IDEVASW Event
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (Arizona)
Each year, December 17th marks the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Last year’s event in Washington, D.C. was a big success and this year, sex workers and their allies from across the U.S. will gather together in Tucson, Arizona to remember and honor sex workers who have been victimized by virtue of their chosen profession – including rape, assault and murder.
You are invited to join us on in Tucson, Arizona on December 17, 2009 (performance art/public installation and a candelight vigil) and in Phoenix, Arizona on December 18, 2009 (protest rally on the steps of the Arizona Department of Corrections).
This year is especially poignant for us in Arizona because in May, 2009, Marcia Powell, an inmate at the Perryville women’s prison outside of Phoenix who was serving 27 months for prostitution, died when she was left outside in a holding cage in 107 degree heat without shade, food or water. Marcia Powell’s death is not only a travesty of justice and a failure of the prison system, but of the unjust laws which continue to oppress sex workers everywhere. We are outraged and saddened by both the loss of freedom and of lives, and we ask for your participation in putting an end to the violence.
December 17, 2009 – Tucson, Arizona:
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. El Presidio Park, 160 West Alameda Street, Tucson, AZ. Performance art/art installation: “No Human Involved (NHI).”
For many years, the term “NHI” was routinely used to designate murdered prostitutes on police homicide reports. The central image for the art installation will be a physical representation of the Perryville Prison which will honor the Marcia Powell tragedy; a performance piece/die-in and live music are also scheduled.
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. El Tiradito Shrine, 354 South Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ “Memorial Ritual and Vigil”
El Tiradito Shrine is a national historic site tucked away in one of the many old downtown Tucson barrios (neighborhood). Often called the “wishing shrine,” the story associated with it involves broken hearts, crimes of passion, and a lover’s triangle. It’s the only shrine in the United States dedicated to a “sinner” and sex workers in Tucson have long held this place dear to our hearts. We will have live music, poetry, a ritual and remembrance circle where we light candles on shrine as we speak the names of fallen sex workers, and a few other things to make this event special. Refreshments. Cameras not allowed without prior permission.
December 18, 2009 – Phoenix, Arizona
Protest Rally in front of the Arizona Department of Corrections office, downtown Phoenix. Details forthcoming.
Photos from past Tucson IDEVASW events.
Read poems dedicated to fallen sex workers.
Open Invitation Letter to Attend Arizona Event
2009 Prostitution Murders (Partial List)
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About the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Each year, December 17th marks the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. The event was created in 2003 in response to the horrific case of Gary Leon Ridgway aka The Green River Killer, who pled guilty to aggravated first degree murder for killing forty-eight (48) prostitutes in the Seattle, Washington area over a period of twenty years. He was given life in prison instead of the death penalty in exchange for confessing to the details of the 48 murders in order that the victims’ families could have closure from the knowledge of their loved one’s last moments. December 17th was the date Gary Ridgway was sentenced.
In 2009, sex workers from around the globe met gruesome deaths and endured unspeakable violence. Some died at the hands of a solitary perpetrator; others were victims of serial “prostitute killers.” While some of these horrific stories received international media attention (Boston, Grand Rapids, Albuquerque, Tijuana, Cape Town, New Zealand just to name a few), other cases received little more than a perfunctory investigation. Many cases remain unresolved, sometimes forever. In fact, most violent crimes against sex workers remain unreported. Stigma and criminalization facilitate this violence; when sex work is criminalized, prostitutes can’t turn to the police for protection without risking prosecution themselves. Sex workers remain one of the largest marginalized populations in existence without the benefit of the basic civil rights that everyone else takes for granted.
How You Can Help!
1. Attend the IDEVASW event in Tucson, Arizona on December 17th and Phoenix on December 18th; we have plenty of resources for free housing and transportation.
2. If you can’t join us in Arizona, organize your own IDEVASW event in your hometown.
3. If you’re a business or organization who’d like to help the Tucson event by sponsorship, please contact info@swop-tucson.org. We need both money and volunteers.
4. Circulate this letter to your own listservs and use social media to get the word out – blog about this, add this letter to your website, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc.
5. Donate to the Sex Workers Outreach Project. Visit http://swop-usa.org to find out more.