What is the “Harm?;” New Approaches to Harm Reduction and Sex Work

Abstract

This panel will bring together legal, research, community organizing and social work perspectives on working with sex workers to examine the notions of “harm” related to the sex industry and how those harms can be addressed.

Sienna Baskin examine the collateral harms caused by current law enforcement approaches to sex work. Using New York as a case study, she will show how the criminal law works in conjunction with other legal and social mechanisms to further marginalize vulnerable sex workers and make it more difficult to leave sex work for other employment.

Maryse Mitchell-Brody will present a case for harm reduction-based approaches to voluntary sex work and those who do it. She will draw upon her experiences doing peer support and community organizing with Sex Workers Action New York (SWANK). Maryse will invoke the National Association of Social Workers' (NASW) foundational principles of self-determination, social justice, and cultural competency in supporting her argument that harm reduction strategies are often best practices for work within her community.

Sienna Baskin, JD, and Maryse Mitchell-Brody, MSW Candidate
Organization: Urban Justice Center, Sex Workers Project
Location: New York, NY
Title of Presentation: What is the “Harm?;” New Approaches to Harm Reduction and Sex Work