Sex Work and Trafficking Policy Impact Committee Meeting Minutes

January 22, 2018               11:00 am – 12:30 pm  

Department on the Status of Women

25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 240, San Francisco, CA

Present:

 

Saerom Choi, APILO

Cristy Dieterich, DPH

Ayami Hatanaki, senior at Williams

Minouche Kandel, DOSW

Carol Leigh, Bayswan

Jackie Ortiz, Victim Services

Sneh Rao, Human Rights Commission

Iris Zhu, Newcomer CONNECT, DPH

 

Introductions/Check In                                                                                                                

 

Committee Chairs/Co-Chairs

Saerom Choi willing to be a co-chair.Minouche will check with members not at the meeting to see if anyone else wants to co-chair with Saerom.Otherwise, Minouche will continue in this roll.

 

Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy Outreach

 

                Outreach to San Francisco community

 

The following people are interested in being part of a work group outreach committee: Aria Sa’id, Saerom Choi, Sneh Rao, Carol Leigh, Cristy Dieterich, Minouche Kandel.

 

Sneh is working with El/la Para Trans Latinas on a “Know Your Rights” on immigration issues for trans Latina population, and can include information on the new policy at this event.

 

Carol noted that one of the Vancouver activists who helped get their policy passed is willing to share learnings from their efforts.

 

We need more research about what has happened when sex workers have reported violence and how it has worked without the policy – so we can see how the policy has changed things.

 

One suggestion was to have St James mobile van distribute the materials.

 

                Training for Police and District Attorney

The policy included a provision that the Police Department and District Attorney’s Office will collaborate with organizations that serve sex workers to create a training on the policy.Minouche will send an e-mail to the Police Department about whom a representative for the training workgroup.Gena or Jackie from DA Victim Services can represent the DA’s office.

 

Workgroup for training curriculum:

Gena/Jackie, Carol, Saerom, Minouche

 

Outreach with broader community: Kate D’Adamo of the Sex Workers Project in New Yorkis interested in organizing a webinar about how the policy got passed.  Possible presenters include:  Aria, Dee from St. James; Alix, Minouche and someone from DA Victim Services.

 

Priorities for 2018

 

• Outreach on prioritizing safety for sex workers;
• Input Human Trafficking Report;
  • Media training for persons who are interviewed who don’t accurately reflect report;
  • Talking points on the report;
  • Examples of problems in the past;
• Training on terminology – academic/legal
• Centralize youth organizations –
• Relationship with other trafficking groups
• Immigrant concerns
• Vacatur outreach

 

 

Meeting frequency/dates for 2018

 

Committee members have discussed having a sex worker committee not tied to human trafficking, but for now the committee will continue in its current format.

 

The committee will now meet quarterly because there will be work groups working on the training/outreach.

 

Meeting dates for 2018: April 16, 2018; July 23. 2018; October 22, 2018

 

Agenda for next meeting: follow up from retreat

 

                                               

MEETING FOLLOW-UP

Action Item	Person Responsible	Timeline
Recruit co-chair for committee	Minouche will e-mail group
Convene outreach work group	Minouche will e-mail group
Collect information from Vancouver on learnings from their initiative	Carol Leigh
Research current experiences of sex workers who report violence and follow up policy changes things	TBD – Check with Alix