer traffic — already down 25 percent to 30 percent since the economy tanked — has slipped further. Business fell another 7 percent after the new law took effect, said H. Charles Tapalian, the property owner for two strip clubs — Cheaters and Club Balloons — on Allens Avenue.

These stories come just a few days after the police release info on the first stings. The front page of the PROJO on Sunday,  just a few inches away from a the Strip Club story, was a story on how charities are struggling with finances, and today the Governor cut $100 MILLION from cities and towns budgets.  I guess we don’t really care about the poor or the budgets of the cities and towns, we spend money on police overtime, placing ads in the Phoenix and craigslist, and even more money on hotel rooms so we can set up a sting to catch Pat Patriot!  Way to go RI! Now those are some interesting priorities!

The first rounds of arrests

In the first round of arrests there is one notable name.  ”Pat Patriot” the mascot of the New England patriots was among those arrested. I can almost hear the Colts, Dolphins, and Jets fans now.  The ” Revolutionary Minute Man” was one of the 14 arrested during the first sting with the new prostitution law in Rhode Island.

14 Arrests with RI’s new prostitution law

The State Police have made their first arrests with the new prostitution law in RI.  14 men and women have been arrested.  From Projo:

The state police say they have arrested six women and eight men under the state’s new prostitution law, which bans indoor solicitation.

The arrests come from several undercover operations in the last two months. In some cases, detectives posed as customers who agreed to meet women in hotels in Providence and Warwick to engage in sex for money.

In at least two other undercover operations, a state police detective posed as a prostitute and attracted eight men to “hotels in the Johnston area.”

During the investigations, the detectives answered or placed advertisements on the adult section of Craigs List or in various newspapers to set up their rendezvous.

It will be interesting to see what will come of these cases.  I think it is a first for RI to actually arrest Johns.  When the State House was taking testimony it was discovered that there was over 300 women arrested, and not one John or Pimp was in prison.  One thing that I wonder about, but I know will probably  not going to have a bearing on these arrests is the section of the law about the landlords.  The law stated that is would punish landlords, they could face up to 5 years in prison and $5,000 fines.  I suppose that a hotel would be considered a landlord.  Besides the landlord point, I think that most of this would be considered entrapment, but most of the people will probably plea out before it goes that far.

I have to agree with most of the posters on the Projo story that this is a waste of money.  Providence’s violent crime rate has gone up 19.5% in 2008, and the 2 murders in a drive by shooting last weekend put the murder rate at almost twice what is was last year.  I would really like to see the police go after real criminals, but they probably have to show that they are doing something with the new law.  The police are holding a press conference later today, so you can see that these arrests are driven by the media.  I never knew of police holding press conferences when they arrest someone for a misdemeanor crime.

Hopefully this will be the last arrests for a while.

Get out your red umbrella

SWOP Boston will be having an event for “International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers” on December 17 at the Lucy Parson’s Center.

It is believed that 200 sex workers have been murdered this year.  The most notable victim is Julissa Brisman.  Brisman, victim of the “Craigslist Killer”, was an erotic masseuse and became a victim of arm robbery, kidnapping, and murder.

Speakers will begin the event (starting at 7pm), then the names of all sex workers murdered this year will be read, followed by a little walk with our red umbrellas around the neighborhood.

Pawtucket doesn’t want “Education”

Last night I went to the Zoning Board hearing on the CPSH.  I got there at 6:00, and watched 5 people go before the board for variances.  (One was for Regal Reptile, a cool pet shop that wants to move to Pawtucket.  I have been to their Providence location a bunch of times, and the owner does shows for elementary schools and this past summer gave a demo on a campground that my sister was visiting.  Hopefully they will get approval)

But I was not there for the zoning variances, I was there for the hearing to repeal a zoning decision for CSHP.  Unfortunately  that hearing was moved to last on the docket.  I wanted to testify (since I am a Pawtucket resident I hoped it would help) but I left a little after 10:00 p.m..  I got to watch the beginning of the hearing, and the main argument from the city official was the Grant building was not zoned for education.  The official agreed that there were people in this “multi-use” building that were doing education, like the Chess Club, and said he had fined them.  I had to wonder, as a resident of Pawtucket, why are  we trying to fine and or close down businesses that are keeping the downtown area open?  Downtown has been a ghost town for years, is it really prudent to fine a chess club and not allow the opening of CSPH?  Is Pawtucket that anti-education they can’t even see a commercial or even a taxable value to these businesses?

It was obvious that CSPH was targeted for what they were teaching…Sex.  The zoning official was very upset that he was portrayed as using the zoning codes to keep out a business that he disagrees with.  It was also obvious that the board was using zoning codes to keep out this business out.  Repeatedly the official said this has nothing to do with sex, but I wonder how many businesses that go for a license have the zoning board call the police? (Police were testifying as I left).  This particular zone allows counseling and reproductive centers, but officials say that they will not allow for education.

I wonder, as a tax payer, how much this war on semantics is going to cost me?   Steve Brown of the ACLU was there, and it is obvious that if the board does not allow for this Center to open, a lengthy legal battle will begin.

This whole battle began when Donna Hughes sent an email to the members of Pawtucket’s city council.  Donna Hughes is anti-sex (mostly anti-heterosexual sex, you can draw your own conclusions on that).  It is sad that one woman’s radical agenda is costing the tax payers money to fight this in court, and she doesn’t even live in Pawtucket.  For a brief moment I thought she would show up to the hearing, but she didn’t.  It looks like she might be basking in the glory of passing a prostitution law (albeit so far unenforced prostitution law), and leaving the mess she caused to unfold at it’s own pace and direction.  I guess it doesn’t really matter if she was there or not, I am sure she will have to testify if and when this goes to court.  I wonder if Hughes thinks it was worth it?  I guess this is one of those “cutting off the nose to spite your face” deals.  Who is this really hurting?  I know the publicity that the CSPH has received is probably worth the aggravation.  There were many media outlets there last night; tv, newspapers, magazines, and bloggers, you can’t pay for publicity like that!

CSPH Hearing Tonight. Press Release Follows:

The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health Appeals Pawtucket Zoning Decision

Contact Person: Megan Andelloux @ 401-345-8685

Pawtucket, RI November 30th, 2009 – The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health (CSPH), the first non-profit sexuality resource and information center on the East Coast, is set to go before the Pawtucekt appeal board tonight, November 30^th at 6:30 pm to challenge a zoning decision that prevented it from opening in September.

The CSPH was not permitted to open as planned in September when a Pawtucket zoning officer cited a lack of zoning clause for “education” in The Grant Building, the CSPH’s would-be home. Ostensibly, the educational focus of the CSPH, not the focus on sexuality, has caused it to be the target of the zoning board.

Harvey Goulet, the City’s director of administration, was quoted as objecting to “this type of business” as “not really something we feel is appropriate for our city.” The American Civil Liberties Union has weighed in on the battle regarding adult sex education stating in a press release “the city’s intent is to suppress the speech that would occur at the Center.  Such content-based discrimination raises serious constitutional concerns.”

Liberal, conservative, moderate and libertarian news media have all supportive of the existence of the CSPH; they agree that the location and the presentation are appropriate for the environment it is currently housed in. Neighbors of The CSPH have housed petitions requesting the center to be able to open. Providence Journal writer Bob Kerr and popular conservative talk radio host Dan Yorke have both voiced support for The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health.

Megan Andelloux, the director of the non-profit Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health is a board certified sexologist and sexuality educator who wants to provide the adult community with a safe place to access information about sexuality issues. She will go before The Appeal Board to plead the case that, “consenting adults should have the right to access medically accurate sex education resources”.

The Appeal Board meeting will take place in the Monday, November 30^th, at the Pawtucket City Hall on the 3^rd floor in the City Council Chambers at 6:30pm.  The meeting is open to interested members of the public.

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Happy Turkey Day

For the past 4 years, one of the spas I was familiar with gave Turkeys and the fixings to RI’s food bank.  The women working there liked Thanksgiving, it was novel to them.  In 2005 they gave 10 turkeys, 10 stuffing mixes, 10 cranberry cans, basically they gave the whole setup for dinners for 10 families in Rhode Island.

The donation changed in 2006-2008, where they donated just turkeys.  Probably about $300 worth of turkeys.  RI Food bank said they needed the turkeys more, so that is what they got.

This year the RI Food bank will not be getting any donations.  It is sad because the need for food is up dramatically in 2009 due to the economy.

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank says from September 2008 to August 2009, emergency food programs served more than 13 million meals, an increase of 30 percent over the previous year.

The report said 11.7 percent of Rhode Island households are considered food insecure, which means they’ve had to reduce food intake or skip meals. It says 4.2 percent of households have run out of food or experienced hunger.  (See the full article here)

It is not like the spas do not want to donate anymore, it is because they do not have money to give.  Since the change in the law, there has been a decrease in customers.  The RI Food bank is just part of the domino effect. Lets hope it doesn’t get any worse for the women in these spas.

 

 

CSPH Hearing on Monday

Date: 11/30/09

Time: 6:30 PM

Location: City Hall, 134 Roosevelt Pawucket RI (3rd Floor City Council Chambers)

Attention: Your community is being denied access to medically accurate sex information.  Let your voice be heard on this issue, We think adults should be able to access medically accurate sex information. The City of Pawtucket is blocking the opening of a safe, educational environment for adults to learn about themselves, their bodies, and their relationships. Megan Andelloux is a nationally recognized specialist in the area of human sexuality, and not the scary person others want you to think she is. Tell the City your opinion on this issue!

I live in Pawtucket and will be there showing support for the opening of this facility.  If you live in Pawtucket and can’t go, call (401) 728-0500 and leave messages to show your support.   If you are interested about why the CSHP is even having to jump through hoops to open, you can read the background here.

The Other side of the camera…

I hate being on the other side of the camera.  It is mostly based on vanity.  I hate seeing myself.  (But I must admit, I love hearing myself! God bless Talk Radio!)  I love being the one making the films, but I hate to be the one in it.  With that said, I put my vanity aside and agreed to be part of 2 new documentaries on the subject of RI’s prostitution law.

Two groups of law students are currently making documentaries on the subject I covered in “Happy Endings?”.  I was interviewed by one of the groups (Suffolk Law Students) yesterday, and I will be interviewed by another group of students today.

Also interviewed yesterday was Mimi Budnick of D.A.R.E. (who also appears in Happy Endings?) and Marc from Citizens Against Criminalization and Matthew from Providence Daily Dose (both of whom I met after finishing the film)

The students were interviewing all the people involved in the recent legislative battle.  During the interview they said they could only find people who were for the law.  They wanted to hear why we were against it.  One thing I realized while being interviewed: Does my opinion even matter?

I don’t think it should matter what I think, just like it really shouldn’t matter what Donna Hughes or Citizens against Prostitution Trafficking think.  I am not a sex worker, as far as I know Donna Hughes is or was not a prostitute, so why does it matter what outsiders think of the industry? (I am talking about prostitution not human trafficking, it is unfortunate I have to keep reenforcing that point)

Why is it when the government debates healthcare the loudest voices are from the insurance company and health care industry.  Yet when the debate on prostitution, we don’t hear the voices of those in the industry?   If they are brave enough to speak, they are often attacked by those who claim to want the law because it “helps women”.

To me, it all goes back to privacy issues.  Why should anyone (including government) have a point of view on what two consenting adults do behind closed doors?   When you strip away all the propaganda, that is what this law is all about.  Actually if you look even closer you see that essentially all the time and energy spent on this is moronic when this is a response on 40 or so Korean women who were giving massages and hand jobs, very few of these places are “full service”. (The new law even has specific language for hand jobs)

I do think it is interesting that so many homosexuals were fighting for this law.  Actually, with the exception of Providence’s openly gay mayor, the majority of this anti-prostitution push comes from lesbians.  Yes, I am a lesbian too, one of the few who fought against it.  Why does it really matter to all these homos?  I would think they would be more focused on legislative efforts for gay marriage in Rhode Island instead of working on a law against commercial heterosexual sex, especially when the law will have disproportionate effect on women.  Where is the sisterhood?