Black Lives Matter

June 2020

Black people nationwide continue to be harassed and murdered by law enforcement, with little to no consequences. We know that this systemic disregard for Black lives is neither new nor accidental, but rather a symptom of the endemic racism that shapes the society we live in. The movement to decriminalize sex work is all too familiar with how police routinely target and violate Black and brown bodies.

People of color, particularly trans women of color, are overwhelmingly stereotyped by law enforcement, brutalized, and arrested for sex-work-related crimes. We know that the criminalization of sex work fails to protect trafficking survivors, compromises access to resources, endangers public health, and allows violence against sex workers to go unchecked. Black trans and cis women selling sexual services have historically been targets of violence. Police are often the perpetrators of this violence, or they turn a blind eye, labeling the crimes as “NHI” (no human involved).

DSW stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter:

* We are marching in the streets to demand divestment from law enforcement, police accountability, and justice for far too many unjust murders.

* We are supporting incredible community fundraisers to provide aid and space for Black sex workers. These funds include, but are not limited to, a donation page for Gizelle Marie of the NYC Stripper Strike to help create housing and resources for strippers and other sex workers of color nationwide, the G.L.I.T.S. lease fundraiser to provide housing and healthcare for transgender people of color who have been recently released from Rikers Island, and The Black Sex Worker Collective donation drive, which also has a housing initiative.

* We are working with legislators to support bills that defend Black lives, such as the repeal of the ban on loitering for the purposes of prostitution (“Walking While Trans”) in New York state.

When sex work is criminalized, racism thrives. People of color are systematically excluded from harm reduction services, such as healthcare and violence prevention. Instead, individuals are criminalized for trying to survive in a world that fails to make space for them. This month is Pride Month; there is no pride for some of us without justice for all of us.

DSW’s Frances Steele, J. Leigh Brantly, and Melissa Broudo (left to right) march for Black lives in NYC. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

Gizelle Marie — dancer, community activist, and founder of the NYC Stripper Strike — is raising money to support Black sex workers. (Photo: Tasha J. Fierce, 2020)

The G.L.I.T.S. fundraiser raised $1 million to provide safe and stable housing for trans people of color in NYC. (Photo: G.L.I.T.S., 2020)

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

Black Lives Matter

June 2020 Black people nationwide continue to be harassed and murdered by law enforcement, with little to no consequences. We know that this systemic disregard for Black lives is neither...
Read More
Black Lives Matter

Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

June 14, 2020 DSW’s Hero of the Month for June is Ceyenne Doroshow — activist, organizer, and a cornerstone of the international sex worker and transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary (TGNCNB) rights...
Read More
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

June 9, 2020 A new sex worker rights organization was co-founded in VT by J. Leigh Brantly of DSW, along with local human rights advocate Henri. The Ishtar Collective is...
Read More
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

June 2, 2020 The 45th annual celebration of International Whore’s Day (IWD) departed from the usual, where sex workers and their allies don red attire and march through city streets...
Read More
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News

May 22, 2020 An opinion piece by DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey was published in the New Hampshire Union Leader in response to an opponent’s op-ed published days before. The original opinion...
Read More
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow,...
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex...
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and...
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the...

DSW Newsletter Archive

Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

June 14, 2020

DSW’s Hero of the Month for June is Ceyenne Doroshow — activist, organizer, and a cornerstone of the international sex worker and transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary (TGNCNB) rights movements. Ceyenne, a Black transwoman, is also the founder and executive director of Gays and Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society (G.L.I.T.S.) in NYC.

G.L.I.T.S. helps to address the barriers to health and human rights faced by transgender sex workers through crisis support, health care, housing access, advocacy, and public education. Building off of Ceyenne’s deep network of advocates and service providers, the organization works to improve the safety and equity of TGNC sex workers in NYC.

Ceyenne and G.L.I.T.S. have received widespread acclaim for their recent work, both with supporting sex workers and other communities ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the protests against senseless state-sponsored violence directed at Black people in our country. She has emerged as one of the preeminent figures in the national movement for Black trans lives. For example, Ceyenne helped organize the historic 20,000+ person rally in support of Black trans lives in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, on June 14.

The Brooklyn Liberation Rally was part of the larger Black Lives Matter and police-accountability movement that has been mobilizing across the country. This day of action, in particular, highlighted the pervasive violence, discrimination, and harassment that transgender people of color are routinely subjected to at the hands of law enforcement. The rally was co-sponsored by G.L.I.T.S., The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, The Okra Project, For the Gworls, and Black Trans Femmes in the Arts.

Ceyenne was one of six speakers at the rally, including Raquel Willis of Out magazine, Ianne Fields Stewart of The Okra Project, and the sister of Layleen Polanco, a transwoman who was killed at Rikers Island. The enormous crowd that gathered filled the Brooklyn Museum Plaza, spilling down the Eastern Parkway towards Grand Army Plaza. “I love each and every one of my trans family members. I love you, and I want you to live,” Ceyenne declared to the audience, which cheered so dramatically that she had to pause her speech to wait for the noise to die down. “I want you to breathe and sustain. I want you to stand tall and proud and Black and live. We have always been last, but that’s not going to happen anymore.”

In the march that followed, protesters demanded justice for Layleen Polanco, Tony McDade, Riah Milton, and countless other Black trans people who have been senselessly murdered across the country. Ceyenne and other leaders have been speaking out about these injustices for decades. People are starting to listen.

The event and Ceyenne’s work has been covered by CNN, Jezebel, GQ, Teen Vogue, Vogue, U.S. News and World Report, and other news outlets. To support the work of GLITS and the movement they’re building, please visit their donation page here.

Surrounded by her G.L.I.T.S. staffers, activists, and movement allies, Ceyenne delivered a moving speech to thousands of protesters gathered at Brooklyn Museum Plaza. (Photo: G.L.I.T.S., 2020)

A view from the podium at the rally for Black Trans Lives. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

L to R: Melissa Broudo, Ceyenne Doroshow, and J. Leigh Brantly march to support justice and pride. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

L to R: Ceyenne Doroshow, Ceyenne’s friend Shamar, Melissa Broudo, and J. Leigh Brantly catch some shade before marching.

Shamar, Melissa Broudo, and J. Leigh Brantly join the silent march after listening to Ceyenne’s speech.

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

Black Lives Matter

June 2020 Black people nationwide continue to be harassed and murdered by law enforcement, with little to no consequences. We know that this systemic disregard for Black lives is neither...
Read More
Black Lives Matter

Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

June 14, 2020 DSW’s Hero of the Month for June is Ceyenne Doroshow — activist, organizer, and a cornerstone of the international sex worker and transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary (TGNCNB) rights...
Read More
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

June 9, 2020 A new sex worker rights organization was co-founded in VT by J. Leigh Brantly of DSW, along with local human rights advocate Henri. The Ishtar Collective is...
Read More
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

June 2, 2020 The 45th annual celebration of International Whore’s Day (IWD) departed from the usual, where sex workers and their allies don red attire and march through city streets...
Read More
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News

May 22, 2020 An opinion piece by DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey was published in the New Hampshire Union Leader in response to an opponent’s op-ed published days before. The original opinion...
Read More
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow,...
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex...
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and...
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the...

DSW Newsletter Archive

DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

June 9, 2020

A new sex worker rights organization was co-founded in VT by J. Leigh Brantly of DSW, along with local human rights advocate Henri. The Ishtar Collective is the first-ever anti-trafficking and sex-worker-rights organization to be based in Vermont. The organization is run by and for current and former sex workers, industry allies, and survivors of human trafficking local to VT. Through advocacy, direct services, and community education, the collective supports the intersectional issues of sex work, LGBTQIA+, race, class, gender, and disability equity.

The organization’s launch party was a five-hour-long, live-streamed music festival that raised money for sex workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lineup included musicians from around the world, as well as presentations on timely policy issues by activists and service providers. Mosaic Vermont, one of the state’s only sexual violence prevention and response organizations, co-sponsored the event. Johanna De Graffenreid, one of its directors, spoke about the importance of decriminalizing sex work in creating a world free of sexual violence. DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey led an irreverent and informative discussion about sex work and the history of Ishtar.

“The Ishtar Collective is the only organization made up of current and former sex workers and survivors in the state of Vermont,” said Brantly following the launch. “We are here to support our communities, both rural and urban. We are working directly with state legislators and anti-violence organizations to have our voices heard and fight against labor exploitation.” The Ishtar Collective is collaborating with state Reps. Selene Colburn (P-Burlington) and Diana Gonzalez (P-Winooski) to pass a bill to create a study commission on the impact of different decriminalization models on the health and safety of sex workers. After that bill is passed, the organization will collaborate with Rep. Colburn on another piece of legislation — repealing the criminalization of adult, consensual sex work in VT.

To support the work of The Ishtar Collective, please visit their donation page here.

Henri (left) and J. Leigh Brantly, co-founders of The Ishtar Collective, introduce the collective’s Coming Out Livestream Music Festival and Fundraiser. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

J. Leigh Brantly and Kaytlin Bailey discuss Kaytlin’s presentation on the history of sex worker rights and Ishtar.

The Ishtar Collective’s launch raised funds for sex workers who have lost their livelihoods because of the COVID pandemic.

Closing out the event, state Reps. Selene Colburn (left) and Diana Gonzalez (right) led a discussion on the intersectional realities of how laws related to sex work impact our lives.

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

Black Lives Matter

June 2020 Black people nationwide continue to be harassed and murdered by law enforcement, with little to no consequences. We know that this systemic disregard for Black lives is neither...
Read More
Black Lives Matter

Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

June 14, 2020 DSW’s Hero of the Month for June is Ceyenne Doroshow — activist, organizer, and a cornerstone of the international sex worker and transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary (TGNCNB) rights...
Read More
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

June 9, 2020 A new sex worker rights organization was co-founded in VT by J. Leigh Brantly of DSW, along with local human rights advocate Henri. The Ishtar Collective is...
Read More
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

June 2, 2020 The 45th annual celebration of International Whore’s Day (IWD) departed from the usual, where sex workers and their allies don red attire and march through city streets...
Read More
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News

May 22, 2020 An opinion piece by DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey was published in the New Hampshire Union Leader in response to an opponent’s op-ed published days before. The original opinion...
Read More
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow,...
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex...
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and...
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the...

DSW Newsletter Archive

International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

June 2, 2020

The 45th annual celebration of International Whore’s Day (IWD) departed from the usual, where sex workers and their allies don red attire and march through city streets across the country. This year, the IWDNYC Coalition collaborated with Kink Out Events to launch an online rally and social media takeover honoring protests for sex worker rights around the world. The live stream featured NYC-based sex workers, organizers, and activists who spoke about survival, community, and resilience in a criminalized industry.

Speakers included Ceyenne Doroshow of G.L.I.T.S. and DSW, who highlighted her organization’s harm-reduction work, providing relief to sex workers amidst the pandemic; Aneesha and Alisha of the Black trans-led organization, SWOP Bronx; Bianney Garcia of Make the Road, a formerly undocumented, Mexican-born, trans human rights activist who survived 18 months on Rikers Island after a transphobic attack; and so many more inspirational figures.

IWD commemorates an eight-day occupation by over 100 sex workers at Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon, France, in 1975. The strike called attention to the increasing violence against sex workers perpetrated by the French government. They demanded an end to fines, stigma, and police harassment — and the release of 10 sex workers who had been imprisoned a few days earlier for solicitation. The movement was widely covered by international media, prompting support from labor and feminist organizations. Eight days after the occupation began, the police forcibly removed the protesters from the church, but their mark had already been made.

DSW tuned in to the NYC event, along with hundreds of other participants. Attendees also participated in the social media rally, flooding feeds with stories of survival and expressions of respect for sex worker communities. We were honored to be part of this incredible event — led by sex workers and supported by allies — utilizing the power of art and storytelling to spread public awareness around the issues facing our community.

International Whore’s Day 2020-Virtual-and-Vibrant

This year’s digital rally was streamed in four languages, including ASL. (Image: IWD, 2020)

Protesters pictured inside Saint-Nizier Church in 1975 during the eight-day strike. (Photo: Carole Rousopoullos / Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir, 1975)

Demonstrations for International Whore’s Day filled the West Village of Manhattan in 2018. (Photo: Danielle Blunt, 2018)

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

Black Lives Matter

June 2020 Black people nationwide continue to be harassed and murdered by law enforcement, with little to no consequences. We know that this systemic disregard for Black lives is neither...
Read More
Black Lives Matter

Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

June 14, 2020 DSW’s Hero of the Month for June is Ceyenne Doroshow — activist, organizer, and a cornerstone of the international sex worker and transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary (TGNCNB) rights...
Read More
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

June 9, 2020 A new sex worker rights organization was co-founded in VT by J. Leigh Brantly of DSW, along with local human rights advocate Henri. The Ishtar Collective is...
Read More
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

June 2, 2020 The 45th annual celebration of International Whore’s Day (IWD) departed from the usual, where sex workers and their allies don red attire and march through city streets...
Read More
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News

May 22, 2020 An opinion piece by DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey was published in the New Hampshire Union Leader in response to an opponent’s op-ed published days before. The original opinion...
Read More
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow,...
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex...
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and...
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the...

DSW Newsletter Archive

DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News

May 22, 2020

An opinion piece by DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey was published in the New Hampshire Union Leader in response to an opponent’s op-ed published days before. The original opinion piece was written by Jasmine Grace, a NH resident and trafficking survivor, who challenged the intentions of those, like DSW, who are fighting for legislation to defend the rights, health, and safety of sex workers nationwide. Grace made the all-too-common mistake of conflating human trafficking with consensual adult sex work, a policy phenomenon that has wrought unspeakable harm on sex-worker and survivor communities.

By assuming that all people who sell sex have experiences identical to her own, Grace attempted to silence the majority of adult sex workers who, for decades, have been calling for an end to criminalization. Criminalization allows theft, abuse, and state-sanctioned violence to proliferate against sex workers, merely for trying to make a living in a world where police officers often label cases in which those in the sex industry are victimized as “NHI” or “No Human Involved.” Grace has survived unspeakable trauma, and her desire to end the trafficking of human beings is warranted and essential to building a better world. She just isn’t going about it the right way.

Kaytlin Bailey’s response corrected Grace’s oversimplification of the problem and multiple misstated facts. For example, in regard to when RI decriminalized consensual, adult, indoor prostitution from 2003 to 2009, Grace charged that “traffickers and organized crime operated freely without fear of prosecution.” But those six years saw a 31% decline in violence against women statewide and a 39% reduction in rates of gonorrhea. Bailey also noted that since New Zealand decriminalized sex work in 2003, the country has only had human trafficking involving migrant sex workers, who still face criminalization under the law.

Rather than oversimplifying these issues, DSW is listening to sex workers and looking at the data. Both of these point to the full decriminalization of consensual, adult sex work to improve the health and safety of our communities.

Jasmine Grace, who penned the opinion piece, is the founding director of Jasmine Grace Outreach and the author of “The Diary of Jasmine Grace: Trafficked. Recovered. Redeemed.” (Photo: Union Leader, 2020)

In response to Grace’s heartfelt piece, DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey wrote an op-ed urging her not to conflate her own experience with that of all sex workers, pointing to the dangers that conflation poses. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

Black Lives Matter

June 2020 Black people nationwide continue to be harassed and murdered by law enforcement, with little to no consequences. We know that this systemic disregard for Black lives is neither...
Read More
Black Lives Matter

Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

June 14, 2020 DSW’s Hero of the Month for June is Ceyenne Doroshow — activist, organizer, and a cornerstone of the international sex worker and transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary (TGNCNB) rights...
Read More
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

June 9, 2020 A new sex worker rights organization was co-founded in VT by J. Leigh Brantly of DSW, along with local human rights advocate Henri. The Ishtar Collective is...
Read More
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

June 2, 2020 The 45th annual celebration of International Whore’s Day (IWD) departed from the usual, where sex workers and their allies don red attire and march through city streets...
Read More
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News

May 22, 2020 An opinion piece by DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey was published in the New Hampshire Union Leader in response to an opponent’s op-ed published days before. The original opinion...
Read More
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter
Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow,...
DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex...
International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and...
DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the...

DSW Newsletter Archive