The last time I spoke to someone at this email address, her mother had just died. This was in the middle of Project Rose, and a lot was going on. I had discovered the name of www.sexworkersanonymous.net had been used to justify some of the funding and licensing for PR, and when Catholic Charities refused to stop acting like we were a part of that lunacy, we had to come in with cease and desist letters threatening them with an injunction to get them to stop. We finally were successful, and thankfully without our name, they were unable to secure anymore funding, and we saw that fade away.
As I'm sure you've seen over there also, so much as changed lately. Many of the older members of our world have died. People have left jobs and office. Many companies have closed their doors, and I've never seen as many absolute "newbies" now entering into sex work for the first time without any prior exposure or mentors as would have been the case back when we didn't have the internet. We have new owners for newspapers and TV stations, with a whole new batch of reporters. So many of the people I"ve known in the industry have moved - so we're having to rebuild our hotline of resources from scratch.
We discovered how useless our phone book was when Covid first shut down the country. Our court directories for example of judges in this country, as well as for probation/parole and the public defenders office, as well as bail bondsmen was also useless.
Since one of the main reasons we created a 12 step program was in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis so that we could present a free alternative to jail for those arrested on prostitution charges without having to pass any laws, apply for grants, or find someone with a degree and who had to be paid to run the program. This way we could just step in as peer support and now the courts' could literally not only hand anyone over to our meetings instead of jail because of the epidemic immediately, but the state also allowed us to actually clean out the jail.
What this meant was they wanted the transgenders out first. An apartment building was donated to us, as well as furniture and even construction support, so we were able to have a whole building donated to us for housing. I was walked into the mens' jail by the mayor, and we found 400 transgenders had been locked in the cafeteria by guards who were scared the other inmates were going to become violent in fear of the disease.
So they weren't safe, nor getting any medical attention either in that condition. That evening we were able to take all of those people out of the jail and into the house as part of the "alternative to incarceration" a 12 step program can do based on laws already in place thanks to drug court and AA/NA.
Now are you going to find news articles about this? Yes and no. First, think logically. Do you think the neighbors of such a house wouldn't have probably tried to burn it down if the LA Times ran a story about us moving these people into the jail. Which is why the mayor asked me to keep all of this out of the press, or let him do it "his way" because he said, wisely, if we tried to do this within the press' view, we'd NEVER get any of it done. Anyone can see why and agree with him. Now I did see a news clip about a house being donated to "homeless men" which was that very house.
Nor do I think the public wanted to hear about us loading up buses with 400 transgender prostitutes to take them OUT of the jail anywhere - so no we didn't bring the press along when we did this. The LA Times did run a story about our group, and that we were working as an alternative to jail - so it WAS written in the news if you read between the lines. I also see why Mayor Bradley didn't exact wave banners about what he did either - not with people literally fire bombing many gay owned and frequented businesses back then out of fear of HIV/AIDS. But I do know those people we got out of that locked cafeteria remember us because I remember the inmates and guards threatening them because of fear they had HIV/AIDS, and I know all those pregnant mothers remember how we got them out of Sybil Brand as well. (But things like this are exactly why I'm publishing my memoirs so people know about all that happened back then.)
The next population they gave us to clear out of the jails was the pregnant women with children. An abandoned drug treatment program was given to us for housing, along with all of the services we needed included day care workers provided - we were able to then get all those women out of the jail, along with reuniting them with their children who were in foster care. Luckily soon enough the children hadn't been adopted yet either.
Now, the news reported no one was supposed to be arrested for non-violent misdemeanors during the shutdown last March of 2020 - however we were getting reports of stings being held and groups of women, men and trans accused of prostitution and carted off to the jails anyway. Even the bail bondsmen were shocked as they were told these people weren't to be given bail as the courts weren't open to set bail. The fact the courts were providing referrals to us when a sex worker asked to come to us instead of going to jail right up to before the shut down, had me confused. Especially when we got our first madam, accused of a felony, referred to us instead of prison just that year before the shut down. So we knew the system was still in place, so what was happening and what was happening to these people?
Now you know most sex workers weren't able to get unemployment during the shut down, and while in quarantine, it'd be impossible to work. During the HIV/AIDS crisis, we were suddenly put "out of work" as well when given a positive diagnosis - giving us a problem of providing instant alternatives for income to our community.
What we did back in the 1980's was find sponsors such as Trojan was one of our first sponsors, yes the condom company, who started off sex workers who wanted to, or had to, quit sex work because of HIV/AIDS a weekly salary to go out and do education, prevention, testing support (such as driving them to test sites), to our community. For those who this meant an argument with a pimp and they wanted to live where they were living also, we had apartment buildings and hotels offering free housing.
The state was cooperating, so we were able to also offer free medical, free education, expedited SSI checks, etc., to sex workers during this crisis because the state agreed the best thing to do was to get these people to where they did not HAVE to "work" during this crisis. Then when, or if, someone wanted to go back to sex work - they could. I loved ITT Tech because they not only enrolled anyone in school who wanted it, but would give them dorm housing, along with a cafeteria voucher - so we could often just move them right onto the campus for housing, and they'd get medical coverage from the school nurses' office.
So my first question was could we do the same thing with COVID? Calling some of the old sponsors, I was able to discover we could offer any sex worker who wanted to not worry about working during this time a starting salary of $1000 a week to do outreach to the community, along with a commission for some sponsors who also offered sales positions as well to the salary.
This offer was also without having to "prove" one was a sex worker, and thereby having to violate their 5th amendment - not knowing where those "proof files" were going demanded by some agencies during the shut down offering help which could come back to haunt the person later.
Only for some strange reason we found the media did not want to report this news, nor did many of the sex worker rights groups such as SWOP, nor SWOP BEHIND BARS. When I BEGGED SWOP Behind Bars to talk to me about these resources - they told me they'd not be able to talk to me until September of 2021. Huh? Not really useful information then don't you think?
Strange to think they wouldn't want to alert everyone they could "get out of jail free" during this time anywhere in the country, nor that they could get on a weekly salary starting immediately until the shutdown was over, maybe longer if the sponsor liked their outreach work.
We of course offered this to our SWA members, some of who are still on their salaries because there's still the viris raging in some counties still. When these women wanted to alert other SWOP members about the help SWA was offering, the only group I'm aware of besides the usual (AA, NA, the domestic violence hotlines, etc.), also offering priviledged communications so any records of you having any "criminal" connections wouldn't come back to haunt you later down the road. The same with the jail alternative, so we found this strange.
Alerting us to the very real need if there's going to be a deliberate communications block about the ability to avoid jail, keep your kids and home as one often loses when going to jail, without needing an attorney nor a fund raisor to make that happen, including the option of early release from jail if already inside, even in cases where there's a mandatory jail term on their sentencing order, and to get a salary for basically calling your friends to make sure they have the latest Covid information, access to testing and the vaccine, etc., during a time when many sex workers were having a horrible financial crisis because of not being able to work while having kids - well then we needed to create our own network within the sex worker community to distribute information such as this very important information like getting out of jail and having a salary during a shut down to ALL sex workers - and not just those who had expressed a desire for exit support AND/OR those who were in SWA so as to avoid jail time and/or to get off probation early, to get early release, diversion, etc.
Last night they got all of the strip club's into the database for example. We are waiting on approval to obtain the contact information for all "service providers" licensing with the Nye County sheriff as to the legal prostitutes, and obtaining the licensing of the strippers in Nevada with entertainers' licenses is easy, so we're buiilding our list bit by bit to reach deep into the community of legal sex workers - workers who have many opinions about the industry we respect. The ONLY thing we care about is not what they think, but them.
Now since this blog will be going out to provide a free flowing source of information without bias, censorship or propaganda provided to our community, but instead an open flow of information and ideas, we have been reaching out to ALL programs, groups, associations, etc., to get an interview with them about what they offer currently so we can post it on the blog and podcast that will be going out to this community as it grows - and for some reason many of you are just blocking us without even so much as a hello.
Now if you don't want to be included in the information we're going to be distributing, that's fine. But then you politely decline, you don't just block someone or ignore them like this is high school! Not exactly a good way for a group of us to act don't you think?
Since I myself am a retired sex worker, run the oldest, and largest group of sex workers in the world actually now, I'm not supported by any grants, nor do I cooperate with police as an informant, AND I've supported each of your work in the past AND I happen to think the information I have relevant for sex workers to know that makes a BIG difference in their lives is what I'm trying to get distributed (all without being paid to do this I would like to add) - I find this response quite disrespectful - but informative.
In fact, I will be publishing a list of those who have refused any communications with me as one of our community about issues affecting our community in the blog. Now since the last time I reached out to you, I was treated with respect and communicated with - I can only think maybe you confused me with someone else OR you're acting that way because of what I've been told by others is their reason for doing so - because you've been "told" not to speak to me or anyone in SWA so you are complying.
Which I happen to think is important information for the press, law makers, and our community, to be aware of is what's happening at your group over there when another sex worker reaches out to you about such vital issues - not just offiicially as group to group - but as a person and a sister within this community where NO ONE is supposed to be descriminaed against nor "hated" or shunned simply because of who they are, or their past, for any reason.
To treat one of us like that, isn't how we treated each other - it's how THEY (the SWERFS, anti-trafficking fanatics such as Swanee Hunt, and abolitionists, etc.) treat us for one thing. For another, since I've been subjected to this almost Amish form of "shunning" for a reason I have no idea why people who were friends one moment and then act like this the next are doing this for - we've been losing ground.
When women like Margo St James and I worked together as friends, we saw not only Rhode Island decriminalized, a town who was pretty much controlled by the mob back then, but when they fought back and tried to reverse this decriminalization (with conditions) win, we maintained that for a long, long time. We build statistics that were what we predicted such s rape going down by something like 40 percent if I remember - a statistic we had planned to use to expand decriminalization.
Yet when Chon moved to try and reverse this, and I found SWA and I being "shunned" by those who once were my sisters, WE LOST. I offered help with the Decriminalization DC when that started - offering up local SWA members to get involved who have experience and connections that could have got that done.
They did NOT approach the group behind this directly which would have exposed their anonymity because they didn't know if they could trust anyone involved with knowledge of their past and their current legal information - so they asked me to "put out feelers". I was abruptly rebuffed - even refused so much as a phone call to discuss connecting up these local members to support the campaign.
WE LOST.
Now maybe that's the point because in the USA, each time we've tried to get involved since this started on a campaign, and been rebuffed, blacklisted, ignored, etc - WE AS A GROUP HAVE LOST. I sure as hell see if and I thought you'd have wised up by now that disunity causes loss - and we won when we had unity. That was even involving lawsuits we've lost - offers again we made rejected.
You've even put names of known informants (yes I"ve seen the court records), on lawsuits and projects - but yet reject ex-sex workers, and maybe current for all you know as we sure as shit aren't going to identify anyone is currently back in sex work to people we can't trust because they're frankly acting like victims of pimps and predators do - can't talk to anyone outside because they've been "told not to".
A fact that is becoming really obvious to other sex workers as well who comment when they see me being treated this way - that's why they call me and not you. So you're losing support as well - which is as it should be if this is about "control" and not about "us". When you only speak like you would to a stranger on a bus to those on your "approved" list who say and do what you've "approved" of them - that's a mob, a dictatorship, and well frankly how pimps operate.
So if that's what's going on over there with some of you - then I'm just fine being left alone. So fine I"ll be publishing a list of people in this community who can't treat me with again the same common courtesy one would a stranger on a bus. Since I"m now a blogger and podcaster in this community as well - I deserve that respect and if that can't be given - it will be noted for our community to see this and decide for themselves.
And save the rebuttal "it's because she's crazy" please because that not only can't be proven about some of your guys members, in fact some of them have been legally defined as insane, even having been committed to mental hospitals, but it also has NOTHING to do with the information I"m relaying to the community, NOR the other members of SWA who aren't even me. People who feel if you can't speak to me again with common courtesy - then they sure don't want to talk to you.
But in ignoring and shunning me when you know I"m being a point of contact for them so they can maintain their anonymity, you're also shunning them. So what shunning THEM has to do with the idea "Jody is crazy", well frankly that sounds crazy. I especially don't know how you're make such a determination when I'm finding people posing as me online every day - so you don't even know what social media is mine even for that matter.
With no one SPEAKING to me you sure as shit don't know if some tweet or post was mine in reality either. And to say the media/social media doesn't lie about people all the time, when they lie about celebrities daily - well to deny that's real sounds like denying the world is round - and again THAT sounds crazy to me.
To say "Jody's crazy" as an excuse for the way I'm being treated, as well as SWA members you don't even know who asked me to be a point of contact for them so as to protect their name, their IP address, their face, etc., but wanted to for example lend support to the #decrimnowdc campaign - again THAT is what sounds crazy to me.
Besides, they lost. When a man in an insane asylum offered to help write the first dictionary, it was not rejected by Oxford University, but in fact named after him. So to keep on dividing this community, blocking the flow of needed information and resources, losing battles like #decrimnowdc was - well at this point that is your point or someone is acting crazy around here and it's not me. In fact, when Oxford say he was getting the job done - they gave him his own office! Voila! Dictionary done.
Just as trying to make that campaign about getting DC to agree to decriminalize prostitution so that women and trans of color simply could prostitute without fear of arrest in the middle of a Covid pandemic - well again frankly that sounds kind of crazy to me and of COURSE DC didn't go for that take on the issue.
Why would they? I went over the testimony, the press, etc. about the DC campaign when it lost - and I didn't see ONE thing featured to those deciding the issue that would make them want to vote for this. Not one. I'm not saying this wasn't a valid need or want. I'm just saying I don't see how the DC decision makers would give a damn about those issues as to why they should decriminalize prostitution.
Which to me the strip club owners that had just been shut down and lost their investment in the community because of three women dancers who had been arrested on prostitution charges, causing the loss of jobs, taxes, sales tax even, buying of goods to supply the club such as food and beverages - I'd think someone from their club would have been on the top of the list speaking about how if those dancers hadn't of been arrested - should have been one of the first ones to speak to the committee and the press along with walking with the protestors.
But then again, my ideas weren't welcome - oh well - if they'd won - that would have been won thing. People who want to win wouldn't let a couple of women saying "oh Jody's crazy" stop them from getting access to more supporters and winning a campaign to change the law.
As to who they are, these other members of SWA who send me in first to make a point of contact on such projects to see how I'm received before speaking up also in the local city something is happening in - well - you've just answered why these women aren't exactly identifying themselves to you guys over there now aren't you? If you can't even treat me with the same respect one would a stranger, then they SURE aren't going to compromise their identities and status to anyone in groups that act like this "officially".
Many of them feel the fact that relaying information on resources we have to the community has been actively blocked by you and these other groups and advocates - is downright treason within our community as well as betrayal.
Just so you know.
So I"m going to repeat my request to the Desiree Alliance to provide us with a 15 minute interview on what you do over there for the viewers. NOT SWA, but myself as someone who has been involved in this movement since the 1970's continuously, and without being paid for any of it, nor coerced either as an informant like some have.
Meaning the only thing I care about is the welfare of those within our communities, and their families. Another reason I'm creating and distributing this directory online and in print, is that not everyone in this community wants records of what they're looking up and who they're talking to on file with Google, and who knows who else. Especially if they're involved with illegal prostitution and maybe on parole, probation, etc.
By offering a print directory which is distributed to the community at the points of contact such as the strip clubs for one. as well as shows like the AVN and others held here in Vegas where I"m located, and where copies will be dropped off in print for distribution = we will be providing a means of communication within our community not monitored by outside agencies who are famous for not exactly being our "friends".
So when can we get an interview so that our listeners and readers can know more about who you are and what you do over there?
Thank you for your time in reading this email and responding.
Jody Williams
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