Tamar doesn’t usually make it into Sunday School flannelgraph sets. Her story in Genesis 38 is messy, scandalous, and uncomfortable for anyone who wants the Bible to be a neat moral guidebook. She was Judah’s daughter-in-law, widowed twice, promised security but denied it, and ultimately forced to take matters into her own hands.

Every few years, the anti-trafficking field releases another report diagnosing its own dysfunction. The Safehouse Project’s recent white paper is the latest to outline the emotional toll of the work, the predictable cycles of vicarious trauma, low wages, inconsistent leadership, and the churn that destabilizes survivor support. 

If you’ve ever heard Rehab’s name in church, it almost always comes with a label:  “Rehab the prostitute.”  Out of all the things she did, all the roles she played, the one word attached to her forever is her occupation.

As we move toward December 17 - the 22nd Annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - we remember those we’ve lost and honor the fight that continues.

Say the name Bathsheba, and most people picture a beautiful woman bathing on a rooftop, luring poor King David into sin. She’s been cast for centuries as the biblical seductress - the woman who tempted a man after God’s own heart.

Let’s be honest - love ain’t always what we see online. It’s not matching outfits, perfect smiles, or those “couple goals” reels that make everything look flawless.

Let’s talk about hunger.

What if the power to end violence wasn’t locked inside a politician’s office or a police budget - but sitting right in your hands?

A government shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass a spending bill to fund federal operations. When that money freezes, so do the programs it supports - including SNAP and WIC. This shutdown began on October 1, 2025, after Congress couldn’t agree on a budget. For people like me, that means one thing: No benefits. No safety net. No food.

When you give to SWOP Behind Bars, you’re not just donating — you’re investing in someone’s comeback story. You’re helping people move from surviving to thriving: from waiting on a bunk in county jail to stability, from a DOC number to a driver’s license, from isolation to connection.

Ever wonder where your donation actually goes? This week, we pull back the curtain on what “funding justice” really looks like—from commissary deposits to reentry kits—and how every dollar fuels freedom, not surveillance.

When systems fail us - and they often do - it’s community that saves us. Before there were grants or corporate sponsorships, there were friends passing envelopes under cell doors, commissary money pooled together, or a ride to a court date given without question.

Over the past few months in Receipts, Please, we’ve tackled ten of the most common myths about sex work - debunking them with data, lived experience, and truth. But those ten are only the tip of the iceberg.