Legislators of this century have continued to fail to realise that prostitutes are not a special breed of women with compulsions to indulge in criminal behaviour... socially, culturally and psychologically prostitute women pursue lifestyles little different to the millions of other single working women, wives and mothers in the... community. Popular mythology keeps prostitute women separated from other women in people's minds, while the law, founded as it is in 19th century puritanism, keeps them separated in the social order.

-Working girls: prostitutes, their life and social control by Roberta Perkins

Conference

Keep up to date with 2008 conference plans!

 

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~Desiree Alliance Presents~
In partnership with BAYSWAN, Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA, SWANK, H.I.P.S., Different Avenues, COYOTE, Best Practices Policy Project, $pread Magazine, St. James Infirmary, Harm Reduction Coalition, PONY, SWOP-Chicago, SWOP-Las Vegas, SWOP-Los Angeles, SWOP- Northern California, SWOP-Arizona, SWOP-Portland, SWOP-EAST, Power Inside, and Woodhull Foundation for Sexual Freedom

"Pulling Back the Sheets: Sex, Work and Social Justice"

July 16-20, 2008 Chicago, IL

REGISTER NOW!

The Desiree Alliance is a diverse, volunteer-based, sex worker-led network of organizations, communities and individuals across the US working in harm reduction, direct services, political advocacy and health services for sex workers. We provide leadership development and create space for sex workers and supporters to come together to advocate for human, labor and civil rights for all workers in the sex industry.

This convergence will create space for dialogue between hundreds of sex workers and their allies to share their personal experience and skills, identify workers' most pressing needs, share training and networking skills for developing solutions, and to collaborate on strategies for social and political change on local, state, national and international levels.

Some of the scheduled workshops include:

• "Safety for Sex Workers Through personal Privacy – Legal and relatively simple ways for working and living out of harms way"

• "Tantra: How it can uplift the plight and struggle of sex workers and clientele"

• "Self marketing and self branding: How to run a profitable (and more safe) sex worker business"

• "Safety 411"

• "Falling Through All the Cracks: Young adult transgender sex workers"

• "Challenging Discrimination Among Sex Workers: Reconstructing 'sex work'"

• "Bad Date Line: How to start, run + maintain a dam good project"

• "Sex Workers Against Rape"

• "Sex Workers Rights and Direct Services in Urban Los Angeles"

• "Adult Entertainer' s Guide to Disabled Customers – 2008 Edition"

• "We, Asian Sex Workers"

Conference registration fees are $150 if you register by June 10^th, and $200 if you register between June 10^th and July 10^th. All participants must register no later than July 10th. Fees include registration materials, admission to the opening reception, breakfast and lunch Thur-Sat, admission to the after party on Sat and brunch on Sunday. To register for the conference visit our site and submit the registrant screening form. After you submit this form, a registration packet and payment information will be sent to you.

For more information on registration scholarships, contact: Liz Copl at hdfemme@gmail. com
If you have registration questions please contact: Tara@birl.org.

The time is NOW to get active in the movement, so click on the link above to join the yahoo group mailing list!

You will receive a monthly update or two as Desiree Alliance starts to  collect "calls for presentations" (got something to say?), registration announcements for the conference, and general updates about the 2008 Desiree Alliance Conference. If you have questions about getting involved, email Tara at Tara@birl.org.

Donate for the conference!