Our current co-chair/educational director/ treasurer is a trans woman and a current FSSW. We provide services to and work with other sex workers- including hose who are trans,m BIPOC, street-involved, HIV +, poor, migrant/undocumented, or those who use drugs.
Jelena Vermilion is a current FSSW of 8 year; she is of trans experience. Among our other members are additional trans sex workers who have equal representation and help to provide guidance for overall projects SWAP creates. We encourage leadership of trans and BIPOC folks.
In Hamilton, sex workers face a variety of obstacles. Stigma is pervasive, especially for street-involved, trans, and BIPOC workers. There is a larger threat of violence to sex workers among these demographics. We also see barriers for sex workers to access secular employment or housing.
Jelena provides training to businesses and organizations to educate folks about the legislative atmosphere in CAnada and globally. As a part of this, SWAP demystifies the differences between sex work and hum an trafficking in sex, while acknowledging the exploitation of wage-labour under capitalism.