{"id":19282,"date":"2021-01-20T16:15:48","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T16:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=19282"},"modified":"2023-06-08T18:24:12","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T18:24:12","slug":"sex-workers-kari-lerum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum","title":{"rendered":"Rights, not rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Kari
Kari Lerum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a young adult in 1988, Kari Lerum traveled the world with her family. 足彩app哪个是正规的y visited about a dozen countries that year, but it was a single moment in Sydney, Australia, that shaped the rest of her life. Looking down from her hotel room, she saw women on the street \u201cbeing sexy and sassy,\u201d she said. \u201cI had never seen anything like it before and was fascinated by their behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first Lerum didn\u2019t know what to make of the women, but then it clicked: Sex work in Sydney was legal, and these were sex workers. This sudden realization piqued her interest, and with it came a flood of questions. \u201cI remember wondering why they looked different than what I thought they would look like,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd why they looked so much freer than I felt at the time. I couldn\u2019t imagine unapologetically taking up that much space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lifetime quest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lerum grew up in a mainline Protestant family with normative Christian codes of morality surrounding gender and sexuality. \u201cBeing raised with those social norms and then traveling and seeing women my age acting so differently was fascinating,\u201d she said. \u201cEven from my privileged vantage point \u2014 literally looking down on them from my hotel room \u2014 I wanted to be free like them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, Lerum was trying to understand her own identity as a queer lesbian, something that was then still considered criminal in many U.S. states. \u201cI felt a connection to the sex workers because they were also sexual outlaws,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were both outcasts and stigmatized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She turned that moment in Australia into one of her lifetime quests: to understand and help improve conditions for people who trade sex for money or other goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lerum\u2019s master\u2019s thesis in 2000 was on the politics of sex work, and for the past 30 years she has been an outspoken advocate for sex-worker rights. An associate professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences<\/a> at the University of Washington Bothell, Lerum has published numerous articles on sex work and human trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sex work as survival<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lerum began teaching at UW Bothell in 2002, around the same time the United Nations established the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which essentially presumed that all sex workers were victims of trafficking, said Lerum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt served as the new legal apparatus to criminalize the sex industry,\u201d she said. \u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 discourse surrounding sex work in the U.S. has almost always reflected the need to eradicate it. That never changes, but the angle does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEquating human trafficking and sex work was the new political angle,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

足彩app哪个是正规的 TVPA led to funding streams from federal and philanthropic sources that were used to create anti-trafficking campaigns designed to rescue sex workers. 足彩app哪个是正规的 campaigns also often portrayed sex workers as young, white cis-gender girls and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

足彩app哪个是正规的 rise of these anti-trafficking campaigns often caused more harm than help, said Lerum, citing increased mechanisms for police to target minoritized communities, and sex workers sometimes being forced to choose between being \u201creformed\u201d or being incarcerated or deported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, she said, \u201cthe most reliable evidence consistently concludes that most sex workers, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, are not victims of trafficking. Many are victims of grinding poverty that stems from gender and racial injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople can enter the sex industry out of choice, circumstance or coercion. Most are in the industry due to circumstance,\u201d Lerum said. \u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 more privilege you have, the more options that are available to you both inside and outside of the sex industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Power of perception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What advocates around the world argue is that sex workers should have the same right to work and the same protections as other people outside the sex industry. This includes those who work in domestic and agricultural labor, for example, which has high rates of coercion and trafficking. In addition to seeking the decriminalization of adult consensual sex work, U.S. activists are working on the right of sex workers to file for grievance if they are sexually assaulted or harassed, to call the police without fear of prosecution if they are in danger and to seek health care without being shamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

足彩app哪个是正规的se are basic human rights that are lost by default when the sex industry is criminalized, said Lerum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 general public is so conditioned to think about sex work as right or wrong and sex workers as free or coerced,\u201d she said. \u201cBut what\u2019s more useful is to think about how the state regulates and surveils sex workers who are just trying to make ends meet, especially when they are Black and brown, poor or transgender. 足彩app哪个是正规的se policies do nothing to alleviate poverty, racism or transphobia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a member of the Coalition for Rights & Safety for People in the Sex Trade in King County, Lerum works to promote the self-determination, safety, well-being and human rights of sex workers. In November 2020, she worked with Emi Koyama, CRS coordinatrix, to produce a panel on policy activism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s illegal, and we stay quiet about it,\u201d said Koyama, \u201cthen people buying sex will stay secretive, which means sex workers can\u2019t do proper background checks on clients to decipher whether or not they are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Lerum: \u201cIn order to change the public perception, we need to be more public about this work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serving, not saving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Lerum began volunteering at Aileen\u2019s, a peer-run organization Koyama co-founded for women-identified sex workers in the SeaTac airport area. 足彩app哪个是正规的 organization is dedicated to the memory of victims of Gary Ridgeway, the \u201cGreen River Killer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aileen\u2019s aims to create a safe, nonjudgmental community for all women who seek refuge from structural and interpersonal violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the pandemic forced a lockdown, Lerum helped transport Aileen\u2019s peer-workers who do outreach to street-based and homeless women, many of whom engage in survival sex work. She also would bring donations of food and clothing to Aileen\u2019s and spend time with the women there, learning about their needs and circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lerum points to Aileen\u2019s as an example of how the narrative can change. \u201cI hope this grassroots, social-justice approach to preserving the dignity of sex workers, especially those most at risk of violence and harassment from the police and neighborhood groups, will take hold and grow throughout the region,\u201d Lerum said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSex workers are at the intersection of so many forms of oppression \u2014 and potentially forms of liberation. Aileen\u2019s is a great example of what can be, because it is run by and for sex workers who advocate for concrete measures which help them and their families survive and, ultimately, thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month<\/a>.  Every year since 2010 the president has dedicated the month to raising awareness about the different forms of human trafficking. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University of Washington Bothell’s Kari Lerum researches the rights of sex workers and how anti-trafficking campaigns can bring more harm than good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202,218,229,252],"tags":[],"school":[419],"class_list":["post-19282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news","category-community-engagement","category-faculty","category-population-health","school-school-of-ias"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Contact Us","email":"test@uwb.edu","phone":"(206) 999-1234","box":"Box 358500","address_line_1":"18115 Campus Way NE","address_line_2":"Bothell, WA 98011-8246","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nRights, not rescue - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rights, not rescue - News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"University of Washington Bothell’s Kari Lerum researches the rights of sex workers and how anti-trafficking campaigns can bring more harm than good.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-20T16:15:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-08T18:24:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Rights, not rescue\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-20T16:15:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-08T18:24:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum\"},\"wordCount\":1142,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Campus News\",\"Community Engagement\",\"Faculty\",\"Population Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum\",\"name\":\"Rights, not rescue - News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-20T16:15:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-08T18:24:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg\",\"width\":457,\"height\":280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rights, not rescue\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"News\",\"description\":\"Just another UW Bothell site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/author\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rights, not rescue - News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rights, not rescue - News","og_description":"University of Washington Bothell’s Kari Lerum researches the rights of sex workers and how anti-trafficking campaigns can bring more harm than good.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum","og_site_name":"News","article_published_time":"2021-01-20T16:15:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-08T18:24:12+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Rights, not rescue","datePublished":"2021-01-20T16:15:48+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-08T18:24:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum"},"wordCount":1142,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg","articleSection":["Campus News","Community Engagement","Faculty","Population Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum","url":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum","name":"Rights, not rescue - News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-20T16:15:48+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-08T18:24:12+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/aileens-logo.jpg","width":457,"height":280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/20\/sex-workers-kari-lerum#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rights, not rescue"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/","name":"News","description":"Just another UW Bothell site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/author"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19282"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29390,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19282\/revisions\/29390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19282"},{"taxonomy":"school","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school?post=19282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}