Page 27 - Source Issue1 07 WEB

National Ugly Mugs (NUM) is a sex worker It is important to NUM that marginalised
victim support and violence prevention sex workers, such as workers of colour, have
charity founded in 2012. We have a a platform to share their experiences. It is
growing membership of over 6,000 industry essential that we listen and work together
workers and a network comprising almost with them to inform our services, educate
1,000 practitioner groups and community public sector professionals and advocate for
organisations. We run a national reporting policy changes that improve their safety,
and alerting service the provides a means wellbeing and life chances.
for sex workers to report the harms that
they experience and share alerts within
their communities about dangerous people Despite appeals, sex workers have received no
and conditions that contribute to their comprehensive government income support
victimisation. packages during all three waves of the
pandemic. We need public support to ensure
NUM provides comprehensive support that this dire situation does not continue.
services to help victims and survivors seek If you have the means, please contribute to
justice through avenues in the community Umbrella Lane’s hardship fund and donate
as well as with facilitated access to police, to NUM’s Mug Meals campaign to support
courts and public services. We are proud to charities in continuing to provide resources
work with sex workers to design and deliver and emergency food and hygiene supplies to
support services, community education and in sex workers suffering as a result of income
systemic advocacy. loss and those who healing from violence.
In our efforts to be accountable to Sex workers of colour invested time and
marginalised sex workers, notably workers of energy to produce the prose, poetry and
colour, this publication provides an unfiltered artwork presented in this Zine and we
glimpse into the lives of Black sex workers and encourage everyone to buy it, read it and gain
sex workers of colour during the Covid-19 understanding that can improve how these
pandemic. Workers of colour suffer from workers are treated both within sex work and
structural inequities (race, class and gender beyond. Fully embrace their call for #UsToo
oppressions), discrimination and sex work and support sex worker-created content.
stigma, the constraints and abuses of the
whorearchy, in addition to minimal social and Dr. Raven Bowen
police protections when they are harmed. CEO, National Ugly Mugs (NUM)