While sex workers sometimes face an inordinate amount of violence and potential violence, particularly by clients, it is not inevitable. While many analysts speak of sex work as inherently violent, it is the silencing of worker's voices in society that is the underlying source of violence in sex workers lives. When a society views sex workers as disposable, the worst cases of violence go unreported.

At Stepping Stone, we not only listen to sex workers, we help to create environments for sex workers to fight back against conditions that can lead to violent or oppressive experiences. For example, Stepping Stone distributes bad date reports compiled by sex workers that warn others of violent dates based on their own experience.

“I’ve had a few really scary experiences, I got through it. I’ve been raped, beat, you know, way out [in the] industrial park. I had to walk from there.