Yesterday made five years since a shooting spree at three massage parlors (all of them brothels) in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) claimed the lived of eight people and (more positively) gave rise to the Stop Asian Hate movement.
Not surprisingly, in the aftermath some “solutions” such as more policing of or shutting down massage parlors were proposed — as if this were somehow the fault of people there, and not, I don't know, having given the shooter a gun license the very same day…

🕯️ Let's keep I mind: most victims were Asia. Most were women. Most were sex workers.
Most were all three.
It was not coincidental, no matter which version you pick.

Anyway… the day might be over, but the lives are still lost, and the effects still ripple — so, I'm bringing a few mentions.

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> Today, five years ago, eight people lost their lives during the Atlanta Spa Shooting.
> As we demand an end to racism, stigma, hate, violence, and policies that perpetuate these behaviors, we remember the names of the victims lost that day…
> In our joint statement Red Canary Song and Red Light District By Two call for an end to anti-Asian and anti-sex worker violence. Please take a moment to read the full statement.
— Red Canary Song and Red Light District by Two 📷🕸 https://www.instagram.com/redlightdistrictbytwo/p/DV8xqr7gAG6/
📄 Full statement: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Q0mFJnivTZL5fcCS7eUZn9EhOJ1XHtFBGOGqVaUY_8/view

> Today marks 5 years since the Atlanta spa shootings, where eight people—six of them Asian women—were murdered in a racist, misogynistic, and anti–sex worker act of violence. We honor their memory, and we refuse to forget the systemic harms that led to their deaths.
— Decrim305 (Decrim Miami) 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/decrim305.bsky.social/post/3mh6xz72nas24

> Today, we honour the lives of the eight people who were killed during the Atlanta spa shootings—six of them were Asian women. The workplaces were targeted because they were perceived to be Asian sex workers. They were loved and are deeply missed.
— SWAN Vancouver 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/swan-vancouver.bsky.social/post/3mh6vdwvmgs2u

#AtlantaSpaShootings #StopAsianHate #DecrimNow #Atlanta #Georgia #USA #HateCrime #Shooting

«Decriminalise Our Lives!»

International Women's Day: Shared Vision for Feminism.

Statement by ESWA, EuroNPUD, S.A.F.E. and Equinox Initiative.

[I cannot agree more with it. ❤️‍🔥😍 💯]

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‣ Criminalisation should NEVER be the first response to social and healthcare issues!

3 years ago, the 8 March Principles were launched - to provide a new model on how we see justice.

This International Women's Day, we're calling for care over carceralism, on issues including sex work, abortion, harm reduction, racial justice and poverty.

We advocate for a feminism that is rights-based, not punitive.

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‣ Rights not rescue: sex work is work!

Criminalisation, including the criminalisation of clients, is a massive driver of violence against sex workers.

It drives sex work underground, into more danger and stigma, creates barriers to healthcare, housing, and justice.

The 8 March Principles emphasise that consensual sexual activity between adults should never be a matter for the criminal legal system.

Decriminalisation of sex work prioritises the safety, human and labour rights of sex workers.

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‣ Criminalisation has never stopped abortions from happening. It only makes them less safe.

Under the 8 March Principles, reproductive and bodily autonomy are recognised as fundamental human rights.

We demand the removal of all punitive barriers to healthcare. When we treat abortion as a crime, we violate the right to health, privacy, and bodily autonomy. It is time for a legal system that trusts individuals to make decisions about their own bodies without the threat of a prison cell.

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‣ Support, don't punish! Harm reduction saves lives. Criminalisation destroys them.

The “War on Drugs” is a war on all humans. In practice, it disproportionately impacts women, caregivers and communities already marginalised.

The 8 March Principles advocate for a shift from criminalisation to harm reduction. Drug use is a public health issue, not a criminal one. By redirecting resources from policing to community-supported healthcare and safe consumption services, we can transform our societies for the better.

Lived experience is knowledge.

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‣ Carceralism vs. Racial Justice.

The legal system isn't “neutral”.
It disproportionately targets and penalises Black, Brown and racialised communities.

The 8 March Principles remind us that justice cannot be achieved through a system built on systemic bias. We must dismantle the structures of over-policing and invest in safety measures that are led by and for the communities most affected by state violence.

Anti-carceral feminism is essential to realising racial justice.

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‣ The Shared Vision - Our Demands:

• Decriminalise abortion, sex work, drug use, and activities associated with poverty.

• Redirect resources from the carceral state to community-led safety, health, and housing.

• Adopt the 8 March Principles globally to ensure that human rights, not moral policing, guide our legal systems.

• Center lived experience as expertise: policies are stronger when shaped by the people most affected. Amplify community voices, recognise peer support, and treat people with dignity and autonomy.

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‣ Poverty is not a crime!

In many places, being poor or homeless is effectively treated as a criminal offense.
Laws targeting activities like loitering or sleeping in public punish people for simply existing.

The 8 March Principles state that the criminal law should never be used to address social and economic exclusion.
We cannot jail our way out of poverty, and should never criminalise the means by which the poorest survive.

Resources belong in housing and healthcare, not policing and prisons.

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‣ Further reading:

🌐 S.A.F.E. https://supportingabortions.eu

🌐 EuroNPUD: https://euronpud.net
➕ SisterWUD: https://euronpud.net/project/mobilising-women-who-use-drugs-and-combating-gender-based-violence-gbv/

🌐 European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance: https://www.eswalliance.org

🌐 Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice: https://equinox-eu.com

🗄📄 8 March Principles: https://web.archive.org/web/20230311063011/https://icj2.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/8-MARCH-Principles-FINAL-printer-version-1-MARCH-2023.pdf

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A safer world is possible when we stop using the law to punish and start using it to protect.

When we remove the threat of criminalisation, we create space for autonomy, safety, and dignity for all.
It also makes space for well-being and pleasure: safer choices, informed decisions, and self-determination.

‣ LET'S BUILD A FEMINISM THAT LIBERATES EVERYONE, SPECIALLY THE MOST MARGINALISED.

#8M #M8 #IWD #InternationalWomensDay #Europe #ESWA #SAFE #EuroNPUD #EquinoxInitiative #SexWork #HarmReduction #SRHR #Abortion #DrugUse #Decrim #DecrimNow #Decriminalization #Feminisms

RE: https://mastodon.economiasocial.org/@REAS_Red/116181366453780773

Voy a hacer explícita una de las conclusiones a la que esto lleva pero que no se atreve a vocalizar…

Derechos laborales y reproductivos para TODAS.
También para las putas. 👈

📢 ¡Derechos laborales para las trabajadoras sexuales! 🔥

> La falta de reconocimiento y de derechos laborales genera condiciones de precariedad y explotación que afectan especialmente a la población migrante.

> Por eso, este 8M salgamos a las calles para reclamar y defender los derechos de todas las mujeres trabajadoras y precarizadas.

> Por los derechos laborales, sociales, sexuales y reproductivos.

#TrabajoSexualEsTrabajo
#DecrimNow

A huge chance to advance #HumanRights: Oct 3rd, @councilofeurope will vote on a resolution to protect sx workers’ rights and affirm their #BodilyAutonomy. Let's show our support! ✊☂️👠 #DecrimNow

✅Leading Human Rights NGOs call to vote IN FAVOUR

Wenn Sie sich in die deutsche Politik einmischen können, fordern Sie bitte Ihre Politiker auf, das "Nordische Modell" NICHT zu übernehmen.

Dieses Konzept, den Kauf von Sexarbeit zu verbieten, setzt SexarbeiterInnen einem viel größeren Risiko aus und verhindert keinen Schaden.

Das Nordische Modell wird von Amnesty und dem Deutsche Institut für Menschenrechte angeprangert.

#DecrimNow #Deutschland #depol #Germany #SexArbeitIstArbeit