Pride and Protest: Celebrating 50yrs of International Sex Workers' Day

Join us at The Scarlett Letters bookshop to celebrate the first day of Pride month and mark the 50 year anniversary of International Sex Workers' Day, which began on 2 June 1975 with the occupation of the Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon.

More than 100 sex workers occupied the church to protest against police harassment, unsafe working conditions, and the lack of legal protections.

We'll look back on how events unfolded over their ten-day occupation, the solidarity they received and the other activism they inspired - including the 1983 takeover of the Holy Cross Church in King's Cross, London.

We'll also ask: how much progress has been made? How relevant do the demands of fifty years ago remain today? And what do sex worker rights have to do with Pride?

Doors will open at 6:30pm for a 7pm start.

About the panellists

Morgan M Page is a writer, historian, and filmmaker in London. She is the creator of the trans history podcast One From the Vaults, co-writer of the Sundance award winning feature film Framing Agnes, and the film history book Boys Don't Cry. She has previously served on the board of directors of Maggie's: Toronto's Sex Worker Action Project. @odofemi on Instagram.

Luca Stevenson is a sex worker rights activist and advocate with 20 years experience in the movement. Luca is co-founder of SWOU/SWARM and coordinated the European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance (ESWA), a network of more than 100 organisations providing health and legal services to sex workers in Europe and Central Asia for 12 years. He is currently Responsable de Mission for 'Jasmine', a project of Medecins du Monde France which aims to address and reduce stigma and violence against sex workers and sits on the Board of Directors of the Global Network of Sex Work Projects and National Ugly Mugs UK. He is currently the first ‘ Global Lead on Community Engagement and Partnerships’ at the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Jake Hall is a freelance journalist, public speaker and author of The Art of Drag and Shoulder to Shoulder. For the last six years they have been writing extensively on queer culture, drag history, sex work and harm reduction, all through the lens of leftist politics. They have also worked in-house for publications including The Independent and MEL Magazine, an LA-based online culture magazine which delves deep into masculinity, sex and porn through a witty, light-hearted lens.