SWOP-CO, We are the Sex Workers Outreach Project Colorado!

SWOP COLORADO - SEX WORKERS OUTREACH PROJECT COLORADO

SWOP Colorado was founded in 2009 by Billie Jackson, M.A. Billie had been a sex worker for 18 years working as a Dancer in Denver clubs. She brings this personal experience to her dedicated work as an advocate for sex workers. During the time she was involved in the adult industry she recognized the profound need for voluntary resources, community, and advocacy for sex workers; and she decided that she was going to take action. While earning her Doctorate in General Psychology, she established the 'sex workers outreach project Colorado' after discovering SWOP USA founded by Robyn Few. Here is a more personal site dedicated to Robyn Few.

There are many tireless dedicated people working within the sex workers human rights movement. SWOP Colorado would like to take a moment to honor all of our compatriots in this work. This endeavor involves countless hours of volunteering: time, energy effort and money. Blood, sweat and tears. Thank you for all that you contribute! We ARE making a difference!

SWOP Colorado is a social justice network, an advocating agency in behalf of former and current sex workers by former and current sex workers. We offer support, agency, confidentiality, legal resources, health and wellbeing resources, and we are generating a supportive environment for all sex workers, many of which feel that they have no voice, no resources, and no agency of support whether they want out of the industry or not.

SWOP Colorado is here facilitating a political voice in the legislative process in behalf of sex workers! Laws are being established that will effect the lives of sex workers and yet their voices are left out of the discussion in most cases. Who, if not sex workers, are the experts regarding sex workers and the issues they face?!

SWOP Colorado acknowledges that it is time for an updated, more reasonable approach to human sexuality, in specific that which relates to the adult industry. The old stereotypes and the stigmatization must go if real solutions are to be found and implemented! We want the world to understand that sex workers are human beings coming from many different circumstances and situations, and we are not to be shushed aside anymore!

SWOP Colorado stands against all forms of human trafficking. We must state, and loudly state that consensual sex work is NOT the same as the trafficking of persons which involves coercion, fraud or being forced. In addition, we do not support any underage person performing adult services. We stand against child pornography, child prostitution, as well as the commercial sexualizing of children by corporations through popular media! Exploiting children for profit in any manner is always WRONG.

SWOP Colorado can provide information regarding resources, support, agency for sex workers, and we are here to facilitate a political voice for sex workers as well as their clients. Sex workers and the clients of sex workers are stigmatized and marginalized. We acknowledge that sex workers and their clients are human beings coming from a wide range of backgrounds and economic circumstances and motivations. No matter what a person's circumstances, all people deserve their human rights to be acknowledged, and this includes personal sovereignty which includes sexual sovereignty.

There is no easy answer in regard to the many issues pertaining to what sex workers face. As long as societal factors are in place that promote shaming, violence, intolerance, stigmatization and marginalization of sex workers, harm reduction cannot be established let alone maintained, and lasting viable solutions will not be found.

We encourage all women and men who have vocations in the adult industry (as well as clients), to get involved. Now is the time for our voices to be heard! Now is the time to get involved and to know your rights! YOU DO HAVE RIGHTS! One of the best things you can do is to donate whatever you can, even if all you have to donate is your time. If you wish to donate $ there are options here to do so.

To be a truly FREE human being, personal sovereignty must be acknowledged! SWOP COLORADO holds that each adult completely governs their own being: physically, mentally, and spiritually and this includes sexually. We hold that every person regardless of age, religion, sex, cultural background, economic status, or vocation, has human rights that should be respected and acknowledged at all times.

You have the right to be SAFE. You have the right to govern your own body and mind.

If you feel your rights have been violated, if you have been arrested for solicitation (as a provider or as a client); if you seek support in a safe community, if you want to share your story, if you want to volunteer or donate, feel free to contact us!

You do not have to be a former or current sex worker to get involved with SWOP Colorado.

We hope to hear from you!

This site is currently being developed and there is a great deal of content being added at this time. We urge you to bookmark our site and check back regularly refreshing your browser. We are very excited about what we are doing, and have a lot to say as well as resources we want to share.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you need support!

To contact us:

Billie Jackson can be reached at 720-519-2349

swopcolorado@yahoo.com

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 19: Some 3,000 South Korean prostitutes wearing caps and face masks to hide their identities, chant slogans during a demonstration on October 19 2004, in Seoul, South Korea. The South Korean government began enforcing new laws last month to target human traffickers, pimps and prostitutes. The sex industry accounts for more than four percent of South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), with its annual sales estimated at 24 trillion won (21 million dollars) last year. Statistics show one in five South Korean men buy sex four times a month and 4.1 percent of women aged 20 to 30 rely on prostitution to make a living. ~Story from www.life.com

SWOP Colorado wants to know if the people behind the anti-trafficking efforts have thought about how these people are going to survive? Does it even matter to them? We believe that being forced into sex work (trafficked) is tragically wrong; however thousands upon thousands of consensual sex workers choose sex work, every day people supporting their families.

Stigmatization and marginalization define societal perceptions of what sex workers are really like and what their lives are like. People who cannot imagine working as a sex worker often project their perceptions onto sex workers. This combined with the stigmas and marginalization that exists, allows people to negate the personal sovereignty of sex workers. The human rights of sex workers are not being acknowledged all across the globe. Sex workers lives are often marginalized as being unhealthy, unstable, addicted, victimized, exploited, we are not qualified to be heard and taken seriously and it is assumed that we do not know how to maintain healthy boundaries in our lives. Prohibitionists and abolitionists have even stated that there is no such thing as a consensual sex worker. They attempt to decide for us, yet they will not HEAR US. Some attempt to decide for us that we should be ashamed. We believe that even the people who have been trafficked into sex work have nothing to be ashamed of! Shame has no place in healing and self-acceptance.

For many of us who have chosen sex work in some form as our vocation, we do not accept your shame of us and what we CHOOSE to do with our own bodies and minds.

We are not ashamed of who we are. You could say that we are shame-LESS.

This site is being designed by 'batshitcrazy web design' as of July 4th, 2011 and will be fully functional shortly!