Podcast appearances and mentions of bella robinson

A movement is afoot in Rhode Island to decriminalize prostitution. RI senators are considering two bills that would make it happen. One bill focuses on repealing a range of laws against sex work and the other would change the infraction from a criminal to civil offense. We ask you, is it time to decriminalize prostitution in Rhode Island? Bella Robinson, director of COYOTE RI, an advocacy group for sex workers joins Dan to discuss.

Bella Robinson is a sex worker’s rights activist who has worked in the sex industry for over thirty years. She founded the Rhode Island Chapter of Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics (COYOTE RI) in 2009 and has served as the executive director since. As the director of COYOTE RI, Bella looks to build and strengthen support networks for sex workers in Rhode Island and she works in close collaboration with activists nationwide. Bella is a strong proponent of centering the voices of sex workers in policies that affect our population. In the late 90’s she was formerly incarcerated for five years at Lowell Correctional Institute in Florida, and during incarceration experienced sexual assault at the hands of the state. It is with this perspective that she advocates for sex worker rights as a solution to policies that seek incarceration for sex trafficking crimes.

Bella Robinson started working as a sex worker when she was 18, and she's never looked back. She found empowerment through her job, and is fighting for fair treatment of people in the sex industry. In this episode, she discusses how the #MeToo movement in Hollywood may have failed the people who need it the most.

Sex workers' rights activist Bella Robinson and sociologist and Watson postdoctoral fellow Elena Shih discuss the "trafficking" and "rescue" narratives muddying the reality of what sex work is--and what sex workers really need.