NEWS RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Burlington, VT (March 1, 2022) — Burlington voters stood up for equity, safety, and dignity by approving question #5 on today’s Town Meeting Day ballot. Question #5 removes archaic and harmful language from the Burlington city charter prohibiting sex work. 

The Charter Change now heads to the Statehouse to be ratified by lawmakers. The 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. 

“Removing this discriminatory language from the city charter is a critical and positive step for consensual adult sex workers and everyone who cares about their communities. It also shows that voters can separate consensual adult sex work from the grotesque crime of human trafficking,” said Henri Bynx, co-founder of The Ishtar Collective, Vermont’s only organization run by and for sex workers and survivors of exploitation or trafficking. “We are deeply touched and encouraged to no longer be further marginalized by punitive language in Burlington’s city charter,” they continued.

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Safe Sex Work VT is a group of individuals and organizations deeply concerned about the health and safety of not only sex workers, but all Vermonters. Safe Sex Work VT aims to protect the dignity, autonomy, and safety of consensual adult sex workers. The prohibition of sex work increases the risk of exploitation for sex workers and others. Evidence unequivocally shows that where sex work has been decriminalized, human trafficking decreases and public health and safety increases.