Sex Workers Project Co-Director Sienna Baskin addresses the attacks on Village Voice Media’s Backpage in Michelle Chen’s piece, “Making Sex Workers Visible in the Village Voice Media Ad Controversy.” An excerpt from this In These Times article:

SWP argues “Sex work is real work, which means sex workers have the basic labor rights we all expect, including a work environment free of violence and exploitation. Targeting companies that work with people in commercial sex will only lead to more shrouded interactions. This marginalization and isolation increases violence, HIV/STI transmission and stigmatization, hinders access to basic services, and promotes a loss of autonomy over the conditions in which people engage in the industry. There is so much we can do to prevent trafficking and support people who do want to move out of the sex industry, and these tactics only pull valuable resources from those strategies.”