NEWS RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Ariela Moscowitz
media@safesexworkvt.org
(802) 739-0833

Burlington, VT (February 24, 2022) — A broad coalition of supporters is urging Burlington voters to stand up for equity, safety, and dignity by voting affirmatively on question #5 on Town Meeting Day 2022. Question #5 asks whether to strike discriminatory and archaic language from the Burlington city charter.

The current Burlington charter mandate to “restrain and suppress houses of ill fame and disorderly houses, and to punish common prostitutes and persons consorting therewith” is not only immensely archaic and dehumanizing, it does nothing to support the health and wellbeing of the citizens of Burlington. 

“The charter’s current language deprives individuals of their dignity and humanity and is counter to the values of equity and inclusion so many of us hold dear,” said J. Leigh Oshiro-Brantly, co-founder of The Ishtar Collective, Vermont’s only organization run by and for sex workers and survivors of trafficking. “No resident of Burlington should be made to feel like a second class citizen because of unnecessary and punitive language in the city charter,” they continued.

Stigma and discrimination cause tremendous harm to all people engaged in sex work, whether their form of work is legal or not and whether they are working by choice, circumstance, or coercion. Laws that further stigma, shame, misogyny, and discrimination enable and amplify harms to an already vulnerable population. 

Endorsers include:

• Representative Tiff Bluemle (Chittenden-6-5)
• Representative Brian Cina (Chittenden-6-4)
• Representative Selene Colburn (Chittenden-6-4)
• Representative Robert Hooper (Chittenden-6-1)
• Representative Curt McCormack (Chittenden-6-3)
• Representative Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (Chittenden-6-2)
• Representative Barbara Rachelson (Chittenden-6-6)
• Representative Taylor Small (Chittenden-6-7)
• Representative Gabrielle Stebbins (Chittenden-6-5)
• Burlington City Council President Max Tracy (Ward 2)
• Burlington City Councilor Perri Freeman (Central)
• Burlington City Councilor Jack Hanson (East)
• Burlington City Councilor Zoraya Hightower (Ward 1)
• Burlington City Councilor Joe Magee (Ward 3)
• Burlington City Councilor Jane Stromberg (Ward 8)

• The Ishtar Collective 
• Migrant Justice
• National Harm Reduction Coalition
• Out in the Open
• Pride Center of Vermont
• Vermont CARES

• Heather Benjamin, Advocate for Sexual and Reproductive Health Justice
• Keeley Parish, University of Vermont student
• Mike Selick, National Harm Reduction Coalition
• Alexandra Spannaus, Survivors Uplift Coalition

“Voting yes on question #5 is a simple step residents can take to demonstrate they value the health and safety of everyone who lives in Burlington. It shows that you value the inherent dignity and worth of all human beings, including LGBTQ+ individuals, many of whom understand how discriminatory language has a deleterious effect on an already marginalized population,” said Kell Arbor, Director of Health & Wellness at the Pride Center of Vermont.

Additional information: https://safesexworkvt.org/burlington-voter-referendum/