DSW Staff Share Their Expertise

April 6: DSW’s Melissa Sontag Broudo and J. Leigh Oshiro-Brantly joined other advocates for a panel on decriminalizing sex work organized by Equality New York for their 2021 Advocacy Day. Some panelists shared deeply personal experiences about how the criminalization of sex work hinders their ability to live safely and freely.

April 7: Melissa Sontag Broudo discussed public health and safety benefits of decriminalizing sex work for her alma mater, John Hopkins University’s “Spotlight Series.”

Watch the recording here.

DSW Staff Share Their Expertise

The Equality New York Decriminalization Panel.

DSW Newsletter #25 (April 2021)

Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie

April 6, 2021 Gizelle Marie loves her job as a stripper. She loves it so much, in fact, that she has become a leading voice for progressive reforms within the...
Read More
Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie

Decriminalize Sex Work’s Statement on Manhattan DA’s Announcement

April 21, 2021 Manhattan district attorney Cyrus R. Vance, following in the footsteps of other New York City boroughs, announced that his office would no longer prosecute individuals for prostitution...
Read More
Decriminalize Sex Work’s Statement on Manhattan DA’s Announcement

Equality Model vs Nordic Model

April 20, 2021 Some are now calling the Nordic Model of Prostitution the Equality Model Attaching the term “Equality” to the legal framework more commonly known as the Nordic Model...
Read More
Equality Model vs Nordic Model

DSW Staff Share Their Expertise

April 6: DSW’s Melissa Sontag Broudo and J. Leigh Oshiro-Brantly joined other advocates for a panel on decriminalizing sex work organized by Equality New York for their 2021 Advocacy Day. Some...
Read More
DSW Staff Share Their Expertise

Mark Your Calendars

May 1, 2021 DSW is proud to be one of the sponsors of a tribute to legendary activist Margo St. James. We hope you will join us and many others...
Read More
Mark Your Calendars
Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie
Decriminalize Sex Work’s Statement on Manhattan DA’s Announcement Decriminalize Sex Work’s Statement on Manhattan...
Equality Model vs Nordic Model Equality Model vs Nordic Model
DSW Staff Share Their Expertise DSW Staff Share Their Expertise
Mark Your Calendars Mark Your Calendars

DSW Newsletter Archive

Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie

April 6, 2021

Gizelle Marie loves her job as a stripper. She loves it so much, in fact, that she has become a leading voice for progressive reforms within the industry — for herself, for other dancers, and for the generations that will follow her. Racism, colorism, misogyny, and wage theft are all issues Gizelle Marie is fighting head-on. Sticking one’s neck out to challenge the status quo is risky in any industry, let alone one as stigmatized and marginalized as stripping, but Gizelle Marie is a risk-taker. Despite being banned from working at a number of clubs, likely due to her advocacy for the rights of individual dancers, Gizelle Marie is undeterred. She is aware of her relative privilege as a cis-gendered, lighter-skinned woman and is dedicated to using this privilege to ensure that all of her colleagues have access to safe and fair working conditions.

“Gizelle Marie always puts others before herself. She’ll go without something to be able to give it to someone else. I’ve seen her do it over and over again,” says DSW’s Melissa Sontag Broudo. Gizelle’s devotion to her colleagues and improving the way society views and treats sex workers is evidenced regularly through big actions and small gestures. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and many sex workers lost their ability to earn an income, Gizelle Marie launched a mutual aid fund that raised nearly $60,000.00 to support them. She has taken club promoters who fail to pay dancers what they should to court, co-organized the largest demonstration for sex worker rights ever to take place in the U.S., and recently handed over her pair of brand new shoes to another dancer who didn’t have any.

Gizelle Marie credits her grandmother, who raised her, for instilling a deep respect for others and their struggles. She says, “my grandmother made so many sacrifices to be able to take care of me. I’m inspired by her. It’s because of her that I want to help people as much as I can.” It angers Gizelle Marie that because of the way most clubs are structured, dancers are pitted against each other, and it can feel like a competition to earn a living. She wants to change this. Gizelle Marie wants sex workers to feel that they’re “all one” so that they can support each other and find power in numbers.

Gizelle Marie’s ultimate goal is the decriminalization of all forms of consensual adult sex work. She explains that though her work as a stripper is legal, all sex workers face unnecessary risks until all forms of consensual adult sex work are decriminalized. Criminalization increases stigmatization, violence, and other factors that put her community in jeopardy.

Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie

Courtesy of Gizelle Marie.

DSW Newsletter #25 (April 2021)

Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie

April 6, 2021 Gizelle Marie loves her job as a stripper. She loves it so much, in fact, that she has become a leading voice for progressive reforms within the...
Read More
Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie

Decriminalize Sex Work’s Statement on Manhattan DA’s Announcement

April 21, 2021 Manhattan district attorney Cyrus R. Vance, following in the footsteps of other New York City boroughs, announced that his office would no longer prosecute individuals for prostitution...
Read More
Decriminalize Sex Work’s Statement on Manhattan DA’s Announcement

Equality Model vs Nordic Model

April 20, 2021 Some are now calling the Nordic Model of Prostitution the Equality Model Attaching the term “Equality” to the legal framework more commonly known as the Nordic Model...
Read More
Equality Model vs Nordic Model

DSW Staff Share Their Expertise

April 6: DSW’s Melissa Sontag Broudo and J. Leigh Oshiro-Brantly joined other advocates for a panel on decriminalizing sex work organized by Equality New York for their 2021 Advocacy Day. Some...
Read More
DSW Staff Share Their Expertise

Mark Your Calendars

May 1, 2021 DSW is proud to be one of the sponsors of a tribute to legendary activist Margo St. James. We hope you will join us and many others...
Read More
Mark Your Calendars
Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie Hero of the Month: Gizelle Marie
Decriminalize Sex Work’s Statement on Manhattan DA’s Announcement Decriminalize Sex Work’s Statement on Manhattan...
Equality Model vs Nordic Model Equality Model vs Nordic Model
DSW Staff Share Their Expertise DSW Staff Share Their Expertise
Mark Your Calendars Mark Your Calendars

DSW Newsletter Archive

Mark Your Calendars

April 6, 2021: Equality New York (EQNY), a statewide advocacy organization working to advance equality and justice for LGBTQI New Yorkers and their families, will hold its 2021 Advocacy Day on April 6. DSW’s Legal Director Melissa Broudo, is part of the team organizing the day; DSW’s J. Leigh Oshiro-Brantly and Ceyenne Doroshow, and Broudo herself, will all be featured on panels throughout the event.

For more information and to register, visit: https://www.equalityny.org/2021-nys-lgbtqi-virtual-advocacy-day/

SWOP Mayoral Forum

(tentative date) May 20, 2021: SWOP Brooklyn will host a New York City Mayoral Candidate Forum on sex work and police reform. Candidates will answer questions from the community and have the opportunity to outline their plans to hold law enforcement accountable, reform mass incarceration, and improve the health, safety, and human rights of sex workers, trafficking survivors, and our communities at large. The date is subject to change.

Courtesy of Equality New York.

DSW Newsletter #24 (March 2021)

Heroes of the Month: Scientists for Sex Worker Rights

March 3, 2021 Since 2001, sex workers, allies, and advocates have commemorated International Sex Worker Rights Day on March 3 in an effort to raise awareness of the human rights abuses...
Read More
Heroes of the Month: Scientists for Sex Worker Rights

Rhode Island Introduces Legislation Aimed at Protecting Sex Workers

March 8, 2021 DSW is pleased to be working with allies in Rhode Island on four bills critical to the health and safety of sex workers and communities as a...
Read More
Rhode Island Introduces Legislation Aimed at Protecting Sex Workers

Decriminalization News From Oregon and Louisiana

March 3, 2021: New Orleans District 91 State Representative Mandie Landry proposed a new bill decriminalizing prostitution in Louisiana on International Sex Workers’ Rights Day. Landry partnered with local sex worker rights...
Read More
Decriminalization News From Oregon and Louisiana

Mark Your Calendars

April 6, 2021: Equality New York (EQNY), a statewide advocacy organization working to advance equality and justice for LGBTQI New Yorkers and their families, will hold its 2021 Advocacy Day...
Read More
Mark Your Calendars
Heroes of the Month: Scientists for Sex Worker Rights Heroes of the Month: Scientists for...
Rhode Island Introduces Legislation Aimed at Protecting Sex Workers Rhode Island Introduces Legislation Aimed at...
Decriminalization News From Oregon and Louisiana Decriminalization News From Oregon and Louisiana
Mark Your Calendars Mark Your Calendars

DSW Newsletter Archive