December 17 – Day 14: Funding Justice, Not Violence

If we want to end violence against sex workers, we need to start following the money.

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For decades, billions in public and private funding have flowed into systems that cause more harm - police raids, carceral “rescue” programs, and anti-trafficking initiatives that erase the difference between consensual sex work and exploitation. These programs are often packaged as “safety.” Still, the reality is far darker: they produce arrests, family separation, deportations, and lifelong criminal records for the very people they claim to save.

The Cost of Harmful “Help”

When funding goes to punitive systems instead of communities, violence doesn’t decrease - it evolves. “Rescue” raids destroy livelihoods and push workers into more dangerous conditions. Anti-trafficking groups spend millions on awareness campaigns while sex worker-led harm reduction projects scrape by on donations.

Law enforcement agencies receive grants to “combat exploitation,” while survivors and peer organizations are denied basic operating support.

This is not just a funding gap - it’s a moral failure. When we fund policing, we’re financing the fear. When we fund incarceration, we’re funding trauma. When we fund “rescue” programs that operate without consent, we’re the funding violence in another name; betrayal!

Who’s Missing from the Budget?

Meanwhile, sex worker-led organizations - the ones running hotlines, delivering harm reduction supplies, securing housing, and providing reentry support - are forced to do life-saving work on shoestring budgets.

At SWOP Behind Bars, we see it every day:

• Our volunteers keep mail programs and resource lines running for incarcerated people with almost no institutional support.

• Our outreach teams fill the gaps left by government neglect, providing peer mentorship, harm reduction, and digital access to those reentering society.

• Our community fund helps mothers, trans workers, and survivors bridge the gap between crisis and stability.

This is what “public safety” really looks like - care without cages.

Funding Justice Means Funding Us

If you genuinely want to fund safety, fund sex workers. Fund the people living at the intersection of stigma and survival who already know what works. Funding justice means redirecting money away from police budgets, punitive rescues, and institutional gatekeeping - and into the hands of communities that have been leading the way for decades.

Every dollar that goes to carceral systems is a dollar not spent on prevention, housing, healthcare, or education. When funders ignore us, they fund violence by default. When they support us, they invest in survival, dignity, and systemic change.

A Call for Accountability

As December 17 approaches, we’re not just remembering those we’ve lost - we’re demanding accountability. Philanthropy, government, and community donors must stop writing blank checks to systems of punishment and start investing in liberation.

Stop funding raids. 

Stop funding “rescue” that doesn’t listen. 

Stop funding shame. Start funding rights. 

Start funding care. 

Start funding people.

Every grant, every budget, every donation is a choice.

Make yours count.

Direct your support where it matters: donate to sex worker-led organizations today.

Whether it’s SWOP Behind Bars or trusted partners in your community, your contribution funds justice, not violence.