[SWAF-Potluck] Video launch for December 17

[Andy Sorfleet]

Hi all,

For International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, Triple-X is
launching a video called Our Bodies Our Business which features
prostitutes' rights activists at the 1989 International AIDS Conference in
Montreal.

This historic footage features Valerie Scott as well as The Scarlot Harlot
from COYOTE San Francisco. I think it's a delight!

Our Bodies Our Business can be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/195574653

Cheers,
Andy

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 14, 2016


VIDEO RELEASE TO COMMEMORATE INTERNATIONAL DAY
TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST SEX WORKERS

To commemorate International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers on
December 17, Triple-X Workers' Solidarity Association in partnership with
University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health will premiere
Our Bodies Our Business, a video made from historic footage of prostitutes'
rights activists at the 5th International Conference on AIDS, in Montreal,
1989.

Our Bodies Our Business can be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/195574653

About Our Bodies Our Business

Our Bodies Our Business was produced as part of a recent national
consultation on PrEP and sex work held in Toronto, funded by Elton John
AIDS Foundation. Created by George Stamos with video shot by ACT UP New
York filmmaker Catherine Gund, Our Bodies Our Business showcases activists,
Danny Cockerline and Valerie Scott from the Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes (CORP), as well as Cheryl Overs from the Australian
Prostitutes Collective (APC), Carol Leigh - The Scarlot Harlot - from
COYOTE, San Francisco and Toronto activist Tracey Tief.

Our Bodies Our Business documents the resilience, artistry and power of
prostitutes' rights activists as they confront stigma and prejudice head on
in actions throughout the conference, including conference sessions full of
HIV researchers who study prostitutes. They challenge dangerous myths that
fuel violence about sex workers spreading AIDS.

Since the emergence of AIDS in the early 1980s, prostitutes, like gay men,
were scapegoated for the spread of AIDS. By 1989, public hysteria regarding
HIV-positive prostitutes erupted in several places, sparking calls by
government officials for mandatory HIV testing and even quarantine, despite
the fact that such legislation would contradict national AIDS strategies.

In 1987, B.C. Minister of Health introduced amendments to the Health Act
which enabled Medical Officers of Health to order HIV-positive individuals,
whose sexual practices were considered "unsafe," into "isolation, modified
isolation, or complete quarantine."

In 1988, Ontario Minister of Health, Richard Shabas called for legislation
to quarantine HIV-positive people who continue to have sex - even with
condoms - or who share needles.

In 1989, a study by the BC Civil Liberties Association documented AIDS
discrimination which including human rights complaints that involved
solitary confinement for HIV-positive prisoners, and quarantine of an
HIV-positive sex worker in an emergency shelter in Vancouver. In Australia,
Health Minister Peter Collins called for HIV-positive persons to be banned
from working in the sex industry. This moral panic fueled increased stigma
and violence against people working as prostitutes.

About International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

December 17, 2003, Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP-USA) held a vigil in
Seattle, Washington for the victims of convicted Green River killer, Gary
Ridgway, who murdered at least 71 women most of whom worked as prostitutes.
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers was started by SWOP
founder Robyn Few and Dr. Annie Sprinkle to spotlight the epidemic of
violence against sex workers happening globally. Today, International Day
to End Violence Against Sex Workers is observed by organizations all over
the world. For more information visit: http://www.december17.org/about/

Our Bodies Our Business can be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/195574653

High resolution still photo:
http://triple-x.org/about/pr/ourbodiesourbusiness.jpg

For more information contact Triple-X at: info at triple-x.org or call (604)
488-0710.

Press release: http://triple-x.org/about/pr/pr-161215.pdf


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