Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective (BSWAC)

@bostonswac.bsky.social

4063 Followers 647 Following

Collective of sex workers and allies in Boston fighting for the full decriminalization of sex work in Massachusetts ☂️ www.bswac.org We appreciate donations! https://donorbox.org/bswac CashApp: $bostonswac Contact us: bostonswac @ gmail dot com

A black person in a pink shirt reading Ask Me About Sex Worker Labor Rights, a black man in a blue suit, and a white woman in a white embroidered shirt holding a certificate, in front of a Pride themed background
mutual aid request!* Black queer femme needs support with phone bill! Can 4 people d*nate $50? Z*lle: 484-547-5377 V*nmo: @ TheStellaBee
A gofundme with a photo of a white trans woman with brown hair and big teal glasses with pink flowers on the rim and a pink bow in her hair. $2,388 raised Support Frankie's FFS Recovery 79% Donate now! gofund.me/rory-much-01jan
Black and white photos of Trans women of various races over a trans flag background with the words HONORING TRANS DAY OF VISIBILITY and the trans s3x workers who have paved the way.
Flyer reading The OLDEST PROFESSON WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY KAYTLIN BAILEY THURSDAY MAR 26 8 PM With a photo of a woman and several photos of sex workers in history
4. Call your state legislator and tell them to: SUPPORT H1980: An Act to Promote the Health and Safety of People in the S-x Trade H4610: An Act to Study the Decriminalization of S-x Work H1747: An Act Relative to Safe Reporting H1893: An Act to Stop Profiling Transgender People and Low-Income Women H2634: An Act Relative to Sexual Assault by an Officer OPPOSE H1683/S1116: An Act to Strengthen Justice and Support for S-x Trade Survivors https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator More info at bit.ly/SupportMASexWorkers
A red and pink graphic with cutout newspaper, a lipstick print, and an eye, reading: 5 Actions to take in Massachusetts for International S-x Workers Rights Day
CURRENT BUENS Wu axes street outreach on Mass/cass. Endorses fines and stay-away orders.
Six women of various races and heights wearing dresses, bikinis, or fetish gear, standing behind a table which reads BSWAC in the front and contains multiple flyers and buttons.
Three people smiling behind a table in an alleyway full of supplies, with two boxes of clothes in front and two pairs of sneakers.
Two young white women standing in front of a brick building, one wearing sunglasses, the other throwing a peace sign and duck lips in a pink t-shirt that says Decriminalize Sex Work Now! BSWAC
A play poster reading Mrs. Warren’s Profession, May 29-June 22, 2025, by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Eric Tucker, Bedlum. There’s a photo of a woman in a headscarf and sunglasses smiling with cash between her teeth.
A group of 5 people holding red umbrellas in a march and a pink banner reading “Whores Started Pride. Decriminalize Sex Work Now! BSWAC Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective”
HAPPY (late) INTERNATIONAL WHORE'S DAY! Support MA sex workers by writing to your legislators! BSWAC
LISTENING SESSION TRANSITION HOUSE In response to the recent Cambridge brothel case, Transition House is launching a community listening session series to gather essential input on how our city can address commercial sex exploitation. We are asking our community what accountability looks like through a restorative justice framework-focusing on healing harm, addressing root causes, and creating systemic change. These sessions will explore concrete actions the City Council can take to support individuals currently being sexually exploited in Cambridge while considering impactful prevention strategies. Please fill out this 5 question survey and share it with your network: English: https://bit.ly/thouselisten Español: https://bit.ly/thouseescuchar Tiếng Việt: https://bit.ly/thousenghe Português: https:// bit.ly/4ms1GRk
LETTERS Criminalizing clients would harm sex workers, not help them Updated May 4, 2025, 2:30 a.m. A brothel ring based in Virginia was operating out of units 109, 435, and 530 at 90 Fawcett St. in Cambridge. NATHAN KLIMA FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE With the article "Cambridge brothel ring case may act as deterrent" (Metro, April 27), the Globe once again has published an article about sex work without including the perspectives of any active sex workers or sex workers' rights organizations. The article quotes advocates and law enforcement officials who celebrate the increased criminalization of sex workers' clients, but I fear that such a trend will harm sex workers in our community. I have been doing research on sex work and human trafficking for more than a decade, including interviewing more than 250 sex workers in four countries, and I am a founding member of the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective. From this work, I have found that most sex workers do not want their clients to be arrested. Criminalizing clients makes the industry more
The detail, repeated in a February 1, 2024, indictment, was that Han once locked the door of a rented apartment behind her with workers inside awaiting customers. It seems to be the protection's sole detail supporting the common understanding of trafficking, and Foley's footnote even describes it as an "exception" to the fact that workers were allowed to leave the apartments where they worked - that "investigators observed on video surveillance inside one of the common hallways of the apartment buildings that Han locked the unit door from the outside after the women entered the unit." "It does not indicate that the women could not simply unlock the door from the inside," the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective noted, "as is the case in most apartments." An employee of the Atmark, the building where the door-locking took place, said Thursday that all its apartment doors can be unlocked from the inside, and that renters are not allowed to replace locks - currently high-tech devices controlled by smartphone - with their own fixtures. Perhaps a surprising aspect to the locked door making it into the indictment and sentencing document was how the act was described in the special agent's affidavit: "I believe Han utilized this tactic so that the commercial sex providers felt that they had to stay in the unit to perform sex acts for cash on behalf of the prostitution network." This part wasn't repeated in the documents that followed. That a door had been locked went on to be used by media such as USA Today and The Boston Globe. The Globe cited the locked door twice in an article in which advocates described sex work as exploitative, with reporters using it as an example of "coercive tactics" that also included "preparing the apartment before the women arrived."
PANEL & BOOK LAUNCH NOT YOUR RESCUE PROJECT MIGRANT SEX WORKERS FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE Join authors Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam for a conversation about immigration, bodily autonomy, and resistance. This event will also feature speakers from Boston Sex Workers & Allies Collective (BSWAC) and New Moon Network. CHANELLE GALLANT AND ELENE LAM FOREWORD BY HARSHA WALIA | AFTERWORD BY ROBYN MAYNARD NOT YOUR RESCUE PROJECT MIGRANT SEX WORKERS FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE Saturday April 19, 3-5pm Jamaica Plain, Boston RSVP Required, contact: events@newmoonfund.org Free and open to the public. BOSTON
Red and black graphic reading “hi! we’re BSWAC” with a collage of diverse sex workers in black and white, including one holding a sign reading “Power to the People” and another with a sign reading “Support your local hooker”
A flyer with a photo of a white woman in a black leotard, tall boots, and a pointy choker laughing as she holds a leash attached to the neck of an old white man in a suit, who looks confused. The flyer reads: SEX WORKER SUPPORT GROUP. Open to all current sex workers. All genders, races, and sexualities welcome. EVERY LAST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH JAMAICA PLAIN MA FOR FULL ADDRESS: BOSTONSWAC @GMAIL.COM SCREENING REQUIRED NO TERFS NOSWERFS NO PIGS 18+ ONLY HABLAMOS ESPAÑOL BSWAC
"While cases involving prostitution often involve some degree of force or coercion exerted against the women involved, this case does not," Lauer wrote. "There is a world of difference between Ms. Lee - a sex worker herself - and a pimp (or madam) who enriches themselves at the expense of those performing the work." Assistant United States Attorney Lindsey Weinstein acknowedged that Lee didn't treat her workers badly but that didn't take away from the fact she recruited them into a world where they spent long days being paid for sex in strange cities, rarely leaving the apartment. "You don't get credit for not threatening and abusing other women," she said. "This was a business, a lifestyle she was personally involved in. The fact she decided to further harm onto others is pretty significant here."
Guardian article called Belgium's sex workers win maternity pay and pension rights in world first Move by lawmakers hailed as huge step forward', ending legal discrimination against sex workers Jennifer Rankin in Brussels Sun 1 Dec 2024 13.11 GMT
The back of a woman’s head punching a bald white man
Pink graphic of a sun with the text Sex Work is Not Human Trafficking @decrimsexwork
Artwork of multiple people of different races raising their fists and holding signs in different languages, two of whom are holding red umbrellas.
A black and white photo of a protest, including someone holding a sign saying Sex workers unite! And a woman in a star spangled costume holding a sign saying Decriminalize Prostitution!
CALL TO ACTION Bill HD2929: An Act to Promote the health and safety of people in the sex trade This omnibus legislation decriminalizes sex work in Massachusetts. Presenter: Lindsay N. Sabadosa | filed 1/17/25 Bill HD1555: An Act Relative to Safe Reporting Persons shall not be charged or prosecuted with a crime if they report a crime Presenter: Rep. Natalie Higgins | Filed 1/17/25 Bill HD 3359: An Act to Study the Decriminalization of Sex Work This bill creates an interagency committee to study decriminalizing sex work. Presenter: Rep. Megan Kilcoyne | filed 1/17/25 Bill HD1760: An Act Relative to Sexual Assault by an Officer Creates protections for persons sexually assaulted by law enforcement officers Presenter: Rep. Natalie Higgins | Filed 1/17/25
RAVEN SLANDER West End Sex Workers Memorial In the back lane off Davie Street I light a cigarette No smoking indoors anymore Fishnets & tall boots I like what I think they're thinking the passers-by Inhaling flashes of cities & of nights street corners & strolls of excitement & anticipation of men in cars of money coming money going of waiting around & smoking Truly I don't know what they're thinking Times have changed I'm older now Not as skinny dope skinny, it's true
Donate to BSWAC Show us some love. Our volunteers at Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective work hard to advocate for positive legislation, provide community support and outreach, as well as education, mutual aid, harm reduction, and more. A lot of us are active sex workers and it's a lot of hard work! Your donation will go a long way and will assure we keep moving forward in the fight for sex worker rights in Massachusetts. Thank you.' Send donations through CashApp: $bostonswac
Event flyer with yellow text with red glow reading: FASCINATION GEAR & BEER A BUST SUNDAY, 12/1/24 4PM-8PM DORCHESTER BREWING COMPANY, 1250 Mass Ave 21+ WITH VALID ID $10 ADVANCE $15 DOOR A PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT: BOSTON SEX WORKERS AND ALLIES COLLECTIVE HOSTED BY ULYSSES BEATS BY VIOLETA THE LEATHER GENTLEMAN GUEST VENDORS: WEAVER & FEMME FURY LEATHER BOOTBLACK JAY FALCON HARM REDUCTION/ MUTUAL AID TABLE BY RIOT! FASCINATIONBOSTON.NET *ON-STREET PARKING IS AVAILABLE. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE PRIVATELY OWNED LOTS ADJACENT TO THE BREWERY. Dorchester BREWING CO.
A black and white photo of Sylvia Rivera, a Latina trans woman, holding a teddy bear, with the quote superimposed: “We have to be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are. We have to show the world that we are numerous. There are many of us out there.” SYLVIA RIVERA
A TV screen reading Sex Worker Rights Legislative Briefing: Hosted by the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective