Red Umbrella Project
| Named after | Red Umbrella Protest |
|---|---|
| Founder | Audacia Ray |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Location | |
| Services | Sex workers' rights |
The Red Umbrella Project is a New York based non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of sex workers and strives to empower them by giving them a voice.
The Red Umbrella Project was founded in 2010 by writer and activist Audacia Ray. As a former sex worker, Ray witnessed first-hand the discrimination against sex workers by police and society. Ray envisioned an organization where sex workers could come together to share their stories, advocate for change and help one another. She chose the name The Red Umbrella Project because in 2001 during the 49th Venice Biennale of Art in Venice, Italy, sex workers demonstrated against inhumane work conditions and human rights violation by holding up red umbrellas, making this a symbol of resistance to discrimination.
In 2009 Ray started hosting storytelling events for sex workers at the Happy Ending Lounge on New York's Lower East Side. The goals of these workshops and storytelling events were to shine light and empower sex workers, but it soon became apparent that these sex workers shared several common burdens. Many identified as trans or queer, there was an alarming rate of HIV/AIDS cases among them, they feared carrying condoms due to the criminalization of condoms, and most of all they were tossed aside and mistreated by most of society, when all they were doing is trying to make a living and find economic opportunity.
In 2014 New York City created a series of special courts for sex workers arrested on prostitution-related charges. The new courts, known as Human Trafficking Intervention Courts (HTIC), treated all sex workers as human trafficking victims, and through a variety of bullying tactics forced defendants to forgo their constitutional right of a trial by jury and agree to a plea bargain of a sex worker diversion program which consisted of a court mandated treatment program, followed by adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD). The Red Umbrella Project argued that the city's intentions were good and that the new court does help people who are forced into sex work. However, the court still treats the sex workers like criminals and makes the assumption that all sex workers are victims of human trafficking and that no one does sex work out of free will, for their personal economic gain. There may also be assumed discrimination within the workforce due to the fact that many sex workers are of color, queer or trans. The counseling and assistance offered through the court mandated treatment program provides them with no way of economic opportunity other than sex work. The Red Umbrella Project wants to see the sex-worker diversion program restructured with an emphasis on economic empowerment through job training and economic opportunities.
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