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August 2015

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What I’m Reading – August 16, 2015

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Human Rights

– “Fear of eviction and arrest means sex workers are stuck with an unbearable choice: between safety and survival. “I went to a house of a man—he tried not to pay me so much,” one sex worker in Norway told Amnesty researchers. “He punched me two times in the jaw. I didn’t tell the police. If he had broke much I would have told them. But I don’t want it on my records.”” Amnesty International’s Long-Due Support for Sex Workers Rights (via @melissagira)

– ““There is strong evidence that reintegrating former inmates back into society by helping them find jobs and housing gives them better chance of not re-offending,and I think voting is a key part of that,” Padilla told ThinkProgress. “It’s giving people a voice in their communities. For me, it’s equal parts the right thing to do from a voting rights and a public safety perspective.”” California Reverses Policy That Kept 60,000 Released Prisoners From Voting (via @thinkprogress)

– ““Sex workers are one of the most marginalized groups in the world who in most instances face constant risk of discrimination, violence and abuse. Our global movement paved the way for adopting a policy for the protection of the human rights of sex workers which will help shape Amnesty International’s future work on this important issue,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.” Global movement votes to adopt policy to protect human rights of sex workers (via @AmnestyInternational)

– “For example, it trots out the completely false statement that “The average age of entry (into sex work) is 12 to 14.” This statement has been debunked multiple times, and even Polaris Project, one of the largest anti-sexwork organizations in the world, has publicly disclaimed it. It makes completely inflated claims about sex worker’s mortality rate, based on a very limited study, which the author himself, Georgetown professor Ronald Weitzer, has since disavowed.” This Seattle Times Op-Ed Got Everything Wrong About Sex Work (via @strangerslog)

– “Too often, the stories of women who are no longer engaged in sex work and who reject sex work gain more attention than the testimony of sex workers who are still in the industry, and whose needs should be primary when it comes to setting policy.” Amnesty International Is Finally on the Right Side of the Sex Work Struggle (via @melissagira)

Misogyny

– “Trump’s response to Kelly’s question was essentially a step-by-step guide on how to dismiss valid complaints about discriminatory behavior in the workplace. It was a two-minute primer on how to get away with sexism.” Donald Trump just gave a master class on how to get away with sexism (via @Vox)

Police Violence

– “The Free Thought Project reported that the Facebook group Police Officers posted the offensive image in advance of the 1-year anniversary of Brown’s slaying at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson. The image showed a photoshopped gravestone with Brown’s dates of birth and death along with a poem that said: There once was a thug named Brown, Who bum-rushed a cop with a frown, Six bullets later, He met his creator, Then his homies burnt down the town.” Cops make disgusting online ‘memorial’ mocking death of Ferguson’s Michael Brown (h/t @prisonculture)

– “Something must be done, but no one is still sure what. Things need to change, but nobody can agree how, or whether change is truly possible. Though the rubble of Ferguson’s burned down buildings has mostly been cleared, signs of frustration remain. On West Florissant’s buildings graffiti declares “Let us purge White Amerikkk” and “This is our justice: we are ungovernable.” Murals on businesses that have been boarded since the fall violence proclaim “Speak da truth — we stand with you.”” A year after fatal shooting of Michael Brown, residents in Ferguson says something must be done, but still not sure what (via @sarahkendzior)

– “As marginalized people, we have always faced erasure: either our story is never told, or it is told by everyone but us. If not for Twitter and Instagram, Missouri officials would have convinced you, one year ago, that we simply did not exist. Or that we were the aggressors, rather than the victims. That we, and not they, were the violent ones.” Ferguson and beyond: how a new civil rights movement began – and won’t end (via @deray)

– “If, this morning, you woke up feeling like you no longer support the Black Lives Matter movement, please reconsider where that stance comes from. Because they interrupted something? Why does that anger you so much? Do you really feel that this candidate has no progress to be made on institutional racism? Can you understand the place of hurt and fear that yesterday’s action came from?” “How do we call people in even as we call them out?” (via @seattlish)

– “Almost as soon as Ms. Liu was arrested, Mr. Port accused the police of targeting his wife’s business in retaliation for a series of articles he had shepherded into the newspaper that called into question the tactics and practices of an Albany County sheriff’s drug unit.” Prostitution Charge Dropped in Case an Albany Journalist Called Retaliation (h/t @melissagira)

– “A post Sunday on the Facebook page of a Missouri police union declared the one-year anniversary of the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown to be “Darren Wilson Day,” after the police officer who killed him, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.” Police Union In Missouri Declares ‘Darren Wilson Day’ On Shooting Anniversary (h/t @JessicaValenti)

Prison Labor

– “Conservation Camp pays inmates $1 an hour for their help in emergency situations. They are also used in other emergencies like floods and earthquakes. There are 39 Conservation Camps across the state training some 4,000 inmates. Their work saves taxpayers about $80 million every year, according to the state.” Nearly half the people fighting wildfires wreaking havoc across California are prison inmates

Racism

– “Then I got a phone call on the phone telling me to bring the delivery back. Saying that I couldn’t do the delivery,” said Bradley to WSET. “I asked him why I couldn’t do it and he said because you’re black and they don’t want you at the house.” Black delivery driver says Lowe’s replaced him when racist customer complained (via @RawStory)

Reproductive Health

– “Then she put her hand on mine, “you are a smart, capable woman. You know what’s best for you.” The Abortion I Didn’t Have (via @IjeomaOluo)

Sexual Violence

– “Surely there are ways to take Doe’s claim of trauma to task without attempting to shame her by demanding a full list of her sexual partners – especially considering victim’s sexual histories are typically not allowed in court proceedings due to rape shield laws. But if we’ve learned anything these last few years, it’s that we can’t depend on schools to do the right thing when it comes to rape.” No college should ever ask for the sexual history of alleged rape victims (via @JessicaValenti)

– “Pam Crawford’s first thought was that she hoped MC had not undergone a surgery, but much to their dismay, they found he had, being officially assigned the gender of female. Now, reaching closer to the formidable teenage years, MC identifies as male, and the Crawfords are calling his surgery a form of genital mutilation.” Gender Reassignment Surgery: Parents Sue Doctors For Making Their Intersex Child A Girl, Claiming Genital Mutilation

Women in Sports

– “Mowins was at the top of the list of potential broadcasters when Raiders owner Mark Davis decided he wanted a dedicated television crew for preseason games this year instead of simulcasting the radio broadcast.” Beth Mowins to Call Oakland Raiders Preseason Game

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