I participated in the roundtable discussion about California’s Prop 35 and “war on trafficking” in the current (January 2013) issue of In These Times magazine, which is also available on its website.

This is something I thought of today: a text-based “bad date” blacklist for sex workers and people in the sex trade. I know that there are several online “blacklists” out there, along with local “bad date” lists, but this is unique because it can be offered for free, and used from cheap cell phones many street-based workers have.

HOW TO USE:

Using a cell phone, sex workers can text the license plate number, phone number, or email address to a specified number. The text could be something like “5031234567 ?” (phone number 503-123-4567) or “OR*ABC012 ?” (Oregon license plate ABC-012).

The server computer looks up the information in the central database for a match. The worker would receive a response within seconds indicating whether or not there was a match, and if so what kind.

If there is no match, the server would respond with the message “NO RECORD.” If there are matches, it will give discreet codes like “VI” for violent or abusive client, or NC for someone who refuses condom. There may be multiple reports for the same person, in which case the response would say something like “VI NC*2”.

HOW TO REPORT:

When a sex worker experiences a bad date, she or he can text the license plate number, phone number, or email address to a specified number.

When reporting, the worker can include a code to indicate what kind of “bad date” it was, such as:

VI – violent or abusive
NP – no payment
HG – persistent haggler
NS – no show
NC – refuses condom
DR – especially disrespectful
PO – police
ST – stalker
PH – keeps calling, no intent to pay

A worker would send information such as:

5031234567 VI NC = phone number 503-123-4567, violent, refuses condom

OR*ABC012 PH NS = Oregon license plate ABC-012, repeated phone calls without intent to pay and no show.

ADVANTAGES OF USING THIS SYSTEM

• it can function via text alone, making it easier to use even on cheap prepaid phones; workers don’t have to carry an incriminating piece of paper on them.
• it can be implemented for relatively cheaply–cheap enough that we can probably get it funded by donations, and offer as a free service to all. (We can probably get it started for $1,000 seed money.)
• unlike “Bad Date Line,” it doesn’t have to publish the master list (it only responds to the specific number or email address that was inquired).

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS:

• Someone could make false reports.
  • True, but if someone was led to make a false report, there must be some reason. We don’t guarantee that the information is always correct, but workers can make their own decisions about whom they interact with.
• Someone who is blacklisted might dispute it.
  • Solution: any client who disputes the information can come to us with a proof of identity, and we would agree to replace the code(s) with “DP” for “report was made, but is disputed.”
• The record might be used as evidence for prostitution.
  • We won’t keep the record of who is texting us.
  • Also, we could modify the system to make it available to the general public who are going on date with people they met online. That way, usage of the service does not necessarily indicate that someone is doing sex work.

This is the kind of cost that we’d be looking at. I think it’s entirely possible to fund with individual donations.

Is there any tech person who is interested in volunteering with a project like this? Do you know anyone?

System Failure Alert! is a new grassroots project in Portland, Oregon that empowers street youth and other people by helping each of us share our stories and experiences about “system failures”–problems we had with social service, medical, law enforcement, and other systems that are supposed to help us–and about how we cope with these problems and take care of ourselves. We let people know about these stories through SFA! zines, internet, and public events, and try to make “systems” treat youth and adults better.

We are just starting out! Let us know if you want to get involved, and/or have stories to tell us. We are looking for youth, adults, activists, advocates, students, rogue social workers and medical providers (ya know, the good ones), and others to join! More information & SFA! zine issue #0 are forthcoming!

voicemail: (503) 567-8537
email:systemfailurealert@gmail.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SystemFailureAlert
tumblr: http://systemfailurealert.tumblr.com/

In celebration of International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, I am announcing the release of new zine, titled “State Violence, Sex Trade, and the Failure of Anti-Trafficking Policies.” This zine is yet another compilation of short essays and articles I’ve been writing about sex work, sex trade, and the anti-trafficking movement.

In spring of 2011, I wrote “War on Terror and War on Trafficking: A Sex Worker Activist Confronts the Anti-Trafficking Movement,” which focused on debunking main claims of mainstream anti-trafficking organizations. In “Understanding Complexities of Sex Trade/Work and Trafficking” published in late 2011/early 2012, I discussed what sex trade actually looks like for people who come from complicated backgrounds, demonstrating how mainstream anti-trafficking rhetoric and politics harm the very people they are intended to “rescue.”

Essays in this new compilation extend the analysis of the previous two booklets on this important topic, with a special emphasis on the context of pervasive surveillance and criminalization of communities of color, immigrants, street youth, as well as people in the sex trade. Throughout the booklet, I am calling for a new multiracial coalition against state violence and criminalization, instead of narrowly focusing on sex workers’ rights or on sex trafficking.

I hope that this booklet stimulates conversations among feminists, sex workers, progressive activists, and all others who need to be part of this emerging coalition.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Trade Secrets: The Tough Talk of the New Anti-Trafficking Movement
• FBI’s Campaign to “Rescue” Youth Continues to Cause Mass Arrests of Adult Women in the Sex Trade
• Stop Labeling Sex Worker Activists “Pimps”: Criminal Charges Do Not Tell the Whole Story
• Trans Women of Color in the Sex Trade Misclassified as “Clients” in Chicago’s “End Demand” Initiative
• The Opportunity Cost of the NYC’s Anti-“Sex Trafficking” Taxicab Rule
• Gangs and Sex Trafficking: Latest Target in the “War on Trafficking”
• Economics of “End Demand”: Reducing Demand Can *Increase* Supply in Prostitution Market
• Anti-Criminalization: Criminalization happens on the ground, not in the legislature
• System Failure Alert! Information

The new zine is available for download (PDF) and purchase (hard copy) at http://eminism.org/store/

Just in time for International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, I’ve updated my half-page flier, “Understanding the Complexities of Sex Trafficking and Sex Work/Trade: Ten Observations from a Sex Worker Activist/Survivor/Feminist.”

Please feel free to download PDF and distribute copies at your local December 17 event!