December 17th is swiftly approaching. D17 or International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, is the sex working community’s annual day of remembrance and rage, where many of us gather to mourn our dead and recommit ourselves to the struggle for decriminalization and destigmatization of the sex trades. We need more people to recognize this day, and our fights for justice, alongside us.
You can read more about the day here, in this piece by one of our comrades, Ending Violence Against Sex Workers Means Abolishing Police and Prisons.
You can speak the names of sex workers lost to violence this, and last year, here. SWOP Behind Bars and SWOP USA compile and share the list of community members killed each year by police, violent clients, intimate partners, and prisons. During our protest vigils we also often uplift those comrades no longer with us because of illness and suicide. Whoever’s name you speak or sign on December 17th, know that there are a chorus of voices with you also saying: Not. One. More.
In Chicago, Support Ho(s)e along with other trusted comrades, are hosting an indoor community grief gathering on the north side:
Join us at 6:30 PM on December 17th at Haymarket House for our annual night of grief and rage in honor of International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. We will gather, read the names of our sex worker siblings who have died this year, honor all the workers we’ve lost with a temporary alter, and share community. Light refreshments and warm beverages will be served. Bring a friend, a poem, an offering for the altar, or just yourself. This event is open to current/former sex workers and our accomplices who stand in mourning with us. There will be a mental health professional on site to assist with any de-escalation needs, or should anyone wish to speak with her.
This is a masks required event, and there will be a HEPA air filter running at all times. A mask will be provided if you don’t have one. Haymarket House is wheelchair accessible through ramp, which is located around the back of the building accessible through the parking lot. To get to the parking lot, you enter through the gates on Clarendon and folks are welcome to park there if they have mobility needs.
Please email tidalpoolgrief@protonmail.com to ensure you are able to enter this way.
If you would like to donate food, flowers, or volunteering with event coordination, please DM or email tidalpoolgrief@protonmail.com for more info.
In Austin, Support Ho(s)e is organizing an outdoor protest vigil on Wednesday, December 17th, from 7:30 – 8:30 PM at Republic Square Park. Republic Square Park is one of the last remaining landmarks of Austin’s red-light district, Guy Town, which flourished from 1870 to 1913, and was an inner-Austin, eight-block area bordered by present day Congress Avenue, the Colorado River, Guadalupe Street, and Fourth Street.
We’ll gather, light candles, read, speak and sign the names of fallen comrades and hold a collective moment of rage.
We ask that you dress warmly, and bring signs with loved ones names. We’ll provide candles and blankets.
We’re always fundraising to move resources to our loved ones who’ve experienced violence while working, who are currently and formerly incarcerated, and who need to take time away from hustling to heal. Please consider sending something our way this giving season.
