A presentation for a women's studies class at about the work we do.

2. THIS IS A SAFE SPACE
S o me g u i d e l i n e s
• Confidentiality: What’s shared
here stays here, what’s learned
here leaves here.
• One Mic
• Make Room, Make Noise
• Ouch/Oops
• If you don’t know - ask!
• Speak from the “I”
A big thanks to SWOP- NYC/SWANK for sharing their guidelines with us!

3. Objectives
• Explain the mission of Project Safe
• Promote critical discussion about
individual behavior/”pathologies” vis a vis
social context
• Answer questions about risks associated
with sex work and drug use
• For audience members to gain an
understanding of harm reduction theory
and how it can be applied to a variety of
settings, especially in collaboration with
feminist theory

4. What is Harm Reduction?
• A public health theory addressing
behaviors that carry risk.
• We all do things we know are bad for us,
and only the individual can decide what
measures to take to mitigate harm
• Those who engage in these behaviors
should have a leading voice in any
organization or program they utilize

5. Harm Reduction Organizations We Love
• By Sex Workers/Drug Users, For Sex Workers/Drug
Users
• Meeting people where they are at
• Non-judgmental
• Community involvement and leadership
• Addresses material needs and structural oppressions
simultaneously

6. Continuum of Risk
Not OK for Anyone, Ever (In the History of
Ever)
OK for Some (Over There, Far Away)
Fine , But not Preferred Practice
Good for Others, Not Good for Me
Good for Others and Good for Me
What is “risk?” What are our
own anxieties or discomforts?

7. Sex Work: some terms
•
•
•
•
sex work
sex trade(s)
survival sex
"choice, circumstance or coercion”
(Also, honoring a sex worker's language,
when speaking about sex worker(s).)

8. Examples of Sex Work
• Prostitution
•
• Escorting
•
• Indoor and Outdoor •
work
•
• Webcam work
•
• Professional
•
domination
• Professional
submission
•
• Sugar daddy/mommy
situations
•
• Survival sex
Phone sex
Pornography
Erotic Modeling
Fetish work
Working at a club
Owning a
club/brothel/venue/w
ebsite
Stripping/Dancing/
Burlesque
What you say it is!

9. Who We Are,
What We Do
• All volunteer, grassroots harm reduction group for
working women in north Philly
Kensington:
• One of the poorest neighborhoods in Philadelphia
with prominent open air markets for heroin,
powder and rock cocaine, street-based sex trade
• HIV/AIDS rate for zip codes 19125 and 19134
some of the highest in the city. City wide
Philadelphia has HIV/AIDS rate three times higher
than the national average.

10. This Includes…
• Late Night Street Outreach
• Bad Date Alerts
• Home Deliveries
• Case Management
• Health & Safety Tips
• Overdose Response Training
• Rape and Assault Referrals
• Women Identified-Only Drop-In
• Bilingual Services

11. Street-Level Sex Work
• Cis-Women, Trans-Women, Cis-Men/ All Ethnicities/ All Ages
• Some have “pimps/madams” some have “boyfriends,” some
are on their own, others use a buddy system.
Some Benefits:
•
•
•
•
People work within a community
There is a network of help/social services
There is mobility
There is a flexible schedule, ideal for mothers, people with
disabilities, people with other jobs, etc.
• “Open Air Drug Market” promotes a community of safe users
who take the time to get clean works or clean their works.
Also, an OD is acknowledged and addressed.

12. Disadvantages
– Stigma/Shame apparent due to lack of privacy
– Supply/Demand – low wages, lack of solidarity
– The Screening Process:
• Women have about 2 seconds to get a date because
– The is always some one willing to do it for
cheaper/faster/whatever
– They don’t want to be seen
– They need money
– Cops will arrest them for Loitering
– Dates happen in: Cars, Rented rooms, Abandos,
Parking lots, Vacant lots, Clients homes
– There are no safety precautions, these men are
complete strangers. Occasionally there are
“regulars”
– Men go to street walkers because they know just

13. Legal Implications
• Most sex workers aren't arrested for
Prostitution or Solicitation
• These are Misdemeanor Charges – they are, if
anything, annoying and expensive
• Women fear police because of this and do not
use them as a resource in the case of rape,
theft or assault
• Multiple Offenders are eligible for “Dawns
Court”
• Most plead Guilty without further Punishment,
which leaves a permanent mark on one’s

14. Commonly used Drugs
• Heroin: black tar and white powder – injected and
snorted
• Cocaine and Crack cocaine – smoked, snorted,
injected
• Legal Narcotics: Methadone, Suboxone Oxytocin,
Oxycodone
• Benzos: Xanax, Clonpin
• Amphetamines: legal and illegal – smoked,
snorted injected
• Alcohol
• PCP, Marijuana, Ecstasy

15. Drug Use
Risks
• Concussion
• Stroke
• Seizure
• Absesses
• Money Loss
• Legal Issues
• Riskier Sex
• HIV/HCV
• Assault/Rape
Rewards
• Solace from Pain
• More affordable then
some treatment plans for
Pain or Mental Health
• Seems like the only
option for many people
• Community
• Fun

16. Harm Reduction

17. Stages of Change

18. Injecting Drugs/ Gender
• Injection Drugs is the most effect way to get
high
• IDU increase risk of blood-borne pathogens,
collapsed veins, abscesses, from dirty
needles, dirty drugs, dirty water
• Everyone has a different relationship with
injection drugs – Especially Women
• SEPs have been proven to reduce HIV
amongst Interveinous Drug Users
• SEPs are about overwhelmingly male (as are
most recovery and 12 Step Programs)

19. Not ready to Change?
• Safer Use Supplies
– Clean needles, Pyrex stems
• Overdose Prevention
– Narcan with training
• Safety Planning in case of Arrest
– Plan for kids, pets, legal representation
• Budgeting
– There is a responsible way to use!
• Still look for Hobbies/ Resources
– Drug users can do other stuff!!!
• SAFE SPACES

20. What makes a space “safe”?
• Area or forum where a marginalized
group is free of standard
stereotypes, discrimination, and
tactics of silencing
• Physically safe: free of law
enforcement/other institutions,
potential clients and assault
• There are guidelines: “trolling” should

21. Logistics of Safe Spaces
•
•
•
•
Low-threshold
Location and time,
including original use
for the space
Provide incentives
such as tokens, food,
supplies
Consistency
• Sometimes personal
relationships can
trump logistical
barriers
• If mandatory program
(incarceration, court
ordered drug
treatment), theories
and practices of safe
spaces can be
included
• Think outside the box

22. In Conclusion
• Human Behavior is incredibly variable
• It is not based only in rationality, utility, values, but
also socialization, political context – its complicated
• People change – behaviors are often short term.
• People should not be defined by their behaviors
alone
• As a society, we excuse the violence directed towards
these populations because of their criminal status.
• People need a voice in their own anti-oppression
work
• Sex workers and Drug Users are ready, willing and
able to share this voice. We need to give them space.
• As a society, we excuse the violence directed towards

23. Get Involved!
• Volunteer/Intern With Us:
www.safephila.org or
safephila@gmail.com
• Contact Me: Lindsay.a.roth@gmail.com