A Season of Solidarity - What If Your Giving Ended Violence?

Alex Andrews
3 days ago
3 min read

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?

Giving Tuesday is here again, and everywhere you look, nonprofits are asking for support. But this year, we’re asking you to look deeper. To ask what kind of giving truly ends harm. Because not all “help” helps - and not all funding heals.

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Charity vs. Solidarity

Charity asks, “How can I help them?”

Solidarity asks, “What do we need to build together?”

Charity is transactional - it’s about giving to feel good.

Solidarity is relational - it’s about investing in shared survival.

At SWOP Behind Bars, we don’t take pity donations. We build partnerships rooted in accountability, dignity, and trust. Because our goal isn’t to “save” sex workers - it’s to dismantle the systems that criminalize, isolate, and endanger them in the first place.

The Cost of “Help” That Hurts;

Every year, millions of dollars are poured into “anti-trafficking” raids, sting operations, and carceral rescue programs that claim to protect people in the sex trade. The truth? These efforts often create more harm than they prevent.

When police raid a hotel under the banner of “rescue,” people lose housing, income, IDs, and custody of their children. When courts mandate “rehabilitation,” survivors are forced into programs that punish poverty instead of addressing it. When governments criminalize clients, they push workers further underground - making safety nearly impossible.

That’s what happens when we fund control instead of care.

Funding Justice Looks Different

So what does it look like to fund safety instead of shame?

It looks like:

Commissary funds that make sure someone in prison can afford food and hygiene products.
Reentry kits that meet people at the gate with dignity, not judgment.
The Power Outside Reentry Program, connecting returning citizens to real resources, not surveillance.
The Hotline, where someone can call for help without fearing arrest.
Mentor-by-Mail, bridging isolation with community, care, and encouragement.

This is what your giving funds.

Not headlines. Not handcuffs. Hope.

What Real Safety Looks Like;

“Safety is knowing I won’t lose my kids if I ask for help.” - SBB Hotline Caller

“Safety is someone answering my letter when no one else did.” - Mentor-by-Mail Participant

“Safety is being able to build something after prison - something that’s mine.” - Hotline Volunteer

These aren’t statistics. They’re lives changed by solidarity - by people like you who chose to fund freedom, not fear.

Giving Tuesday: A Call to Fund Justice;

This Giving Tuesday, we’re not asking for charity. We’re asking for courage.

To believe that sex workers deserve safety without strings attached.

To invest in solutions that save lives without cages, stigma, or shame.

When you give to SWOP Behind Bars, you’re not giving to “the cause.”

You are the cause.

Your Move: Fund Safety, Not Shame;

💸 Donate Today: www.swopbehindbars.org/donate

🔁 Create a Peer Fundraiser: Invite your friends to fund justice with you.

📣 Share Your Why: Post with the hashtag #FundJusticeNotShame and tag @swopbehindbars.

Every Giving Tuesday, the world celebrates generosity. But generosity without accountability can still harm.

This year, let’s move beyond charity toward true solidarity. Let’s make every dollar a vote for liberation - not surveillance. Let’s stop funding harm and start funding healing.

Because the question isn’t whether your giving makes an impact.