An Evening Of Healing – Sex Worker Community Support
This event is a Bird Cage Collective event, in cooperation with NW-SWOP. To prevent confusion please know this was written by a sex worker under a pseudo name used for activist work. This was not written by a provider working with the name Jesse.
We hope to share heart space with you soon!
Love,
“Mary”
NW-SWOP
Hello Everyone,
I’m a local sex-worker/provider here in Seattle. Last month I was scared and shocked when I received the news of the murder of Roxie.
This letter is an invite for a sex-worker only gathering where we can group together and just spend time, process a bit and share space with each other.
I did not know Roxie personally, but we both advertise on the same board and we’re the same age. I’ve done activism around reducing the stigma of sex work–drawing links between this stigma and the violence it can lead to. Roxie’s murder is the first time I’ve been directly confronted with this violence.
That same week John T. Williams was shot by the Seattle police. I went that Friday to his vigil. It was deeply moving, all those people coming together to honor his life… All I could think about on the way home however, was Roxie. “Where’s her vigil?” I wondered. It made me think deep about how the criminalization of our work makes it harder to publicly speak out against violence directed at us. I felt stifled. I wanted a vigil, I wanted something…but knew it would be so hard and potentially dangerous to speak out, as a sex worker.
Then I just wanted community. I talked to the few people close to me who share our profession, and that helped a lot…but I wanted more, more community.
This is simply an invite for us to gather, and talk. We could grieve, we could share stories, we could share food, we could chat. We could strategize about safety, give each other advice. Whatever, I just want to be in a group of people who know what it’s like to do this work, carrying on our backs the weight of stigma and real fear of violence. I want some nourishment from my sex-worker family.
So yes, this is an invite for any other sex workers who are also seeking some community. Sunday evening 6:30-9pm gathering on October 24th at a discreet location on Capitol Hill in Seattle. (6:30 doors and then event from 7 to 9pm) If you or any other current sex workers that you trust and believe would benefit in this gathering please write me at: jesse.xoxo@rocketmail.com I’ll then send you the location/directions to the meeting location.
I hope we can come together and set intentional space in honor of the life of Roxie, and in honor of ourselves — for continuing to do the work we do, in this crazy world we live in.
With a Full Heart and Solidarity,
Jesse.
I’ve organized this event along with enormous support from NW-SWOP. Thank you SWOP!
PS. Again, this is a Past and Present Sex Worker Only gathering.
If you do currently do not identify as a sex worker please respect this space by not attending.
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