A rally in support of sex workers is being planned in the city of Birmingham, and while the organizers won’t release the location details publicly they have laid out their goals, speakers, and aligned social groups in several public Facebook posts.
The first speaker listed is Nina Morgan of GASP. According to her bio on their website, “She became radicalized first and foremost by her parents, who were divorced but often had conversations with her and her twin brother about the social ills of the world.”
GASP will also have a table at the event alongside the Party for Socialism and Liberation – Birmingham. Their group has recently focused on their support of Palestine, ending the sanctions against Cuba, and support of the Black Lives Matters movement. Stated in their latest Facebook post is, “Without the economic, political, military and diplomatic backing of U.S. imperialism, the state of Israel would not last long.”
According to The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) website, the day is an annual event. The group’s website says they “exist to uphold the voice of sex workers globally and connect regional networks advocating for the rights of female, male, and transgender sex workers.”
NSWP’s work is based on three core values:
-
- Acceptance of sex work as work.
- Opposition to all forms of criminalization and other legal oppression of sex work (including sex workers, clients, third parties*, families, partners, and friends).
- Supporting self-organization and self-determination of sex workers
The event follows efforts by local law enforcement to crack down on sex work. Al.com reported in February that more than a dozen people were arrested in a reverse prostitution ring in Shelby County. Regarding the arrests, Sheriff’s Major Clay Hammac stated, “The purpose of these operations is to aggressively pursue patrons of the sex-trafficking industry, which is directly connected to human trafficking. Furthermore, law enforcement wishes to demonstrate a zero-tolerance for criminal solicitation and attack the demand for these type enterprises.”
An earlier version of this story ended with a note that read, “We have hidden the name of the organizer and author of the posts as she has stated that she has received harassment directed towards her.” That was in response to her posting, “I’m tired of the creeps in my DMs on here and hesitate to even open them because of that.” Additionally she noted, “Regarding the upcoming S3x W0rker (SW) rally, comments on the flyer were (stop sign) understandably halted (stop sign) by group admin as the dialogue became more disrespectful.” She has since made it clear that she does not agree with our decision to not publish her name. We have since updated the story to reflect the event organizer.
