Sex worker fights for victims of rape, assault

[Jesus Malverde]

Like many expert witnesses who testify in front of Sacramento bureaucrats, Kristen DiAngelo announced her name and occupation before she spoke at a public hearing last week.

"Sex worker," she said.

DiAngelo and other activists had visited the Capitol on Thursday to lobby against a law that bans rape victims, if they had been attacked while involved in an act of prostitution, from receiving victim compensation funds.

After members of the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board listened to DiAngelo's plea - which included a story of her own rape on the job - they promised to return with a verdict later in the day.

"I'm always nervous about saying what I do for a living in public," DiAngelo said before the meeting. "People can target you. You're out there. But I take a deep breath, and when I say it, I'm proud."

DiAngelo, who lives in a tony suburban neighborhood outside the Bay Area among neighbors unaware of her occupation, is still getting used to her new life as a crusader for sex workers' rights.

It's a role she took on publicly last year, after more than 35 years in the business, when she released a documentary, "American Courtesans." It examines the lives of a dozen sex workers and their family members to make a simple point: They enjoy their work.

"We have nothing to be ashamed of," said Pearl Callahan, who appears in the film and has known DiAngelo since they worked together in the 1980s. "This lifestyle helped me raise my son. The relationships I've made through it enriched my life. I look at where were we came from and where we are now, and I feel good about my life."

'Not victims'
DiAngelo and the women in her film seek to make a clear distinction. They are not coerced or trafficked into the trade. They do not need saving.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sex-worker-fights-for-victims-of-rape-assault-5065287.php

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. Uh-oh. I see a big serving of cognitive dissonance coming up.

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. Butter, or just salt?

[LadyHawkAZ]

12. Mighty loud silence in here

from certain circles.

[seabeyond]

15. why would you suggest any woman on du would deny the protection of all women. it shows how clueless

you are on our position with women and totally ignore what we have been repeatedly been saying. what an absurdly insulting post grumpy. not surprised at all that would would mix up the issues to give us garbage that we do not own.

[LittleBlue]

2. She's right. There's no reason that sex workers who are raped

should be denied compensation from the fund.

That law is pointlessly cruel. Shame on those who support it.

[cthulu2016]

4. No reason for such a distinction in the law, that I can see

[hootinholler]

16. Punishment is the only reason for that sort of law. n/t

[ismnotwasm]

5. Good for her

That's a fucked law. I know far too many sex workers that have been raped or otherwise assaulted.

I wish her success and admire her courage

[KitSileya]

6. I can't watch the video right now,

But I really hope she wins. It is outrageous of the state to essentially say that sex workers can't be raped. She is very courageous to advocate for these women and men. I really hope it doesn't have any repercussions in her personal life.

[LadyHawkAZ]

7. They did win

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/12/21881431-california-prostitutes-win-right-to-victim-compensation

And it will have repercussions, up to and including possible arrest. They'll be watched. She knows that, they all know that. This was very brave of them.

[KitSileya]

8. I'm glad they won.

But yes, I fear for her safety. From cops, and johns. So often, privileged groups feel that they are losing their rights when marginalized groups get their rights confirmed, and then some members of the privileged class turn violent.

[ismnotwasm]

10. +1

[LadyHawkAZ]

11. In between my post and your response,

while I was looking up info for the full documentary, I found an article saying one of the women has already been arrested:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/03/21/woman-arrested-for-prostitution-subject-documentary-american-courtesans/

I can't see the ruling making much of a difference to the level of violence one way or another, it's already there and well established. Sex workers are extremely marginalized and dehumanized, by everyone, and the criminal and anonymous nature of the work as things stand make them very easy targets. It might make for a slight jump in the number of workers willing to make a report, although I doubt it. From the article:

One night in the 1990s, DiAngelo said a john picked her up and took her to his home in Sacramento. Her instincts told her he was a bad date, but when she ran for the door he grabbed her by the hair. He beat her so severely, "I wondered if the taste of blood in my mouth was mine or his."

Half-conscious, she escaped and flagged down a motorist. The officers who arrived, she said, told her she could file a complaint, but that they would also have to arrest her for prostitution.

Incensed, DiAngelo went to the district attorney, who she said filed an assault charge that didn't stick. The attack, years later, turned out to be the impetus for her activism.

"I was so tired of being silenced," she said. "We are an integral part of our society. And yet, our lives aren't worth anything to anyone else."

This is common. Even if workers aren't threatened outright with arrest (which does happen a lot) they go on the watch list, and the likelihood of them winding up in jail skyrockets. It's not safe to report. Every worker knows this.

This is why I advocate for legalization.

[ismnotwasm]

9. I'm glad they won

And she was incredibly brave.

I had a friend who was a prostitute-- long dead now-- who was raped so many times it lost meaning for her. She just shrugged it off. She'd fight like a demon though, god she was tough.

But who listens to sex workers when they say they were raped? There are too many people who don't even listen to women who are not sexworkers who say they were raped. They assume they are lying.


This though, was a disgusting, horrible bullshit law that needs to go away wherever it may exist.

[LadyHawkAZ]

13. +1

[HappyMe]

14. k&r

There's no reason on the face of the earth that they shouldn't receive compensation.

No reason for them to be ashamed of their chosen profession.

[Threedifferentones]

17. Truly brave, truly heroic, this is activism at its finest!

Bravo to DiAngelo and these other heroic women, and fuck the abusive assholes who stand in the way of human rights and dignity!