Here is the text from the leaflet that we distributed with our feminist allies, Feminist Fightback at the Reclaim The Night march in London in 2008.

[The beginning of 2009 has certainly kicked off with a polarisation in the debate for sex workers rights in the UK and has seen a sharp increase in right-wing attacks in the media on sex worker organisations and our allies by pro-abolitionist feminist groups and organisations. Considering the amount of slander, nastiness and deliberate misinformation, we thought it would be useful for people to have access to actual texts that x:talk writes rather than second hand whispers.]

Feminism needs sex workers – Sex workers need feminism

Today Feminist Fightback and x:talk are marching alongside other sex workers rights groups in a Red Umbrella Contingent, in the belief that our Reclaim the Night message should include safe streets for sex workers. This is particularly important at the moment with legislation being announced in parliament that will further criminalise sex workers by giving increased powers to police to raid brothels (forcing more women to work on the streets) and prosecute the clients of trafficked women. We know that such moves will only drive the sex industry underground, leaving sex workers more isolated and making it harder for them to organise to resist exploitation and change their own working conditions.

As active feminists we want our movement to fight for the rights of sex workers alongside those of other women. We think it is dangerous to make distinctions between feminists (who are “against” the sex industry) and those women who work in it. We are proud to be marching alongside all our sisters tonight, but believe that Reclaim the Night’s fight against violence against women should include opposition to the violence of the police and the state, which at this moment affects sex workers especially.

Feminist Fightback is a network of anti-capitalist feminists which came out of the Fightback conference held in 2006 and 2007. We now meet monthly in London and Sheffield/Manchester to plan actions and discuss feminism. Over the last year we have campaigned around issues of reproductive freedom and sex workers rights and organised actions in solidarity with the tube cleaners strike and the women in Yarl’s Wood detention centre. We are also, alongside other feminist groups, organising an anti-capitalist feminist conference addressing the interconnections between gender, race and class on 14th Feb 2008. We welcome anyone who would like to get involved: our planning meetings are for self-defining women only but our events and actions are for all genders.

x:talk provides Free English classes for migrant sex workers. Our aim is to empower sex workers to gain more control over their lives and their work. x:talk is a sex worker run project for sex workers of all genders, classes take place in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental setting.  x:talk has been running since 2006.

below are some picutres from the Reclaim the Night march – from the Feminist Fightback flickr site

sex workers and allies reclaim the night

red umbrella's at reclaim the night 2008