December 17 - Day 16: A World Without Violence

As we come to the eve of December 17, this day of remembrance, we hold space not only for grief but also for vision. December 17 is about honoring those we have lost, but it is also about insisting on the possibility of a world where sex workers live free from violence.

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Imagine a world where safety is not conditional, where dignity is not negotiable, and where justice does not come with caveats. A world where sex work is recognized as work - where our labor is respected, our boundaries are honored, and no one has to fear that their job will cost them their life.

In this world, laws do not criminalize survival; they protect the rights and safety of all workers. Communities do not turn away in judgment but come together in care. Healthcare, housing, and legal protections are not withheld because of stigma but offered as basic human rights. Police are not the gatekeepers of safety; instead, safety is rooted in solidarity, peer networks, and harm reduction systems built by and for our communities.

In this world, funding flows not to raids or “rescue” programs that cage us, but to mutual aid networks, to shelters without conditions, to hotlines that listen without judgment. In this world, sex workers’ art hangs in galleries, our stories are taught in classrooms, and our names are spoken with respect - not as cautionary tales, but as part of the living fabric of justice movements everywhere.

This vision may feel far from the reality we navigate today, but it is already being built - in the quiet power of survival stories, in the hands that pass harm-reduction supplies, in the digital spaces where workers share safety tips, and in vigils like the ones held tonight across the globe. Each candle lit is not only a memorial flame but a spark of the future we are demanding into existence.

A world without violence does not begin in legislation alone; it begins in culture, in language, in how we see and value one another. It begins every time we challenge stigma, amplify lived experience, and practice solidarity that goes deeper than sympathy. It begins when we fund justice, not punishment, and when we understand that liberation is not charity - it is collaboration.

As we close this year’s commemoration of December 17, we invite you to carry this commitment beyond tonight. Violence against sex workers doesn’t end when the candles burn out. The struggle for safety, dignity, and justice is ongoing - and it requires all of us, year-round. Together, we can move from mourning into action, from action into transformation, and from transformation into the world we have already begun to imagine.

Today, Tomorrow and Always.

👉 Share your message of hope for a world without violence.

👉 Commit to supporting sex worker-led groups - not just today, but every day of the year.

👉 Together, we can build the future our communities deserve.