A sex worker, under the name Bimbo Selene, is starting a hashtag campaign #EndWhorephobia on January 1st (the anniversary of the date the Swedish Model was first implemented in 1999 by Sweden, and is currently in operation in Norway, Iceland, France, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Canada). Her initiative to mark another important day for the sex workers’ community – The International Day of Sex Worker Visibility aims to educate people on violence and stigma against sex workers, discussing the lack of and sharing resources for harm reduction/support, as well as educating against the Nordic Model.
The „EndWhorephobia“ campaign is a gender inclusive campaign that also highlights disabled, trans, and survival workers, sex workers of color, street & migrant workers, international workers, as well as including all in person and online sex workers.
The campaign calls on global networks working on protection of sex workers’ rights, community-based organizations, activists and supporters to share the campaign on their social networks in order to increase the visibility of sex workers on international level.
Whorephobia refers to the negative stereotypes, stigma, and marginalization sex workers face, which stems from a pervasive fear and hatred of sex workers.
This fear and hatred frequently intersects with the fear and hatred of other marginalized groups. Meaning, some sex workers are more likely to suffer from the consequences of their society’s whorephobia, specifically disabled, LGBTQIA+, street, migrant or survival workers (those who engage in “survival sex” e.g. the exchange of sex for money, food, clothing, shelter, or other basic needs), sex workers of color, and depending on what country the sex worker is living and working in.
How do we end it?
We can start by:
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Uplifting sex worker voices, especially the most marginalized
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Humanizing Sex Workers
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Sharing Support Resources
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Fighting Stigma and Misconceptions
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Advocating for decriminalization and fighting against the Nordic Model
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Raising awareness on legislative and cultural setbacks that harm sex workers
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Combating systemic, state/governmental, and personal violence against sex workers
The campaign starts on January 1, by sharing photos, stories, and videos to educate the general public about the Nordic model’s negative impact on sex workers, under the hashtag #EndWhorephobia, so that sex workers’ voices can reach a wider audience.
You can read more about the campaign on the official website: https://www.endwhorephobia.org/
You can also follow and spread the #EndWhorephobia campaign on social networks:
https://twitter.com/end_whorephobia
https://www.instagram.com/EndWhorephobia/
https://www.facebook.com/endwh0rephobia
#EndWhorephobia #EndTheNordicModel