ESPLERP 2024 Year End Report
In our traditional spirit of transparency and accountability, we’d like to share the highlights from the Erotic Service Providers Legal Education and Research Project’s (ESPLERP) activities in 2024.
Stop the Raids 2024
The Stop The Raids Coalition of sex workers and activists was formed to address the annual false narrative by law enforcement, politicians and the media that large sporting events like the Super Bowl are associated with sex trafficking. This “urban myth” has been comprehensively debunked as FALSE – see (amongst others) Snopes (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/super-bowl-prostitution-increase/).
Despite all the evidence, this fact-free myth is still trotted out every year. And every year we work to counter it. In previous years, we organized events at Super Bowl LVI (February 13 2022) in Inglewood CA, and Super Bowl LVII (February 12 2023) in Glendale AZ.
So, in February we organized a series of events and demonstrations at Super Bowl LVlll in Las Vegas, including:
- Ho Down – Sex Trade Workers Training Event – an exciting in-person two and half days of training leading up to the Rally
- Sex Workers Researchers Round Table – a round table of 3 esteemed sex worker researchers to understand what research is required, and how it should be designed
- Cyber Security Checkup – a panel reviewing the cyber security steps all sex industry workers can take to protect our digital lives and devices from snoopers, data scrapers and unscrupulous data brokers
- Rally for Stop The Raids – Monday, Feb. 5th at 4pm at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.
These were not your average, run-of-the-mill gatherings; they were bursting with energy, knowledge, and a shared passion for justice. Participants came from all over the U.S., even as far away as Alaska and Rhode Island.
Super Bowl 2026
Super Bowl LX 2026 will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. And you can bet that we will see yet another rerun of the debunked “Super Bowl trafficking myth”.
It’s never too early to start preparing for the onslaught of law enforcement activities that will be focused on our community. We will be organizing:
- a series of in person community meetings to start strategizing a campaign
- legal self defense trainings to help our community prepare.
Contact info(at)esplerp(dot)org if you are interested in contributing.
Rally at State Capitol against AB 2046, AB2646 and SB1219 – Spoiler Alert: It worked!
In April, ESPLERP led a statewide Rally at the State Capitol against AB 2046, AB2646 and SB1219 – the bills seeking to reinstate the misdemeanor offense of loitering with intent to commit prostitution (previously Penal Code section 653.22) – also known as “walking while trans”.
While we were there, we had meetings with legislative aides, some of whom didn’t know that their legislator was championing such bad legislation, and in some cases tried to argue with us about what their bad legislation would do. They were met with a wall of “NO” and told to stop conflating sex trafficking of minors and adult consensual sex workers.
Instead, we gave them lots of ideas for policies they should be considering, like our policy asks to protect privacy on page 55 of our How the War on Sex Work Is Stripping Your Privacy Rights report – https://esplerp.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Consumer-Privacy-Final.pdf
We also brought to their attention the San Francisco pilot program to provide basic income to mothers who were sex workers,
And since we had two (2) generations of unionized strippers with us, we brought attention to the recently signed into law: the Strippers Bill Of Rights in Washington State.
It was “whores on parade”. We had a lot of fun – and more importantly it worked. These bills look to be dead – at least for now. But you can bet the “anti” lobby will try again.
You can read a great article about the Rally in the national Courthouse News Service – https://www.courthousenews.com/sex-workers-rally-at-california-capitol/ And you can check out some great pictures below…
Washington State Dancers Bill of Rights – Another big win!
On March 25th, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed into law SB 6105 — “Creating safer working conditions in adult entertainment establishments”) – also known as the Dancers’ Bill of Rights.
As the Governor said when signing:
It’s pretty simple why we are passing this bill,” the governor said. “These are working folks and working people deserve safety in the environment in which they work.
This is a massive win for Washington State workers. And notably the bill was proposed and lobbied for by stripper and dancer led organizations.
The bill caps ‘stage fees’, requires a series of worker protections for dancers, eliminates lewd conduct rules for establishments that serve alcohol, and creates a path for adult entertainment businesses to get liquor licenses.
Additionally, the law eliminates “back rent,” which is debt that accumulates when dancers do not make enough money to pay their customary “stage rental fee,” or house fees, for the night. The law also limits the amount that establishments can charge dancers.
Age Verification
During 2024, there was yet another slew of age verification legislation ostensibly trying to restrict minors’ access to online pornography. But all current age verification methods have major drawbacks.For example:
- In 2022, France’s National Commission on Informatics and Liberty, CNIL, published a detailed analysis of then current age verification methods. It found that no method had all three important elements: “sufficiently reliable verification, complete coverage of the population, and respect for the protection of individuals’ data and privacy and their security.”[1]
- Similarly, the Electronic Frontier Foundation notes that requiring website visitors to prove their age, by submitting information such as government-issued identification would effectively mean that anonymous access to the web could cease to exist. [2]
- And in Australia, a study in Big Data and Society into one common facial age estimation tool shows such technologies are unreliable, and have a racial and gender bias.[3]
- Beyond those issues, a similar Louisiana law is reportedly easy to work around by simply choosing not to use wireless internet, but rather switching to cellular data. It may also be possible for a resident of a state with a law like this one to evade it with a VPN that cloaks their location. [4]
Despite the obvious flaws, legislators are pushing ahead. But activists are pushing back.
The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has been granted a Supreme Court review of its constitutional challenge to Texas’s age verification law.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-1122/309965/20240516154012785_23-1122_Amicus%20Brief.pdf
FSC Executive Director Alison Boden was quoted as saying: “Despite proponents’ claims, online age verification is simply not the same as flashing an ID at a checkout counter. The process is invasive and burdensome, with significant privacy risks for adult consumers. Sexual expression is the canary in the coal mine of free speech, and we look forward to defending the rights of all Americans to access the internet privately and free from surveillance.”
San Francisco “War on Sex Work”
In August, a group of San Francisco residents filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco for failing to stop sex work on Shotwell Street in the Mission. See https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/28/shotwell-street-residents-sue-sf-for-failing-to-stop-sex-work/
It’s not clear who wrote the lawsuit, but it’s full of the worst kind of lurid pulp fiction language – for example “an epidemic of sex trafficking, prostitution, and other public disorder”. As the plaintiffs say the “problems seems to have shifted to Shotwell Street after officials last year installed barriers on nearby Capp Street to tamp down on prostitution there”. It’s hard to resist the temptation to say “Told You So”.
And (perhaps in response) the San Francisco Police Department installed surveillance cameras at the corner of Shotwell and 21st St (in the Mission).
These cameras are completely unregulated and their use amounts to warrantless unconstitutional data collection. And despite a 2019 San Francisco ordinance, the SFPD are still using facial recognition software to process the images and collect extensive personal information on (alleged) sex workers and members of the general public. See https://sfstandard.com/2024/07/18/san-francisco-police-facial-recognition-violations/ and https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-aclu-brief-sfpd-violated-surveillance-law-spying-protests-black-lives
On December 15th, the US PROstitutes Collective mounted a protest at the corner of Shotwell and 21st St (in the Mission) right next to the surveillance cameras. See https://missionlocal.org/2024/12/anti-sex-work-cameras-draw-protest-on-shotwell-street/
Conference: Compounding Institutional Exclusion and Harm
In September our good sister Tara Burns presented at the Compounding Institutional Exclusion and Harm conference. See https://app.traffickingconference.com/schedule/636
- Compounding Institutional Exclusion and Harm: A Case Study of Federally Funded Alaska Service Providers, Thu, September 19 | 3:15 PM EDT– 4:15 PM EDT
- Legal, Research | Knowledge Level: Intermediate And How to Stop Serial Killers and Sex Traffickers, Fri, September 20 | 1:45 PM EDT– 2:45 PM EDT
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
The International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (IDEVSW) is observed annually on December 17 by sex workers, their advocates, friends, families, and allies.
Originally conceived as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle, Washington, US, it has evolved into an annual international event. The Memorial calls attention to hate crimes committed against sex workers worldwide, as well as the need to remove the social stigma and discrimination that have contributed to violence against sex workers and indifference from the communities they are part of.
On December 17th, COYOTE RI and their sponsors (including ESPLERP) held an “International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers” virtual event to mark the day.
Recruiting
We are searching for a (Part-Time, Hybrid) Executive Director. If you are interested and qualified, please apply. Or if you know someone who might be, please pass on this job description.
We are also looking for help with grant writing – setting up grant tracking systems, onboarding grant platforms submissions, organizing our grant writing materials for each grant (they’re already ready). Email Maxine at info@esplerp.org for more info
Funding For Next Court Case
During 2024 we announced a funding campaign to help us file our next court case to stop arresting people for prostitution in California. Members of our community approached us to jump start this campaign as they are tired of the unnecessary trauma from being criminalized.
Our goal is to raise $200,000 to be able to file our case. See https://stop647b.com
Finance
Despite everybody facing substantial economic pressure over the past year, we raised a tad over $33,000 from grants and individual donors. Thank you!
But we still need to raise funds to move forward on additional policy and legal fronts – such as educating legislators and the potential California state court case. Your donations continue to make the difference in having our voices at the table.
- Contribute online at litigatetoemancipate.com
- Venmo @decrimnow
- Hit the PayPal button at http://esplerp.org
- Mail checks to ESPLERP, 2261 Market Street # 548, San Francisco, CA 94114.
We so appreciate your support – both financially and in spreading the message that sex workers and clients have a right to sexual privacy. This is a bottom-up activist movement and we appreciate any feedback you might have for us. Thank you.
Wishing You All A Happy 2025,
Maxine, Reada, Claire, Elle and Phil
To subscribe – email info(at)esplerp(dot)org with ‘subscribe’ in the subject line
or
go to https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/393877/85091783637206398/share
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Footnotes
- CNIL, “Online age verification: balancing privacy and the protection of minors”, 22 September 2022
https://www.cnil.fr/en/online-age-verification-balancing-privacy-and-protection-minors - EFF, “Age Verification Mandates Would Undermine Anonymity Online”, 10 March 2023
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/03/age-verification-mandates-would-undermine-anonymity-online - Big Data and Society, “Age verification for pornography access? Our research shows it fails on many levels”, June 10, 2024 https://theconversation.com/age-verification-for-pornography-access-our-research-shows-it-fails-on-many-levels-229614
- Maggie Harrison, The Byte. “There’s a Ridiculously Easy Way to Bypass Louisiana’s New Porn Law”, January 9, 2023
https://futurism.com/the-byte/bypass-louisiana-porn-law - ESPLERP, “Sex Worker Groups Outraged At Biased and Partisan UN Special Rapporteur’s Report”, June 10, 2024
The Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) is a diverse community-based coalition advancing sexual privacy rights through litigation, education, and research.
Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project (ESPLERP)
2261 Market St. #548, San Francisco, CA 94114
esplerp.org, decriminalizesexwork.com
