7 Ways To Mark the International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers

December 17 is a day for mourning sex workers lost to violence and for drawing attention to conditions—like criminalization—that put sex workers at risk.

For two decades, activists have marked December 17 with demonstrations meant to mourn sex workers who have been killed and to help prevent future violence. It's known as the International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers (IDEVASW), or sometimes just D17. Over the years, it's become a time for sex workers and their allies to organize, to educate, and to draw attention to conditions—such as criminalization—that make violence against sex workers more likely.

Today, I want to highlight some things that anyone can do to mark D17 this year.

Understand the Day's History and Significance

"December 17 is a day, where across the globe, sex workers, advocates and allies remember and mourn those that the sex worker community has lost over the last year," explains the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP). "A list of names is compiled and read, candles are lit, and communities come together to make sure those we have lost are not forgotten." More:

December 17 began in 2003 in response to the sentencing of a murderer Gary Ridgeway, who was convicted of 49 separate murders, although ultimately, he is thought to have taken over 90 lives. When asked about his very specific targeting, he admitted "I picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away and might never be reported missing. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught."

In response, Robyn Few, founder of the Sex Workers Outreach Project, and Annie Sprinkle were determined to make sure that the women who lost their lives were remembered, and their names said out loud. They organized a speak out in San Francisco, and encouraged people to hold vigils in their local areas. Since 2003, D17 has spread to become a day of global awareness and resilience for the entire sex work community."

SWOP's December 17 project "is a collaborative effort to continue this mission by maintaining a global resource of memorialized sex workers, a podcast telling the stories of their lives, and a blog with news updates about cases of murdered sex workers as well as information about the fight for sex workers' rights and safety."

For more on the day's history and meaning—with lots of links to sex workers' writing—check out Reason's previous D17 posts and follow the #IDEVASW and #D17 hashtags on social media tomorrow.

Show Up for a Demonstration or Vigil

D17 events range from virtual vigils and panels to in-person protests and parties. Some are designed solely for sex workers while others are aimed at a broader audience. (It's a good idea for non–sex workers to pay attention to event details so as not to show up where it's inappropriate. For the events listed here, I've noted the intended audience where I've seen it specified.)

Here are some of this year's virtual events:

• Silence, Violence, and Sex Workers' Rights: "An evening of art and resistance celebrating the lives of the fallen and providing actions to make our community safer." This virtual roundtable will be moderated by the New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance and starts at 4 p.m. ET.

• COYOTE RI is hosting a virtual D17 event from 7 to 9 p.m. ET. You can register here.

• Sex Worker's Rights as Human Rights: "A conversation on International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers." This virtual panel, hosted by the International Studies Association, starts at 3 p.m. ET.

• Event in support of Chrystul Kizer: "Sex worker advocates Renee Olstead and Lotus Lain will host an online event…in support of Chrystul Kizer, an Illinois-based sex trafficking survivor who was jailed after killing her trafficker in self-defense. In addition to time spent with fellow sex workers, attendees will create handmade holiday cards which will be scanned and sent to Kizer." The card-making meetup is aimed at sex workers, but the sign-up sheet also welcomes non-sex workers who want to show support.

• Trans Equity panel: Transequity and Victoria Von Blaque will be hosting a virtual panel at 4:30 p.m. ET.

• All-day SWOP event for members of the sex work community: SWOP is hosting "an all-day event to celebrate the resilience of the sex work community." It kicks off on Zoom tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET. "Anyone who is part of the community is encouraged to attend and celebrate the resilience of the sex work community," the event page says.

And here are a few non-virtual happenings in the U.S.:

• Chicago Protest Vigil: Support Ho(s)e Chicago is holding a protest vigil in downtown Chicago at 7 p.m. CT. "Open to current/former [sex workers] and accomplices," the event flyer says. "Masking required for safety and anonymity."

• Minneapolis Candlelight Vigil: "SWOP Minneapolis is hosting a candlelight vigil to honor Sex Workers who didn't survive 2024 and a ceremony of recommitment to fighting like hell for the living." The vigil kicks off at 7 p.m. at 2110 Nicollet Avenue. "This is a space for remembrance, resistance, and solidarity, and it's open to everyone," the group says on Instagram. "Whether you're a sex worker, an ally, or just someone who believes in dignity and safety for all, you're invited to join us. Bring flowers, bring your support, and stand with us as we demand an end to violence against sex workers. Let's show up for those we've lost and fight harder for those still here."

• Voices of Resilience: Empowering Sex Workers through Advocacy: The D.C.-based harm-reduction group HIPS is hosting an in-person event and panel on December 18. It kicks off at 6 p.m. at the Southeast D.C. restaurant as you are.

• Austin Candlelight Vigil: SXHX Collective is holding a candlelight protest vigil in Austin, Texas, tomorrow night. It takes place from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. CT in Austin's Republic Square Park. "All sex workers and those who love us welcome," says the event flyer. "Dress warmly, bring signs honoring loved ones, candles and blankets provided."

• D17 Candle Ceremony and Holiday Mixer in Greenwich Village: Hosted by the Judson Memorial Church's Sex Worker Alliance, this event will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. ET in at Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village. "We invite you to join with Judson's sex worker alliance—the community of entrepreneurs, artists, activists and allies in a candle ritual…convened by Veronica Vera," the group says on Facebook. "Attendees will be invited to decorate candles as a poetic gesture of remembrance and love. This will be followed by a community mixer indoors with refreshments, socializing, information-sharing and entertainment."

• McCarren Parkhouse event: Equality New York, Red Canary Song, Decriminalize Sex Work, and other groups are hosting an event from 9 p.m. to midnight ET in Brooklyn's McCarren Parkhouse.

Follow Sex Work Writing on Bluesky

Why Bluesky? Because most social media platforms either explicitly or covertly suppress content by sex workers and about sex work. Bluesky's chronological feed—as opposed to the more algorithm-driven engines powering many other platforms as the default—means that who you follow is who you get, which makes sex work content suppression less of a threat.

I have made a (by no means complete) Bluesky list of people—including sex workers, activists, and academics (not mutually exclusive categories, of course)—who write about sex work and sexuality, to get you started. Writer and photographer Gustavo Turner has a much more extensive "starter pack" here. If you're looking to start following just a few accounts, you can't go wrong with Turner, SWOP USA, Maggie McNeill, Jessica Stoya, Angela Jones, and Mike Stabile.

Subscribe to Sex Work Newsletters

Subscribing to sex-work news and advocacy newsletters also ensures that you get to see the updates you want to see, since they'll be delivered directly to your inbox instead of showcased at the whims of an ever-changing algorithm. Following the organizational newsletters for various sex worker rights groups is a great way to stay abreast of political and legislative developments related to sex work, including new ways police and politicians are trying to limit sexual and economic freedom in the name of "protecting" women and the ways that activists are trying to fight back. I recommend starting with the Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics Rhode Island (COYOTE RI) newsletter on Substack, the Old Pros newsletter, and the Decriminalize Sex Work newsletter. (And of course Reason's Sex & Tech newsletter too!)

Break Out Your Wallet

COYOTE RI, HIPS, SWOP-USA, Support Ho(s)e, Decriminalize Sex Work, Old Pros, Trans Equity, the New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance, Red Canary Song… Today's newsletter is full of links to nonprofit groups that could use your donations. Some of these groups also sell cool merchandise promoting sex worker rights, in case you'd like to shop for a cause.

Read We Too: Stories of Sex Work and Survival

The book club I help run just finished reading We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival. It's a fabulous collection of sex worker–penned essays that tells stories of struggle, of liberation, and of everything in-between. This is powerful and nuanced writing that explores the complexities of consent, skewers the supposed bright line between victimhood and empowerment narratives, and showcases the problems in mainstream feminist and law enforcement efforts at "protecting" sex workers. I recommend it for anyone interested in issues surrounding sex work in the U.S. and beyond. Essays cover everything from stripper labor organizing to criminalizing sex trafficking survivors to the promise and problems of "feminist" porn and much more.

Watch CLassified: The War on Backpage.com

Reason's recent documentary looks at the feds' takedown of Backpage—a classified ad platform that was popular among sex workers—and the criminal case against its founders. The tale has relevance far beyond this particular website and those involved, showcasing the playbook that politicians and prosecutors are using to quash online speech about sex more broadly—and how, far from protecting sex workers, this crackdown puts them at more risk.

---

More Sex & Tech News

• The Justice Department has reached a settlement agreement concerning assets seized from former executives of Backpage. "$215 million in assets traceable to Backpage's profits, and previously seized by the government from Backpage and its agents, will be forfeited to the United States," the department reports. "The forfeiture represents more than 80% of the value of the property seized or restrained in the case."

• Jessie Sage covers the controversy around OnlyFans performer Lily Phillips, who slept with 100 men in a day and made a documentary about it. "When anti-porn feminists and conservative Christians are both chomping at the bit to shut our industry down, [sex workers] are loathe to be honest when we have a bad day on the job, fearing that this information will be used as ammunition," writes Sage. More:

Perhaps the remarkable thing that Phillips did in this film was not have sex with 100 men, but rather break the fourth wall, allowing people outside the industry to see her vulnerability and her complex feelings about her labor. She allowed us to see her learn on the job, and work through her feelings about it, while still asking folks to recognize her humanity and agency simultaneously. Maybe by going to the extremes, she showed the world just how difficult and nuanced this line of work really is. Perhaps more of us should be this brutally honest about the complexities of our jobs.

• "A Montana law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors will remain temporarily blocked, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, after justices unanimously agreed with a lower court judge who found the law likely violates the state's constitutional right to privacy," reports the Associated Press. "The case against the Montana law now goes to trial before District Court Judge Jason Marks in Missoula."

• Activists in England and Wales are protesting the use of "police cautions," which can be issued "to anyone they have 'reasonable cause' to believe has broken prostitution laws, meaning little evidence is required," reports The Guardian. "Police cautions, which are typically issued for minor crimes, are filtered out from someone's record after six years and do not need to be disclosed to employers, but a prostitute's caution will show up on a sex worker's enhanced [Disclosure and Barring Service] check until they are 100 years old."

• A federal appeals court has rejected a sex trafficking case against the video chat platform Omegle, in another win for a narrow reading of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA).

• Donald Trump wants Mark Meador to become a Federal Trade Commission commissioner. "Meador is an accomplished antitrust litigator, but his antagonism toward Big Tech, and bigness per se, will compromise Trump's stated goals of maintaining America's economic and technological dominance," writes Reason's Jack Nicastro.

• Arena magazine is a refreshing read if you are frustrated with the doomerism, tech panic, and casual anti-market sentiment that tends to permeate both mainstream and avant-garde media.

Today's Image

Las Vegas | 2020 (ENB/Reason)