DSW and allies hold SESTA/FOSTA panel at SXSW

DSW teamed up with Alex Andrews from SWOP Behind Bars, Dan Savage, Larry Walters, and River del Llano from Uncage Love to discuss the dangerous implications of SESTA/‍FOSTA at a panel at SXSW in Austin. SESTA/‍FOSTA was the federal bill signed into law on April 11, 2018, which shut down services sex workers used to schedule and screen their clients.

The panel focused on the ongoing harm that SESTA/‍FOSTA is causing to the sex work community, in addition to the long-term implications for a broad range of civil liberties. Panelists also focused on the ongoing, multipronged strategies to challenge or repeal the law — and the increased energy and urgency the legislation created within the growing sex worker rights movement.

Dan Savage lent his expertise as a longtime LGBTQI activist and sex educator. Alex Andrews spoke to and for incarcerated sex workers, and Larry Walters is currently embroiled in litigation challenging SESTA/‍FOSTA's constitutionality, echoing the other panelists' observation that it’s simply indefensible.

You can listen to Kaytlin Bailey and Dan Savage discuss Decriminalize Sex Work on episode 649 of Savage Lovecast!