April 2012
25 posts
“Recent studies on literacy reveal that black males are fast becoming one of the most illiterate groups in our society. Many incarcerated black males live most of their adult lives in prisons. In past times, prison has been a location where many black males discovered books and reading for the first time in their lives. Conservative forces in our nation want to deny all prisoners access to books, claiming that reading is a luxury and not a right. Depriving prisoners of the right to read is deemed deserved punishment. That anyone should wish to deny access to literacy in our nation threatens the future or democracy.”
—bell hooks, in her book “Teaching Critical Reading” (via bowfolk)
Advocates for NY sex workers want condoms banned as evidence in prostitution cases →
washingtonpost.com
By Associated Press, Published: April 17
ALBANY, N.Y. — Advocates for sex workers want New York to become the first state to ban police officers from confiscating condoms as evidence in prostitution cases, saying it has a chilling effect on disease protection.
To bolster their case, a group issued a report Tuesday showing that fear of police harassment and arrest has prompted some prostitutes to carry fewer or no condoms and have sex without them, despite massive government giveaways.
Come on New York - let’s make sure that people have access to the tools they need to stay safe…this can set an important precedent.
Scholarship Opportunities for Gender-Confirming Surgery
Check out these two scholarship opportunities for transgender people who need financial assistance for gender-confirming surgeries:
CK Life surgery Scholarship Fund application cycle open until May 1st, 2012
Jim Collins Foundation application cycle now open until August 10th 2012.
A Life Saver Just Out Of Reach
Please consider signing this important SignOn.org Petition By HIPS
The goal is to increase access to the life-saving opioid overdose antidote, Naloxone.
To be delivered to: The FDA
Every year, tens of thousands of people die from accidental overdoses. Almost half of these overdoses are from people overdosing on prescription drugs, and over half of all overdoses are witnessed by other people. Few things are worse than a child watching one of their parents suffer through an accidental overdose when a simple antidote could have been a short trip to the medicine cabinet or CVS away.
There is a drug that could be just that, a simple and safe solution for an overdose that could give thousands of people a second chance to spend time with their loved ones and to limit the chances for another overdose. This solution is named Narcan, a drug that is currently up for review by the FDA to determine whether or not to make it available over-the-counter.
Narcan (also know as naloxone) acts by reversing opioid based overdoses, and also can be successful when multiple additional drugs, such as alcohol, are involved. It is an opiate-receptor blocker, NOT a substitute, meaning that Narcan will not get you high and chances for abuse are slim to none.
Like all drugs, there are side effects. Narcan causes withdrawal symptoms for the person taking it, but that is a small price to pay for saving a life and the unpleasant feeling that results will ensure that Narcan will only be used when absolutely necessary.
Listen
Newest HRC podcast by Allan Clear!
Drug User Advocacy: Representation, Rights and Fighting Stigma
Backpage.com Isn’t the Problem, Say Sex Workers →
jezebel.com
Sex workers are anti sex-trafficking. It seems obvious (of course they have an interest in making the industry as safe as possible), and yet you might not know this because sex workers rights activists have not gotten any air-time from the major anti-trafficking organizations… The recent sex-trafficking controversy surrounding Village Voice Media owned Backpage.com (a website where escorts can advertise their services) reached a peak this weekend. About a hundred people showed up to protest the Village Voice offices with signs like “Village Voice: Stop Profiting from Sex Trafficking.” … In many ways the sex workers have the same goals as the other protesters, namely to end exploitation and violence especially against minors in the sex trade. But they believe in different tactics. “We believe that closing Backpage will lead to sex traffickers scattering to smaller sites that aren’t monitored by a full-time staff like Backpage is. Closing Backpage will result in less ability to monitor the sex trade in NYC, not more, which is how sex trafficking is prevented” says Sarah Elspeth-Patterson a Community Organizer of SWOP NYC.
“There was a time when my life may have seemed disposable, when others would have thought me not worth saving. Today I am proud to be a woman in long-term recovery. What that means for me is that I have not felt the need for drink or drugs for almost seven years. I am the mother of a precious baby boy, a wife, a daughter, an active community member, and a public health advocate. I have had the honor to volunteer with multiple charities, work as a public servant, and pay taxes. But the only reason I am able to do this is because eight years ago, someone I was using drugs with had naloxone. Had a fellow drug user not had the tool on hand to revive me, there is a strong likelihood that my breathing would not have been restored, my heart would have stopped, and I would have died in an abandoned warehouse at the age of 24.”
—
Read more: I would have been dead.
We are so proud of our colleague and friend, Whitney Englander, for her brave article appealing for increased access to naloxone for overdose prevention. She also provides an update on a recent UN resolution that will expand access to this life-saving medication.
Thank you Whitney, for your courage and your tireless activism.
AVAAZ.org: End the drug war addiction →
avaaz.org
AVAAZ is calling for an end to the war on drugs - check out the petition!
