Coalition on Prostitution
P.O. Box 210256
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 751-1659

MISSION


The San Francisco Coalition on Prostitution began as a network of prostitutes, dancers and performers in the sex industry, political advocates, health workers, service providers and legal advocates organized to support the rights and needs of sex trade workers, with our highest priority being the situation as it affects the most vulnerable populations of prostitutes in San Francisco. Originally the Coalition on Prostitution was a Sponsored Project of San Francisco Women's Centers. Currently, the Coalition emphasizes community building and public education in conjunction with BAYSWAN.

Since the Coalition on Prostitution was organized in November of 1992, we have mobilized in response to the immediate health and safety needs of prostitutes that have been brought to our attention through the work of participants.

PARTICIPANTS

Those who have worked with the Coalition and participated in our network in the past include members of diverse communities and agencies including members or employees of: ACT UP, Asian AIDS Project, COYOTE, California Prevention Education Project, Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice, Commonwealth, National Lawyers' Guild, Collective Legal Services, National Organization for Women, San Francisco Pre-Trial Diversion, Exotic Dancer's Alliance, Hustler's Network, Sex Workers' Action Coalition, Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center, Transgender Nation, Women's Action Coalition and Women's Economic Agenda Project. Currently, our network includes sex worker activists who work in conjunction with health service providers, specifically the St.James Infirmary.

ADVOCACY PROJECTS

Development director, Carol Leigh, administers the Prostitutes' Education Network, which is the formemost international resource for information about sex worker rights and activism. Acting as policy advocates, we lobbied for representation from diverse communities of sex workers and representation from advocates for women's, immigrant and civil rights organizations on the San Francisco Prostitution Task Force. A member of our network was seated on San Francisco's Commission on The Status of Women, advocating for sex worker's needs and rights on the Commission. We worked in conjunction with the Women's Health Advisory Task Force of The Department of Public Health to advocate for sex workers' health needs. In 1994, our members lead the successful campaign to pressure the District Attorney to end the use of condoms as evidence in prostitution cases.We worked on a project in conjunction with the AIDS Foundation women's program to assist in collaborative efforts between outreach and health service providers to sex workers in San Francisco. Our members also worked with a number of organizations from the Sex Worker Committee of the Domestic Violence Coalition to the Harvey Milk Democratic Club.

AVAILABLE MATERIALS

The Coalition collects and screens videos by and about prostitutes which are available for individuals and organizations. We curate film festivals internationally, as well as the Sex Worker Film Festival in San Francisco. We have created education materials regarding legal issues in arrest procedures in conjunction with the National Lawyer's Guild Sex Worker's Rights Committee, which have available for organizations and individuals. We also provide information on line through the Prostitutes' Education Network, at penet@bayswan.org.

OUTREACH

As a part of the Coalition on Prostitution Outreach Project, we have distributed condoms to street workers in the Union Square-Tenderloin area of San Francisco. We have provided services at the women's site of the needle exchange in San Francisco's Mission Neighborhood, as well as in the Tenderloin and at Tom Wadell Clinic. Currently, we are not doing street outreach but we work to support the St. James Infirmary through fundraisers and other efforts.