FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 11th, 2023
Contact: Antonia Crane @antoniacrane@gmail.com
Sex Workers Die-In Calls Attention To Bad Los Angeles City Attorney’s Policy And Marks-
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Los Angeles, California — On December 18th, The Stop The Raids Coalition Los Angeles branch invites
you to join with other local sex worker groups in calling out the City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s bad
policy that criminalizes and harasses sex workers and our clients under the guise of rescuing sex
trafficking victims. Feldstein-Soto is weaponizing the archaic Red Light Abatement Act of 1913 to close
down motels that LA residents—specifically sex workers—inhabit in order to safely work indoors.
“Sex Work should not be illegal and neither should our living and workspaces”, said Soma Snakeoil,
Executive Director of The Sidewalk Project of Los Angeles.
The Die-In will take place at 1pm at City Hall on 12/18/23.
Sex Worker Groups Across America Come Together To Commemorate the International Day to End
Violence Against Sex Workers on December 17. Therefore, the following day, December 18th 2023 at
1pm PST, we peacefully and ferociously protest against these discriminatory policies invoked by the Los
Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstien Soto that endorse violence and discrimination against our
colleagues who deserve to live and work free of violence.
The International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers was created in 2003 as a memorial and vigil
for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle, Washington, United States of America. When that serial
killer Gary Ridgway was arrested, he said he had picked prostitutes as victims because they were “the
easiest targets” and that “no one would miss them.”
“Ultimately, we demand decriminalization of our occupation to respect our human rights and dignity,
protect us against violence and abuse, and improve our access to resources,” said Antonia Crane, a sex
worker, union organizer and PhD candidate at USC. “Decriminalization of sex work (for both sex workers
and our clients) is supported by a long list of reputable international organizations including Amnesty
International, the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women, the Global Commission on HIV and the
Law, UNAIDS, Human Rights Watch, World Health Organization and Landmark UN Report Calls for Sex
Work Decriminalization It is about time the Los Angeles political class step up and protect all of its
citizens.
Sex workers demand decriminalization!
MEDIA CONTACTS
Soma Snakeoil
The Sidewalk Project LA
415-966-6019
soma@thesidewalkproject.org
https://www.thesidewalkproject.org/
https://stoptheraids.org/la/Stop The Raids flier enclosed