The Young Women’s Empowerment Project is one of the most unique feminist organizations in Chicago and the country. The group is collectively run by girls and trans-girls in the sex trade and the street trade. YWEP describes its members as women from the ages of 12 to 23 who have been involved with “trading sex or being sexual for money, gifts, drugs, or survival needs including exotic dancing, escorting, phone sex, adult internet sites, survival sex and all the other ways girls can be affected by the sex trade and street economy.”

While many feminist groups portray sex workers as oppressed and abused women, the YWEP does not oppose the sex trade. Instead, they support the choice to be in the sex trade but do not support women being forced into a lifestyle they do not want. I am impressed with the YWEP’s distinction between the two issues. Too often when we discuss the horrible practice of sex trafficking, we victimize women who have made a conscious decision to be sex workers. Rather than trying to portray them as the oppressed and the abused, we should try to listen to their side of the story.

YWEP promotes values of self care, empowerment, harm reduction, social justice and popular education through youth-directed programs such as research projects. While there are numerous research studies on young women in the sex trade, most focus on victimhood. Instead, the girls of YWEP research resilience and resistance to violence. The women are in charge of studying themselves and plan on announcing their findings in December of this year.

YWEP teaches women through leadership development and political education. They practice a unique education process where the girls gain information and learn to take action in the same process. Their program “Girls in Charge” teaches about the “isms” that have created the sex trade and how they can take action. Over 1,100 individuals have been educated in these workshops.

The young women are also focusing on social justice programs. Because the women are technically an illegal population working in the sex trade, they try to find alternatives outside the system to solve their problems. When young women are left homeless, the YWEP is tries to help women find housing to avoid using shelters. They also run the only youth syringe exchange to keep dirty needles off the street. In three months, youth outreach workers collected over 100,000 syringes. These programs demonstrate a failing of the city in dealing with the sex trade. When sex workers are persecuted, they are forced into the shadows of society. YWEP has taken a new and effective approach. The group gives women with a way to provide for themselves and deal with issues that affect their every day lives from homelessness to drug use.

The feminist movement in Chicago recognizes the difference between women in the sex trade who have made a decision to do what they do and the victimized women who are abused by practices such as sex trafficking. By understanding the difference, we can better deal with both groups of women. We can address issues like drug use, homelessness and sexual health. And we can also address the problems of rape and assault. The two populations should not be confused. Instead, we should strive to solve the harms women face in the sex trade without judging or victimizing them.

To learn more about the Young Women’s Empowerment Project, visit http://youarepriceless.org.

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