cw: sexual assault

The red umbrella has become a symbol of the international fight for sex workers, the fight for them to be able to work safely and autonomously, without fearing the law or risking their lives. Sex work is work, and like all work, it is exploitative—but the carceral state puts sex workers in danger for the sake of hateful ‘morality.’ Exclusionary ‘feminists’ fail sex workers time and time again. In the name of uplifting women, they force women to turn to pimps and street corners and push them to the edge of society. 

False allies like these opened the door to legislation like SESTA and FOSTA, which became law during Pesach of 2018. These bills were an act of violence against sex workers. All they have done is made working conditions more dangerous and women less safe. Many have starved, gone homeless, and died because of this ‘advocacy.’ Laws that ‘protect’ the men who do sex work, that ‘free’ trans people from one of the only avenues of work we can find work are short-sighted, reckless, and cruel.

But the cruelty is the point. Not only do sex workers face criminal charges, they are systematically raped by police. Sex workers are beaten, stripped, searched in every ‘cavity,’ and put on display—not to mention straight-up raped every single day—all in the name of “law and order” by monstrous police. It is legal in most places for a cop to solicit services from a sex worker, have sex (consensually or non-consensually) with them, only to arrest them violently. This happens where it is not legal too. 

We put an umbrella on the seder table to spread our sukkat shalom, our shelter of peace, over our loved ones who do sex work and all other sex workers in our community. We affirm that their lives are precious, their bodies are holy, and they deserve to be able to do their work safely and with dignity. May they be blessed like Rahab our mother, from whose offspring the world shall be redeemed. As our ancestors said to her, so we say to them: “We pledge our lives to you, even to the death!” (Joshua 2:14) 
 


haggadah Section: Introduction
Source: Min Ha-Meitzar: An Abolitionist Haggadah from the Narrow Place by Noraa Kaplan