Sex Workers Outreach Project USA
| Formation | August 13, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Leader | Liz Coplen |
| Website | www |
Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA (SWOP-USA) is a national social justice network dedicated to the fundamental human rights of sex workers and their communities, focusing on ending violence and stigma through education and advocacy. The organization was founded by Robyn Few on August 13, 2003, and their first major action was to organize the first annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (December 17) with the Green River Memorial for the victims of Gary Ridgway, the "Green River Killer."
The original Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) was founded in Australia and the United States (US) SWOP has developed into the largest sex worker rights organization in the country, with chapters active in Tucson, Arizona; Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles/UCLA, California; Sacramento, California; San Francisco, California; Denver, Colorado; New York City, New York; Seattle, Washington; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Portland, Oregon.
In 2004, SWOP spearheaded a voter ballot initiative to decriminalize prostitution in Berkeley, California. Other work focused on amending so-called "protective" legislation, like the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 (and its reauthorization in 2005 with the new "End Demand" provisions), with the goal being to increase its efficacy in protecting trafficking victims, while decreasing the number of arrests of independent sex workers who have never been victims of human trafficking.
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Wikipedia