Jessica Van Meir 🩵

Three people smiling behind a table in an alleyway full of supplies, with two boxes of clothes in front and two pairs of sneakers.

This weekend, we reached ~25 people with our street outreach at Mass & Cass, giving out feminine products, condoms & lube, water, snacks, underwear, socks, and makeup.

It was harder to find people this week, as the police have been cracking down lately and pushing people into hiding.

In Memoriam

Mala Htun (1969-2025)

Mala Htun made a major impact on the study of women, gender, and politics as a scholar, teacher, mentor, and advocate. To honor her contributions, we have ungated access to her articles until the end of February 2025.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Slightly diminish a book

A Tale of Two Unincorporated Municipalities

Slightly diminish a book

Crime and a Slap on the Wrist

An Instagram post showing a photo of a rainbow crosswalk in front of Pulse nightclub, then a photo of the same crosswalk painted gray. Caption: Orlando's LGBTQ+ Community Rallies After Pulse Memorial Crosswalk Removed Florida Department of Transportation secretly painted over the rainbow tribute at night, and by morning, locals were protesting and coloring it in. A tweet: Ron DeSantis @GovRonDeSantis We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.

A black and white cartoon mime spreading his hands with an evil frown to turn a colorful VW van with flowers painted on it black and white

Bubbles from the PowerPuff Girls raising her hands up and screaming with broken crayons on the ground, as Buttercup and Blossom lay on the ground in black and white, Blossom with pink crayon scribbled on her and Buttercup with green crayon scribbled on her

we need Bubbles to save us from Ron DeSantis

Liam Neeson from Taken meme reading, “I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE BUT THIS EMAIL WILL FIND YOU AND IT WILL FIND YOU WELL”

i hope this email finds you

Yes!

FRAT for Full Revolution Anarchist Thugs, obviously

what if we start a new political party called the Frat Party

Vote for Caius & Devon as America's Favorite Couple! One couple will appear in an advertorial in Variety and take home $20,000.

My best friend and his husband, both of whom are trans men, are in the running for America’s Favorite Couple!

It would be amazing to see a trans couple win this kind of recognition right now. Can you give them a vote? 🩵🩷

They’re currently in 2nd place!

americasfavcouple.org/2025/caius-a...

Gustavo Petro @petrogustavo Translated by Grok Show original Different Afro organizations have joined the Historic Pact and present Alí Bantú as their presidential candidate. I must clarify that when I said, no black person should come to exclude anyone based on their sexual orientation, I repeat it again. Just as no Aryan, anywhere in the world, should exclude anyone based on their ethnic condition, including the ethnicities of Sub-Saharan Africa, no black, white, or any color person should exclude anyone based on their sexual orientation. I had a bitter day when, for political reasons, I did not uphold my principles. On that bitter day, I accepted, to maintain government unity, the vice president's position, against my will, not to appoint Florian as deputy minister of diversity. According to the vice president, following the report by Semana and Vicky Dávila about

According to the vice president, following the report by Semana and Vicky Dávila about Florian's pornographic activity, Florian should not be the deputy minister of diversity in the ministry of equality. Florian led the LGBTI direction of Bogotá Humana and was threatened with death for it, went into exile in Paris, and there had to resort to webcam work to survive. Later, he returned to the country, and I wanted him to take on the deputy minister role; the vice president cited family reasons for not appointing him and told me she would resign if I appointed him. I regret not having done it, and I affirm that no one, regardless of their skin color, should exclude anyone from public office for reasons other than those established in Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which is part of our Constitution. In the democratic country we are building, there is room for everyone. The struggle for social and economic equality involves accepting all human diversity so that they may be free.

is room for everyone. The struggle for social and economic equality involves accepting all human diversity so that they may be free. Freedom and Democracy is our slogan. Equality comes in all colors. The text is followed by a photo of two Black men holding up a poster that says Colombia Humana at a podium in front of a room of people. The post has 76k views, 690 retweets, 1.3k likes, and 28 bookmarks. Comments are turned off.

Petro has now doubled down on his statement.

An…interesting choice to bring race into the discussion, when he could have simply said no one should discriminate against sex workers.

(The original statement in Spanish says “sexual condition” not “sexual orientation.”)

As, er, problematic as his statement may be, the fact that sex workers’ rights are taking the stage as a national issue the president is willing to put his reputation on the line for is something I haven’t seen in really any other country.

The politics around sex work in Colombia are 🤯. President Petro is fighting with his Vice President and Minister of Equality over his decision to appoint a former porn actor to an important ministry position.

He leverages their race to criticize them for discriminating against a sex worker.

We testified at Cambridge city counsel to educate on the needs of sex workers in the city, emphasizing decriminalization so that workers can seek help without fear of arrest when they are victims of a crime. When sex workers are safer, we are all safer. 💞
www.cambridgeday.com/2025/06/24/d...

HAPPY (late) INTERNATIONAL WHORE'S DAY! Support MA sex workers by writing to your legislators! BSWAC

We are currently trying to pass these bills to promote SW safety in Massachusetts: H1980 - An Act to Promote the Health and Safety of People in the Sex Trade H2467 - An Act to Study the Decriminalization of Sex Work H1747 - An Act Relative to Safe Reporting H2634 - An Act Relative to Sexual Assault by an Officer Go to the link below to send a letter to your legislator! bit.ly/SupportMASexWorkers BSWAC

This week was International Whore’s Day! ☂️

In honor of all the sex workers who’ve fought for their rights, we’re asking you to write to your Massachusetts legislators to ask them to co-sponsor these bills for sex workers’ safety.

Go to bit.ly/SupportMASexWorkers 💕

Somebody reached out to tell me and to let me know they thought the harasser was unhinged when they saw me being harassed online, and it made a huge difference, it made me feel like other people who saw it might also be able to see the reality of what was happening.

Death, Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking: Fallout From U.S. Aid Withdrawal Hits the World’s Most Fragile Locations Exclusive State Department records show: As the Trump administration abandons its humanitarian commitments, diplomats are reporting that the cuts have led to violence and instability while undermining...

What are the costs of Trump and Rubio’s destruction of USAID?
Sexual violence, human trafficking, fatal stampedes, malnourished children, shootings in refugee camps.
@propublica.org reports on memos from inside our own government on the damage we are doing.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

I have a huge request for my readers: Trump's tax and spending bill will be moving through the Senate. Senators can invoke the Byrd Rule to try to remove the anti-trans Medicaid ban and EHB changes.

You can find and call your senator here and ask them to do that.

Please share as well.

This is literally the content that inspired this post 😂

Ryan walked so Pedro can strut

Yes 😂

pedro pascal memes are the new ryan gosling hey girl memes

Can’t wait to speak on this panel for the launch of a new report on working conditions on adult platforms!

I’ll discuss what we’ve done at @mintstars.bsky.social to offer better conditions for adult creators. Major props to Fairwork for including sex workers in their review of platform labor!

@towardsfairwork.bsky.social looking forward to this!

Find our Co-Founder, @jessicavanmeir.bsky.social, speaking on the Fairwork Sexwork panel 5/15 @ 10am EST, discussing and examining working conditions for online SWs and what mainstream platforms can do to improve SW rights.

🔗 below to register to the Zoom Webinar!

LETTERS Criminalizing clients would harm sex workers, not help them Updated May 4, 2025, 2:30 a.m. A brothel ring based in Virginia was operating out of units 109, 435, and 530 at 90 Fawcett St. in Cambridge. NATHAN KLIMA FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE With the article "Cambridge brothel ring case may act as deterrent" (Metro, April 27), the Globe once again has published an article about sex work without including the perspectives of any active sex workers or sex workers' rights organizations. The article quotes advocates and law enforcement officials who celebrate the increased criminalization of sex workers' clients, but I fear that such a trend will harm sex workers in our community. I have been doing research on sex work and human trafficking for more than a decade, including interviewing more than 250 sex workers in four countries, and I am a founding member of the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective. From this work, I have found that most sex workers do not want their clients to be arrested. Criminalizing clients makes the industry more

With the article "Cambridge brothel ring case may act as deterrent" (Metro, April 27), the Globe once again has published an article about sex work without including the perspectives of any active sex workers or sex workers' rights organizations. The article quotes advocates and law enforcement officials who celebrate the increased criminalization of sex workers' clients, but I fear that such a trend will harm sex workers in our community. I have been doing research on sex work and human trafficking for more than a decade, including interviewing more than 250 sex workers in four countries, and I am a founding member of the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective. From this work, I have found that most sex workers do not want their clients to be arrested. Criminalizing clients makes the industry more dangerous because clients are less willing to participate in safety screening, and it makes sex workers poorer by targeting their livelihoods. Global human rights organizations agree. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the World Health Organization all have called for the full decriminalization of sex work. Good journalism should be balanced and include the voices of those about whom it writes. The Globe's reporting on the brothel case demonstrates a failure to consult empirical evidence. Jessica Van Meir Somerville The writer is a doctoral candidate in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Our member @jessicavanmeir.bsky.social had a letter published in the @bostonglobe.com yesterday!

Criminalizing clients puts us in danger - when clients are scared of arrest, we have fewer clients to choose from and have to lower our prices or accept dangerous clients who we would otherwise refuse.

Are you 18-34 and have engaged in sexual acts for financial compensation?

We’ve just learned of this research study by @laragerassi.bsky.social which will pay you a $75 gift card in exchange for a one hour interview!

uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

The Harvard Crimson Noem added that if Harvard fails to comply with the student records request by April 30, "SEVP will automatically withdraw the school's certification. One of the canceled grants is the $1.9 million Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement grant, which supported research on mass violence and human trafficking prevention efforts. The DHS wrote in the press release that the grant "funded Harvard's public health propaganda."

The Trump administration is canceling funds for human trafficking prevention.

PANEL & BOOK LAUNCH NOT YOUR RESCUE PROJECT MIGRANT SEX WORKERS FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE Join authors Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam for a conversation about immigration, bodily autonomy, and resistance. This event will also feature speakers from Boston Sex Workers & Allies Collective (BSWAC) and New Moon Network. CHANELLE GALLANT AND ELENE LAM FOREWORD BY HARSHA WALIA | AFTERWORD BY ROBYN MAYNARD NOT YOUR RESCUE PROJECT MIGRANT SEX WORKERS FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE Saturday April 19, 3-5pm Jamaica Plain, Boston RSVP Required, contact: events@newmoonfund.org Free and open to the public. BOSTON

Since the recent news about the Cambridge/Watertown brothel case, we’ve been calling for the public to listen to migrant sex workers.

This Saturday, you can! Join us for the launch of #NotYourRescueProject book, with leaders from Asian migrant sex worker collective Butterfly.

Pleased to have spoken with @wgbh.org on behalf of @bostonswac.bsky.social about the Cambridge/Watertown brothel case, and what policies will support the health and safety of sex workers in Massachusetts.