Published 30 December 2024
Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands
I am an online sex worker and an archiver, researcher and consultant with a focus on reducing sex work stigma. Stigma impacts so much of our daily lives; from struggling to access healthcare, housing and legal protection, to seeing victimising and abusive portrayals of our community in the media. As a coordinator for Sex Work Alliance Destigmatization (SWAD), I share insight into the association and its members to encourage other sex workers to get involved.
Teamwork
Formed in 2021, SWAD is an alliance that connects people, groups and regions that agree to work together as a team, with a shared goal and interest in destigmatising sex work in the Netherlands. We’re a collective of sex worker-led groups, health organisations and municipalities that help each other through resource sharing, offering support, sharing knowledge, standing together in times of conflict, securing funding for sex worker projects and collaborating on joint projects.
Members vote on the direction of SWAD, collaborate with other members, and attend regular meetings to discuss projects, funding and the alliance, and to socialise together. SWAD sends members regular updates, and can offer a coordinator to advise on project ideas, events, collaborations and funding.
Members of our alliance come together to improve the national perception of sex work, and those of us with lived experience and expertise can directly inform governments or municipalities about the challenges we face, and the solutions we want. If you’re a member and something or someone stigmatises your sex worker community, you can count on SWAD to stand behind you and help in any way they can, including organising, petitioning and protesting.
Mission
Harmful stereotypes can impact so many aspects of our rights and lives, and SWAD is divided into four parts to address stigma from different directions. First, we work to improve policies and services, with sex worker consultants providing training to government agencies, police, healthcare providers and banks. Seksworks gives workshops to ministries and municipalities, and as a result the ministry has an internal communications document to reduce the use of damaging language.
We also get involved in policymaking processes, to give direct input on the policies that affect us. Sex workers are currently campaigning to stop the policing that prevents us from working from home.
Another component is rewriting the story; creating positive and nuanced sex worker images and narratives, to combat the slurry of problematic portrayals in media, art and culture. Sex workers are educating journalists, hosting public debates, and even creating their own independent media platform: Red Insight! Reimagining Sex Work has produced a sex work media guide, with a photography series and national exhibitions.
Finally, we focus on community building to become bigger and stronger. We fund community-based projects and prioritise sex worker-led groups, to help sex workers co-organise, form networks and offer mutual support. The Prostitution Information Center (PIC) provides monthly community meetings for sex workers to hangout, share advice, snacks, solidarity and possibly gossip, leading to new friendships and collaborations.
Over to you
SWAD is not just an alliance; we’re active in the fight for respect and rights. Changing the narrative can create a society where we can live and work without fear or judgment, and SWAD invites you to be part of the solution. Connect with us through our member organisations. If your group wants to become a member, contact us via sekswerk-alliantie@soaaids.nl to learn more and get involved. Together, we can rewrite the story about sex work to one of resilience, dignity and solidarity.
Violet
Violet (she/her) coordinates Workgroup 2 at SWAD, dedicated to challenging stigmatizing portrayals of sex work and creating nuanced narratives and imagery. Violet believes it’s crucial for sex workers and organizations to connect with SWAD to align efforts and improve the position of sex workers across the Netherlands.
