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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 50m

Hey #Seattle folks, what are you doing this Friday? 👀

From Surviving to Thriving with Seattle SWOP Behind Bars

Meet local Resource Providers on October 17th from 2-4PM

722 18th Ave

From Surviving to Thriving is our continuation in a series of events across Seattle to connect our community with local resources.

Free vaccines via the King County Health Department

Anyone in the sex worker community is invited to come and and get help!

Join us on 10/17 from 2-4PM at Byrd Barr Place

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Carol Fenton @cfpdx.bsky.social · 1h

This is what Portland cops are doing in their stings out on 82nd.

SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 1h

“End demand” laws—often marketed under name of the Nordic Model—are frequently touted as a one-size-fits-all solution

The logic sounds straightforward: if you punish clients who purchase sexual services, the industry will collapse, exploitation will end.

But decades of evidence tell us otherwise.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 57m

The Nordic Model may make politicians feel righteous, but it leaves sex workers poorer, less safe, and more marginalized.

Ending demand won’t end sex work—but ending criminalization just might end the cycle of harm.

www.swopbehindbars.org/post/receipt...

Receipts Please! Myths Don't Stand a Chance!

Myth #10: Ending Demand Will End Sex Work“End demand” laws—often marketed under the more palatable name of the Nordic Model—are frequently touted as a one-size-fits-all solution to sex work and traffi...

www.swopbehindbars.org

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 58m

Criminal records, especially those tied to survival economies, must be dismantled. We need to listen to sex workers themselves.

Overwhelmingly, workers across the globe have called for full decriminalization—a model supported by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UNAIDS, and the WHO.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 1h

It is time to reject “end demand” laws and stop exporting the Nordic Model as if it were a success. If we want to reduce harm and exploitation, we must confront the structural causes of vulnerability: poverty, inequality, gender-based violence, and systemic discrimination in housing and employment.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 1h

But the evidence is clear. In Sweden, where “end demand” laws were first introduced in 1999, sex work has not decreased. What has increased is stigma, police surveillance, and violence against workers.

This makes the work riskier and makes it harder for outreach organizations to provide support.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 1h

Part of the reason the “end demand” narrative has gained traction is that it allows policymakers to appear tough on sex work while claiming not to punish sex workers. By shifting the focus to clients, politicians can frame the problem as one of individual bad actors, rather than systemic inequality.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 1h

Everywhere this model has been implemented—from Sweden to Ireland to France—it failed to reduce sex work or trafficking.

Instead, these laws have made the work more dangerous, pushed workers further underground, and ignored structural issues that drive people into the sex trade in the first place.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 1h

“End demand” laws—often marketed under name of the Nordic Model—are frequently touted as a one-size-fits-all solution

The logic sounds straightforward: if you punish clients who purchase sexual services, the industry will collapse, exploitation will end.

But decades of evidence tell us otherwise.

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Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · 1d

Rest in power, Miss Major.

www.advocate.com/news/miss-ma...

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, activist since Stonewall, has died

The LGBTQ+ community — and particularly the transgender community — has lost an iconic activist.

www.advocate.com

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Addy Berry, PhD @addyberry.bsky.social · 18h

So I guess sex work is only ok if just tech oligarchs are profiting off it and not marginalized women or minorities who depend on it to survive?

The Verge @theverge.com · 22h

Sam Altman says ChatGPT will soon sext with verified adults

ChatGPT is about to get flirty.

buff.ly

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swop-usa.bsky.social @swop-usa.bsky.social · 4d

The focus on pornography and blaming it for every social problem has led to actual predators flying under the radar until it's too late.

Stop blaming porn and start finding actual solutions.

Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 4d

JFC. Ron DeHaas, founder of the Christian antiporn app Covenant Eyes, has stepped down from NCOSE after his 38-year old son was charged with sexual abuse of a child.

Covenant Eyes is the app used by House Speaker Mike Johnson and his son to monitor each other's internet behavior.

Covenant Eyes Cofounder Helps Post Bond for Adult Stepson, Who Is Charged With Felony Child Sex Abuse

In August, Thomas Wideman, an adult stepson of Covenant Eyes cofounder Ron DeHaas, was arrested during a CSAM sting operation.

churchleaders.com

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Phoenix Calida @phoenixcalida.bsky.social · 3d

The reason marginalized groups are so over representated in sex work is that we are literally not allowed to exist anywhere else

So we found a different way to survive

You cannot support sex worker rights if you don't support the people in the sex work industry

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Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 1d

4chan has ghosted Ofcom, and is ignoring the UK regulators' pleas to comply with the Online Safety Act. Ofcom says it will fine them £100 a day until they answer their email.

🙄

Ofcom fines 4chan £20K for Online Safety Act failings

: Regulator warns penalties will pile up until internet toilet does its paperwork

www.theregister.com

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Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief @katie.bzky.team · 7d

bsky.app/profile/kati...

Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief @katie.bzky.team · 7d

for what its worth, we had this same issue in 2023, and bluesky has said per contract hive does not train for generation off their content, so imo the issue is this:

Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief @katie.bzky.team · 7d

everyone on bluesky is public. everything is being scraped by the slop farm companies regardless of bluesky's involvement, and even if bluesky wasn't so public, it'd still be illegally scrapped anyway. not everyone internalizes that

but when you KNOW how people (artists the most) feel about AI? wyd

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 7d

Every single time SMH

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Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 7d

Rep. Josh Schriver, the Republican currently pushing to ban porn in Michigan, used his email to register for account on the adult site Fling, the “world’s best casual personals for adult dating, sex, and swingers.”

Mr. "The Mouth and Anus Are Not Sex Organs" may have some explaining to do.

Michigan Republican pushing pornography ban linked to porn site, records show - Detroit Metro Times

A Republican state lawmaker leading a campaign to ban pornography in Michigan appears to have had an account on a pornographic hook-up website that promised users they could “find sex” and “get laid t...

www.metrotimes.com

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 7d

Heads up, y'all.

It seems that maybe this site is using your images to train AI?

Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief @katie.bzky.team · 7d

WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAN

bluesky official posts from november 2024:

A number of artists and creators have made their home on Bluesky, and we hear their concerns with other platforms training on their data. We do not use any of your content to train generative AI, and have no intention of doing so.

Bluesky uses AI internally to assist in content moderation, which helps us triage posts and shield human moderators from harmful content. We also use AI in the Discover algorithmic feed to serve you posts that we think you’d like.

None of these are Gen AI systems trained on user content.

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Ugly Mugs Ireland @uglymugsie.bsky.social · 7d

Personal security question as sadly running Ugly Mugs means I'm constantly being threatened by violent men. Does anyone know of a good parcel box? I need a way to receive packages too big to fit through a letterbox, without my having to open the door.

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Ugly Mugs Ireland @uglymugsie.bsky.social · 8d

This image is so true. And huge thanks to all the people, many anonymous and thus uncredited, who give their time and energy selflessly to the thankless and difficult task of trying to talk to these people. I see your hard work and respect you for it greatly 🙌

SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · Apr 18

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 7d

What Needs to Change
If the goal is protection, the path forward is clear: decriminalize sex work and expunge related records. Redirect funding from policing to harm reduction, housing, and survivor-led support systems. Build policies that prioritize equity and justice over punishment and stigma.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 7d

By criminalizing sex work, authorities claimed they were “rescuing” women, when in reality they were expanding police power and reinforcing racial and gender hierarchies. This framing has endured, recycled in modern anti-trafficking campaigns, zoning ordinances, and “end demand” policies.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 7d

Where This Myth Comes From
The idea that criminalization protects has roots in moral panic and state control. Beginning with “White Slavery” campaigns of the early 1900s, reformers used fear of sexual exploitation to justify laws targeting immigrants, poor women, and women of color.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 7d

Criminalization leaves sex workers, survivors, and children more vulnerable. Instead of functioning as a shield, these laws become weapons that drive people deeper into danger.

Black, Indigenous, migrant, and trans sex workers are targeted, and criminal records become lifelong barriers.

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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 7d

On the surface, this framing feels persuasive because it appeals to morality and fear: who wouldn’t want to “protect” women, children, and marginalized people? But in practice, the exact opposite is true.

Criminalization is wielded most harshly against the very communities it claims to safeguard

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