Sex Work in VT - Info Session Recap
On June 28th New Moon Network teamed up with Ishtar Collective in Vermont to host an info session on the relevance and status of sex worker welfare in Vermont. The session included definitions of key terms, audience engagement exercises, and a slide presentation (which you can view here).
What Was Discussed?
The goal of the event was to help the audience understand the relevance of sex workers rights to the major issues of our time. The event featured a guest appearance from the director of Nebula Fund, Heather Benjamin, who explained the importance of protecting the human rights of sex workers in order to defend reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as democracy itself. The conversation zoomed from global to local when Henri June of Ishtar Collective shared details about the group’s food justice and mutual aid programs in central Vermont, which began in response to the COVID pandemic.
Lobbyist David Mickenberg highlighted a recent policy win advanced by Ishtar Collective to prevent law enforcement from having sex with detainees or people under investigation. Throughout the event, people with lived experience in the sex trade chimed in to describe the differences between sex work and sex trafficking, and factors that drive exploitation in the sex trade.
Who Attended?
The audience included staffers from local lawmakers’ offices, public health and housing agencies, civil and labor rights organizations, funders, and members and supporters of the community. We were pleased to have numerous people in the audience with lived experience in the sex trade who commented directly on challenges relating to discrimination, criminalization, lack of access to basic necessities, and exploitation.
After the info session, the group convened at a local pub to continue the conversation in a casual environment. We’re thankful to everyone who showed up to listen and share their perspectives.
Slides from the presentation. Note a resource that was accidentally excluded from the slides: "Continuum of Exploitation: The Role of Inclusive Sexual Health Education in Preventing Human Trafficking of Minors"
