Strong Feelings

Jessica is the executive director at The Audre Lorde Project and an activist and organizer advocating for sex workers—first with Decrim Now and now with the brand-new Decim NY. Her passion for the work stems from her own experiences with gendered violence, homelessness, and the sex trade. We fell in love with her insight, her voice, and her incredible compassion. You will too. Those who are most vulnerable to sex trafficking are people who are already in the sex trades, just like any other industry. The solution to ending trafficking in the agriculture industry is not “ban food” or “end demand for food.” That’s not logical. The solution to ending trafficking is by meeting people’s basic needs. —Jessica Raven, executive director at the Audre Lorde Project and Decrim NY steering committee member _(Photo by Darrow Montgomery at the Washington City Paper) We talk about: Jessica’s work with the Audre Lorde Project and Decrim NY Recognizing that sex work is work Sex trafficking, The Mann Act, and the connection