Concerns for Sex Workers Amid Serial Killer Investigation

Sex workers are being advised to use the buddy system so that someone knows where they are.
Tuesday, Apr 12, 2011 | Updated 3:12 PM EDTBy Chris Glorioso

The investigation into a suspected serial killer who may have preyed on prostitutes, dumping their bodies near beaches on Long Island, has spawned new warnings for sex workers who advertise online.

Police have yet to identify all the victims, or even say whether the latest six sets of remains are linked to the first four found last December.

But the first four bodies were identified as young women who all posted sex ads on Craigslist. And that has advocates for sex workers making extra efforts to counsel the women on best practices to avoid violent clients.

False arrests happen to us, too

Please read and forward widely!

The full statement is published here. Please read, link, tweet, circulate:
http://www.harlots-parlour.com/2010/07/false-arrests-happen-to-us-too.html

Summary:

Sometimes prostitution laws are used against people who are not engaged in prostitution. This has been happening in gay porn shops around New York, and we applaud the lawsuit regarding these false arrests. However, we hope the victims appreciate how unjust these laws are when prostitutes are arrested.

False arrests happen to sex workers every day. You may have a prostitution record and still be caught in a sweep when you’re not actively soliciting. You may be falsely charged when your workplace is raided.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN falsely arrested in New York, contact the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center for legal assistance and advice:
http://www.sexworkersproject.org

+1-646-602-5617

The Sex Workers Project offers legal help to people who may be profiled as sex workers, no matter their situation. SWP welcomes *anyone* who is arrested under these laws. You can also send an email to PONY[AT]panix.com with “SWP” in the subject line and we will refer you.

Stop the arrests! Repeal the prostitution laws!

PONY[AT]panix.com

National US health care plan, what does ‘public option’ mean?

Posted on March 29, 2010 by compassiontara at Bound, not Gagged

Thank you to Melora from SWOP-Boston for putting this all together.

Primary Source: TIME magazine
Secondary Sources: wikipedia.org, healthreform.gov, nytimes.com, various google searches (checking search lists for irregularities, will only site every source used upon request)

Note:

If you do not fall under one of the categories below, you will experience no change in coverage or costs. For the purposes of the following, Medicare means both Medicare, and Medicaid.

Have questions? Ask!

Have opinions? Dare to debate.

Effective 2010:

* Uninsured with pre-existing condition receive immediate coverage (though i have not yet put together HOW – it depends on a plethora of factors that vary from one individual to another including income, employment, and geographic.
* Uninsured and age 26 or younger are now approved to be covered by their parents’ insurance
* Insurers no longer allowed to deny care to a patient who becomes sick (currently private companies are able to suspend coverage of individuals who develop certain illnesses, despite having paid their premiums)
* Insurers no longer allowed to end coverage after a patient reaches a certain age (many companies will not cover you if you live past 80, for example)
* Insurers no longer allowed to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions
* Employers of small businesses to receive tax credits if they purchase insurance plans for their employees.
* Medicare prescription drug beneficiaries receive $250 as a stipend when they hit the doughnut hole.
* What is the doughnut hole? A rule in medicare part D prescription drug coverage that states that once Medicare has paid $2,700 in prescription drug coverage for an individual, they are then on their own to cover the full cost of prescription medications until they have reached $6,154 in prescription drug expenses.

Effective 2011:

* Insurers required to spend 80% of premiums collected on

US Navy officer Timothy Davis found not guilty of raping prostitute in Sydney brothel

AAP
November 23, 2009 4:26PM

A US sailor cleared today of raping a prostitute in a Sydney brothel is “looking forward” to returning to California.

While Petty Officer Timothy Davis had admitted using a “lockdown manoeuvre” to pin the woman to the bed, he denied forcing himself on her, saying he had only wanted his money back.

The 25-year-old had pleaded not guilty to having sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated by causing the woman actual bodily harm.

MA: Friends mourn slain dancer

By Jessica Fargen
Sunday, October 4, 2009 – Updated 7h ago

Police yesterday continued to hunt for the person who murdered an exotic dancer, as friends and Everett neighbors mourned a woman they described as vibrant and gentle.

The bloody body of Sheila Santos, 26, a Brazilian beauty who danced at Club Alex’s in Stoughton, was found before dawn Friday outside her Main Street apartment building. She had apparently just returned from work.

A spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone yesterday said it’s still too early to say if the killing was random.

MA: Slain dancer had said she worried for her safety

Sheila Santos moved from Brazil in 2006

By John R. Ellement and Brian R. Ballou
Globe Staff / October 3, 2009

EVERETT – Police questioned a man last night in connection with the slaying of a 24-year-old exotic dancer outside her apartment early yesterday morning.

Sheila Santos was attacked and killed outside her Main Street apartment building shortly after she finished work at Club Alex’s at around 1:15 a.m. Her bloody body was found on the cement stairs leading to the rear door of her multiunit apartment building, just steps away from her black Honda CR-V, according to neighbors and police.

There were no details last night on the man being questioned.

Santos had grown increasingly worried in recent weeks that someone was following her home from her job at the Stoughton strip club, her sister, Ana Paola Santos, said yesterday after she rushed to the police station last night.

“Last week, she told me she didn’t want to work there anymore, because she was scared,’’ said Ana Santos, 25, wiping tears as she sat yesterday evening at her kitchen table in her Malden high-rise apartment. “She told me she couldn’t wait to change apartments.’’

Residents on edge as 9 women vanish from N.C. city

Search for serial killer after six turn up dead AP .

By ALYSIA PATTERSON, Associated Press Writer Alysia Patterson, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 36 mins ago

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – They spent their nights jumping in and out of strange cars, trolling otherwise empty streets lined with decaying storefronts and boarded-up homes. Many sold sex to support drug habits or children left in the care of worried, hardworking grandmothers.

Even when they were picked up for drugs or prostitution, nights in jail looming, they called home to let their families know they were OK. Then, one by one, the calls stopped.