Sex worker fights for victims of rape, assault [View all]
Like many expert witnesses who testify in front of Sacramento bureaucrats, Kristen DiAngelo announced her name and occupation before she spoke at a public hearing last week.
"Sex worker," she said.
DiAngelo and other activists had visited the Capitol on Thursday to lobby against a law that bans rape victims, if they had been attacked while involved in an act of prostitution, from receiving victim compensation funds.
After members of the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board listened to DiAngelo's plea - which included a story of her own rape on the job - they promised to return with a verdict later in the day.
"I'm always nervous about saying what I do for a living in public," DiAngelo said before the meeting. "People can target you. You're out there. But I take a deep breath, and when I say it, I'm proud."
DiAngelo, who lives in a tony suburban neighborhood outside the Bay Area among neighbors unaware of her occupation, is still getting used to her new life as a crusader for sex workers' rights.
It's a role she took on publicly last year, after more than 35 years in the business, when she released a documentary, "American Courtesans." It examines the lives of a dozen sex workers and their family members to make a simple point: They enjoy their work.
"We have nothing to be ashamed of," said Pearl Callahan, who appears in the film and has known DiAngelo since they worked together in the 1980s. "This lifestyle helped me raise my son. The relationships I've made through it enriched my life. I look at where were we came from and where we are now, and I feel good about my life."
'Not victims'
DiAngelo and the women in her film seek to make a clear distinction. They are not coerced or trafficked into the trade. They do not need saving.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sex-worker-fights-for-victims-of-rape-assault-5065287.php
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