All posts by jcjosAdmin

Activism and Agitation

Fundraising for Phoenix FM Community Radio

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I listen to my local radio station PhoenixFM a fair bit, it covers local news and events, from summer projects to what is happening in the Draoicht; also local club and sports news.

 

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They have been really wonderful with supporting the community centre I am involved with, so when I heard they were running a 48hr Radioathon Fundraiser to make sure they stay on the air for the next year, I got involved.

http://phoenixfm.ie/3227

We are excited to announce details of 92.5 Phoenix FM’s second annual 48-hour Radiothon.

The Station is run on a not-for-profit basis and so needs to fundraise in order to keep us on air and to continue to have the voices of Dublin 15 heard. This is one of the most exciting events in the 92.5 Phoenix FM calendar and we would love all of you to be a part of it.

Last year saw the Station run our first ever Radiothon to great success, teaming up with numerous local business and Community Groups, as well as both new and familiar faces. A staggering €3,300 was raised over the 48 hours. This year we will be increasing the scope of the event and want you to get involved!

I got given 2 show slots, both on Thursday 26th of March. The 4pm slot and I am delight to say that Octocon, the Irish National Scifi Convention have taken the sponsorship for that hour, so I will be taking about scifi/fantasy fandom, Dublin2019 and books, comics, films and more, with with maybe a special guest popping in.

The second show is from midnight to 1am, it is called the Witching hour and I will be talking about paganism, Irish Heritage festivals and the paranormal. As the Radioathon is a fundraiser this is were I am looking for donations.

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I have set up a page here with iDonate, 100% of the 100€ I am looking to raise will go directly to PhoenixFM

If you’ve ever considered buying me a drink or a coffee, because you have enjoyed the articles I have written then I am asking that you donate 5€ if you can.

The shows will be broadcast live on 92.5 Phoenix FM and there will podcasts which I will put up once they are available. Thank you for your support.

 

Worlds Beyond

Writers are my rock stars (Neil Gaiman is coming to Dublin)

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I have written before bout how Writers are my rock stars (also known as go go plan crazy, travelling to Galway to hear Warren Eills speak)  and how they open worlds to me, their words delighting, haunting and staying with me.

There are a few who’s craft is so beguiling I will try and make the effort to see them talk in person. So far I have been lucky that many of them come here to Ireland.

I don’t go crazy for autographs or photos with, but just like to listen to them talk about their work. I have found they are usually inspiring people.

Last summer due to my involvement with Shamrokon I got to meet Carrie Vaugh, Charles Stross, Ruth Long Michael Carroll and do the Guest of Honour interview with Seanan McGuire.

So I was delighted when I saw this

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(photo by @ClaireNolan)

So I will be out in UCD next Wednesday as Neil Gaiman will be receiving the James Joyce Award. I did come to his writing via Good Omens and then Sandman, and have read just about everything else he’s written over the last 25 years. I got so see Terry Pratchett a few years back when he attended the Unseen University Challenge in TCD and it will be nice to finally have seen them both in person.

 

Activism and Agitation, Uncategorized

Painting a different picture

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They often say a picture is worth a thousand words and certainly pictures help to set the scene, the tone and context of an article. Which is why sometimes images which are paired with articles about abortion be it in the news, magazines or online can be problematic.

Often the go to image is that of a pregnant person. We have all seen them the headless pregnant woman who is 30+ weeks pregnant, is sometimes called the preggo belly shot. Sometimes the image is just a front close up  the preggo belly or other times the image is in silhouette, eliminating the woman from the image entirely.

The problem with those sorts of image it that it distorts the discussion of abortion before it even begins. The vast majority of abortions happen before 9 weeks, when person really has no outward signs of being pregnant at all. They can often be unfortunately paired with a really good pro choice piece.

Some online news outlets have gotten better at the image they choose, from using airplanes, pictures at protests rather then the preggo belly image or one of a distraught women. But how do we bring about a change in what pictures are used?

Often simply asking works. Campus.ie  recently published an article on Repealing the 8th amendment. It was by Tomás Heneghan and a great read but alas it had been paired with the preggo belly image. So Tomás and Campus.ie were asked over twitter could the image be changed; the suggestion was made for the article to have instead a stock image of a positive pregnancy test. And I’m delighted to say it was changed and it is a worth while read. http://campus.ie/surviving-college/politics/why-we-need-remove-eight-amendment

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We are now starting to see a new type of image being used on articles about abortion, that of women telling their stories,  which clearly makes the article and the discussions focused on the woman, her rights and her choice.  Which is why the photograph of Tara who shared her story of travelling staring into the camera brave, defiant and unflinching is such a powerful one.

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http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/tara-they-shouldn-t-have-control-over-my-uterus-1.2089490

This means we are seeing abortion being discussed a very different way in the media in this country, one which no longer promotes stigma and shame, and this creates the space to have different conversations which we have not been able to have before. There will be no going back, we can only hope that our legislators can find a fraction of the courage Tara and other women have had to do and set in motion the referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.

Activism and Agitation

Why I wish my kids school had policies like Colaiste Eoin

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Colaiste Eoin hit national press when they postponed at very short notice a workshop which Shoutout.ie were due to give to it’s Transition Year students.

http://www.thejournal.ie/homophobic-bullying-school-row-1906866-Jan2015/

 

The term postponed is important, the school does intend to run the workshop but has had to delay it due to letters which were sent to the school by parents of children due to take the workshop.

These letters would have automatically triggered a procedure were the letters and their contents would have to be discussed and be responded to by the Board of Management. Once the school opened the letters there was no other option but to postpone the workshop. We have no idea when the school got or opened the letter but them arriving that morning would explain why Shoutout’s team weren’t contacted sooner.

Why do I want my children’s school to have the same policies re external groups?

Because I have had the experience of only finding out that Accord the catholic marriage counselling agency were invited in to give a workshop on relationships (which only dealt with hetrosexual relationships) with one of my children when a text message was sent saying they class would be home early for lunch due to the workshop when the workshop had already started. http://www.accord.ie/services/schools-programmes

I rang the school very not impressed and had to arrange to have my child come home so we could talk about that situation and see if they wanted to opt out or return to take part in the work shop. They were not pleased at the situation and said the person giving the workshop never disclosed they were from a catholic organisation.

My children’s school does not have a policy of letting parents know an external group is coming in, The Gideons have been invited in and  handed out their teen abridged bibles to my children in their class, with out prior notice or option to opt out my children who are not Christian.

Yes the timing of the postponement of Shoutout’s workshop was really horrid, but I still wish that I would be informed of external groups and be given the chance to object and/or opt out my children. I have been working to get my children’s school to adopt the same polices Colaiste Eoin operates under.

Yes in this instance those policies have been used by what seems to be conservative parents in relation to an LGBT workshop, but that does not mean that the polices and procedures are wrong.

I hope that Colaiste Eoin can have a Board of Management meeting soon to address the concerns of the parents and arrangements can be made to opt out those children if necessary, as it the right of parents to ask for as under out constitution parents are the primary educators of their children.

As for the comments about “both sides”, given that the Shoutout’s workshops ran for the last two years in Colaiste Eoin, the school may have been taken aback by the letters and whom ever made that comment was right in the context that the letters and both sides have to be heard by the board of management. It could be that the parent’s don’t want to opt their children out but just had misgivings and needed more information before agreeing to their children taking part, we don’t know as the content of the letters is unknown.

My compassion is with the administration of the school as they have been unexpectedly thrust into the national spotlight and have enough to be doing with running the school,  dealing with the day today and the situation with out having to deal with press inquiries.

I know it may seems strange that a parent like myself who is an LGBT and Reproductive Rights Activist is standing up for those parents to excise their right to input in this situation but as I have said I think it’s a right all parents should have and all schools should be informing parents about which external groups are getting access to their children.

 

 

 

Activism and Agitation

Nollaig na mBan one year later.

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This day last year the Abortion Rights Campaign launched the Petition to Repeal the 8th Amendment. If you haven’t signed it yet you can find it here www.repealthe8th.ie

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Over the last year we have had UN Human Rights Committee Chairman Nigel Rodley say Irish law clearly treats women as a “vessel”.

While our Minister for Justice was attending those committee hearings she would have know about the case of Migrant Y, who was being treated like a Vessel, raped unsupported and forced to continue a pregnancy she didn’t want.

We have also had the case of Ms P, who was denied dignity in death by a combination of the 8th amendment, the new Protection of Life in Pregnancy law and the lack of clear guidelines for medical practitioners in the wake of that new law.

We have had many TDs of all the parties stand up and say that the laws need to be changed, many of them from the governing parties but all of them saying now is not the time.

Over the last year 4,000 more women have travelled to the UK and given an Irish address, some will have given a UK address, some more will have gone to other countries and the numbers of those who are accessing early medical abortion illegally Ireland is also rising.

How much more suffering will there have to be this year? How many more indignities before political parties find the courage to bring about the changes which are needed?

In the mean time another 12 women will be travelling and more hoping that the abortion pills they have ordered will arrive.

 

 

 

 

Uncategorized

Suggestions for Distraction Pieces for Scroobius Pip

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At the time of writing this the Distraction Pieces Podcast by  Scroobius Pip has released 12 episodes.

2007 was when Scroobius Pip cropped up on my radar, it was the letter from god which did it.

I was at his gig last February in Vickers St and I used Get Better to sign off my week of curating the @Ireland account.

I do on occasion listen to the Joe Rogan podcast and was happy to see Scroobius Pip after being on with Joe kick off Distraction pieces.

The 1st episode was an interview with Alan Moore and that was it I was hooked. How ever as more podcasts were released I notice that there hadn’t been any women on them yet. So I asked on twitter if he had any plans to have women on.

The reply I got was that he doesn’t see creed, race or gender and it’s about interesting people.  So fair enough it’s a new venture for him, but when you are treated like a minority (there are more women on the planet then men) you notice when the line up of something is all men, or all white people or all herto cispeople.

So at the opening of Episode 8 in which Scroobius Pip interviews Jodi Ann Bickley (to date the only woman), he calls out for people to make suggestions for people to interview. So here is my list suggestions.

 

Laurie Penny aka @PennyRed

Jane Goldman aka @ferretprincess

Rihanna Pratchett aka @rhipratchett

Voilet Blue aka @violetblue

Cindy Gallop aka @cindygallop

Ann Furedi aka @AnnFuredi

Cheryl Morgan aka @CherylMorgan

 

Anyone else got suggestions? Get in touch with Scroobius Pip and let him know what they are.

 

 

 

 

Activism and Agitation

“Me too” with thanks to Amanda Palmer

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I haven’t written in a while, life got busy and every time I looked back at the last year with all the things I accomplished,( most of which if you’d have told me this time last year I would do, I would have roared laughing at the absurdity) they seem too many to list.

I had wanted to write about the thing which has impacted me the most over the last 10 months, but I found it hard to put into words. Then I read the facebook post Amanda Palmer just put up.

https://www.facebook.com/amandapalmer/posts/10152737703398375

okay, sunday sermon time. having shared my own abortion experiences (in the press since ages ago, but more recently in more detail in “the art of asking”) i can relate to this one, and it’s true: sharing the story meant that others stood up next to me and held me. ironically, sharing stuff like this creates new family: my close friends became much closer.

and since the book came out, so many women have come up to me – especially on this past tour – sharing abortion stories into my ear that they’d never told anybody. it made me simultaneously so sad and so honored. but mostly sad.
why just tell me? i’d think.
why can’t she tell….anybody else?
is there really nobody for her, to listen, to share the pain?

 

I found myself saying me too, I have had that same experience and found myself asking those same questions.

So many women, usually complete strangers have come up to me quietly over the last 10 months to share with me that they too have had an abortion. I remember each and everyone of them. Some would accept a hug others, would just hold and squeeze my hand. They ranged from 17 to women in their 70s. Some would pull me aside and tell me their story, one the that have not told anyone or have not told to anyone in decades, some would just look at me and say “Me too”.

I am sitting here crying, not for me for all the women who carry their story untold, who don’t have the support they should have, who are isolated due to stigma from all the women which surround them who have also had an abortion.

This shit needs to end.

If we can’t talk about something, then we are prevented from processing it and healing. The stigma and secrecy which surrounds abortion harms women. I am glad I was able to play a small part in helping some know they are not alone, we are not alone. That for me was the most important thing I did last year.

Thank you to everyone who has been supportive of me over the last 10 months, friends, family, online acquaintances, all the pro choice people who have offered solidarity from all over the world.

And I am going to keep on doing it, each of those women who came up to me, made telling my story and repeatedly publicly saying I had an Abortion worth doing and I am not going to stop. Not going to stop; refusing to be silenced or taking the time to listen to those who approach me or  working with the Abortion Rights Campaign.

That’s my New Year’s Resolution.

 

Activism and Agitation

Facts about the Abortion Pills, Mifepristone and Misoprostol.

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So during the week Prime Time on RTE covered the abortion pills, they ordered them online from Womenonweb.org and went up north to collect them.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1023/654484-prime-time/

New figures released to RTÉ Prime Time show the number of seizures of pills that can be used for abortions more than doubled during the first 10 months of this year.

The figures from the Health Products Regulatory Authority show there have been 60 seizures of over 1,000 tablets during 2014, up from 24 seizures last year.

The Master of the Rotunda Hospital in Ireland expressed concern about a website that is offering abortion pills online to Irish Women.

 

For a piece on our national broadcaster it was very scaremongering and did not furnish any facts about the pills. There is a big knowledge gap about them here in Ireland, they have been legal in France from 1988 and in the USA from 2000. They are prescribed only up to the first 9 weeks of a pregnancy.

So what are they?

The Abortion Pills are a set of pills, of two different types, Mifepristone and Misoprostol.

Mifepristone blocks the pregnancy hormones, they are only prescribed and dispensed in maternity hospitals and units around the country and are taken under direct supervision, a nurse will watch you take them.

Misoprostol are prescribed for a range of medical conditions and are known under several names Cytotec being one of the most common. Most Pharmacys stock them but they can not legally be prescribed to end a pregnancy. They cause the womb to contract and to eventually expell it’s contents. Misoprostol can be used on it’s own to end a pregnancy but the doses are greater and it’s not as efficient as using them with Mifepristone.

The way Misoprostol ends a pregnancy is an off book use or a side effect of the tablets as they were not created for that purpose and it was women in Brazil who discovered the side effect and started using them to end pregnancies back in the early 80s.

By 1988 the abortion pills were made legal in France. Any one wishing to end a pregnancy in the early stages is given the pills after seeing a nurse, midwife or Dr. The abortion pills became legal in Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland not long after and they became legal to use in the USA in 2000.

If Miss X back in 1992 had of lived in France she could have be given the pills.

If Miss Y had of been in the USA, France, Germany, Italy or Spain and discovered she was pregnant and did not want to be at 8 weeks she could have after counselling been administered the abortion pills.

The package of pills which Women on Web send to women are the same dose and make as those used by BPAS in the UK for abortion and Miscarriage management.

It has one Mifepristone  and 6 Misoprostol with directions on how and when to take them.

They are also used later in a pregnancy, when miscarriage is unavoidable to hasten the end of the pregnancy instead of forcing women to wait for untold hours until there is not fetal heartbeat or there is an immediate risk to the woman’s life. But due to the 8th amendment they can’t be administered for such purposes by drs here, this is untenable.

Suppression of information about the abortion pills is rife here due to people not wanting to fall foul of the 1995 abortion information law, but well I have broken that more times then I can possibly count on my blogs over the last 10 years.

Using the oral contraceptive pill correctly has a 1% rate of you becoming pregnant.

Using the abortion pills correctly has a 1% rate of you having complications.

Yes both the oral contraception pill and the abortion pills are not suitable for all women, but the overwhelming majority of women can use them.

There is an FAQ here if you have more questions: https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/6904/medical-abortion

So what if you happen to be one of the 1% of women that has a complication?

Then you have to go to a hospital and women on web will say do not take the pills if you can not be with in 2 hours of an A&E. If you go to hospital after self administrating the abortion pills, there is no medical test which will show that you have taken them.

Your condition presents as complications during a miscarriage and is treated the exact same way, there is no different in treatment needed. No medical professional will be able to tell by examination or blood work that you have taken the pills.

If you disclose to any medical professional that you have taken them, the treatment will still be the same. Medical professionals are not required by law to inform the garda that you have admitted to a self administered abortion. If they do tell the garda the garda would have no evidence and your statement alone would not be enough to convict you.

If you need to have a scan to confirm that the pregnancy is ended then there are clinics like Femplus who have both crises pregnancy services and abortion after care check ups.

http://femplus.ie/services/crisis-pregnancy/

http://www.abortionaftercare.ie/urgent-medical-care also has a list of services but some are pro life so be careful.

My family is complete, I do not want any more children, if my contraception was to fail and I discovered I was pregnant I would use the abortion pills either via  Womenonweb.org or www.womenhelp.org and I would not hesitate to refer a loved one to them either.

http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20070815/ru486-no-extra-risk-to-next-pregnancy

The bottom line: Women who used RU-486 had no increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, preterm birth, or low-birth-weight babies when they eventually decided to have a baby.

“By now, probably more than 5 million women worldwide have had RU-486 abortions,” Zhang tells WebMD. “More than half of women seeking early abortion use this method. So this is a very significant finding about the safety of this treatment.”

Currently the Abortion Pills cost 90 euro plus the cost of a trip to to Belfast to collect them. This is significantly less then the 1,500 euro which is the average cos of having to travel to the UK for a surgical abortion.

People shouldn’t have to travel or risk the possibility of 14 years in jail, they should be able to see their dr and if it is suitable get the abortion pills to take here under medical supervision.

Still ordering from Women on web or Women Help and taking the pills with out supervision is still a hell of a lot more safe to do then trying to use a wire hanger or knitting needle to induce an abortion.

The abortion pills need to be Free and Legal and available here in Ireland for those who need them.

Activism and Agitation, Uncategorized, Worlds Beyond

Purple Monkey Dishwasher

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Ever play Chinese whispers? That game when you get a group of people and a sentence gets whispered from one person to another. This of course distorts the message, some times it is completely different, other times parts remains or it’s important context is lost.

Sometimes the internet is like the most complex game of Chinese whispers. Often primary sources can’t be found, esp in the fast moving world of internet blogs, forums and of course twitter.

The sheer amount of stuff which can get written by thousands of people on various platforms around the globe in one 24 hour period can be staggering. So it’s not surprising that it can be at times impossible to get a grasp on certain topics like Gamer Gate.

What I have found startling is that the same arguments which get put to me about why I should not say I am a feminist are being used to tell people why should not say they are supporters of gamergate. Should radical or extremist elements be let take over an idea or a movement?

I can understand why the reasonable and moderate people who id themselves as part of not wanting games to be censored and who think that there needs to be better ethics & standards in game reviews and games journalism won’t walk away from gamergate. There are actual issues which do need to be talked about.

Where ever a person stands on how they think the games industry & culture needs to evolve, the abuse and threats to people need to stop. I would dearly like to see those who have made such threats feel the full force of the law, but that mean justice depts have to start taking online abuse seriously.

Yep Z.Q. is being punished for being an outspoken woman, I know what is like, thankfully never as extreme as what she has had to endure. There were those who were out to get her before her ex trashed her in that blog and it was the excuse they felt they were waiting for, all of which is unacceptable. Funny the journalist whom she has been accused of trying to bribe isn’t being hounded, a reporter who let themselves be compromised would be the person I would be pissed off with.

How ever I do know there are some who won’t want games to be sanitised and I get that and know people have not acted in a reprehensible manner. I really worry that those who have behaved as vile scum will tarnish the term gamer for ever and cause a regression in how people think of games. It feeds in to the whole manchild myth about games and gamers, how it is to be ever taken seriously as an art form with this crap happening around it.

I honestly think it is the generation who grew up playing Halo on consoles who created a community out of foul mouth teens who have dominated gaming culture to a point. There were awesome online gaming communities before them but that for me was the tipping point of one which grew up with out much adult interaction and it’s spread across online gaming, unfortunately.

I don’t agree with at least 40% of the critique in FemFeq, esp as there seems to be an element of eroticphobia to A.S. feminism. I think that the series of videos should have been the kicking off point for a heap of much needed discussion about games as an art form and how they can reflect society and culture. Don’t agree with what someone says and their conclusions, then refute them, tear down the position and the argument.

If you can’t do that and your only recourse is to attack the person rather then the position or the argument, then you’ve lost, you are not going to be taken seriously or have any credibility. All that has been done by those going to extremes to shut up women like Z.Q. A.S. and D.W. is to poison the well and make Jack Thompson seem right to people who don’t game and don’t know the joy it brings.

Seriously my kids who have been brought up as gamers would rather people they are ‘filthy casuals’ then have their peers link them to the hatred and misogyny gamer gate has become associated with. They both have had run in with asshats online, they both try and model good gaming manners, not quiet to Starcraft levels but still the last few weeks has had them distancing themselves, which I understand, but it still saddens me.

I have tried to keep up with what has been going on but until no I have not written about it, I have instead when ever I felt the urge to get into discussions, I’ve gone and played games instead. Mostly Assassins Creed Liberation, which has a protagonist who is a woman a person of colour and  the game is nuanced, smart, full of tangential learning about class, gender and the world as it was in the time period of the game. And I get to kill people, what more could I want in my games.

Well bar some day Steam allowing games like Leisure Suit Larry and Lula The Sexy Empire on the Market place. Why is it I can kill people in so many ways, but not get people off in games? But that is a topic for another blog post.

 

 

Activism and Agitation

On Being Propositioned

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So I was on my way home from spending some time with a friend, you know the fun few hours of tea and chats and conversations that twist and meander, it was late in the evening by the time I went for the bus.

As I strolled along slowing to the bus stop, as I knew I had time to toddle along, a car pulled up along side, I stopped thinking it might be someone who was looking for directions, but instead I got propositioned. I was asked “was I working”, I gave a startled laughed, replied that I wasn’t and the driver pulled off hastily.

I was a lil taken back, after all I didn’t think black combats, a Jack Skellington hoodie would be what sex workers tend to wear, and I tweeted about my experience when I got to the bus stop and while I waited for the bus to arrive.

I had a fair few people shocked and concerned for me and my safety. I hadn’t been worried about my safety, I was on a busy enough street, there were open pubs and shops near by I could have fled too, if I felt I needed to. My whole reaction was one of amusement.

Some people seemed to think I should be upset and disgusted that I had been mistaken for a sex worker, personally I found it funny, esp considering what I was wearing. I hadn’t been in that part of the city for a few years and as I replied to tweets I tried to remember the last time I had been propositioned and yep it was the in the same area.

I have had more upsetting experiences in pubs, and walking down more ‘safe’ and ‘respectable’ areas of Dublin when the polite and restrained inquiries of when I have been propositioned by someone hoping I was a Sex Worker.

I don’t have an issue with someone who engages in Sex Work, their body, their choice. The only thing I would wish for them is that, they choose to do so of their own free will and are not compelled to do so.

I know that there are those who ID as Feminist who have have huge issues with Sex Work and I read this yesterday which prompted me to write this blog.

http://bornwhore.com/2012/12/07/hey-baby-how-much-stop-blaming-sex-workers-for-street-sexual-harassment/

I have to say I agree, the type of street harassment I have experienced, from verbal right up to sexual assault would never be something I would connect to Sex Work and I think it’s wrong to try connect the two.