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Home » Blog » Present & Past Events

Body Autonomy: Decolonizing Sex Work & Drug Use Panel Discussion

September 9, 2024 | Present & Past Events, Social Justice

 

 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 18, 2024, 6:00-7:00 PM EDT

Body Autonomy: Decolonizing Sex Work & Drug Use Panel Discussion – Virtual Event

 

Join us on September 18th at 6:00 PM PST for an enlightening virtual discussion co-hosted by City Lights and Synergetic Press. This special event will feature a panel of remarkable voices, including Justice Riviera, Paula Avila Kahn, Ismail L. Ali, and Aya Tasaki, as they dive into the transformative anthology Body Autonomy: Decolonizing Sex Work & Drug Use.

This discussion will explore the critical themes of bodily autonomy, touching on the intertwined needs for touch, consciousness exploration, and the systemic suppression of these experiences. As we navigate an era where sex positivity and psychedelics are increasingly embraced by the privileged, Body Autonomy sheds light on the harsh realities faced by marginalized communities, who continue to suffer from criminalization and health inequities.

The panelists will unpack the ideological wars on body autonomy, drawing connections between the criminalization of sex work, the War on Drugs, and the violent policing that perpetuates these injustices. By emphasizing healing-centered harm reduction practices and decolonial perspectives, this conversation aims to uplift the right to freedom in one’s own body, paving the way for a future rooted in compassion and embodied liberation.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with the authors and contributors of Body Autonomy as they invite us to imagine a world beyond punishment and inequity, where survival, healing, and self-sovereignty are at the forefront of our collective consciousness.

 

Register for Free

 

 

 

About the Panelists

 

 

Justice Rivera (she/they; ella/elle) is a writer, social justice consultant, harm reductionist, and pleasure activist based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Justice’s professional and artistic work is grounded in principles of harm reduction, anti-oppression, and healing justice. Her expressions, which come in many forms, seek to deconstruct carceral and punishment-driven paradigms to race, gender, and bodily autonomy. Justice has worked to provide direct services, organizing leadership, and capacity building support to people in the sex trade, survivors of trafficking, and people who use drugs in Denver, Washington DC, Seattle, and nationally. She is now a Partner with the QPOC-led harm reduction consulting company Reframe Health and Justice. This anthology was compiled in part through her 2019 Open Society Foundation Soros Justice Media Fellowship. When she isn’t working, Justice loves to travel, cook, volunteer, and play with her cat, friends, and family. Follow Justice on X @justice_writes and IG @justicerivera_writes. Follow Reframe Health and Justice on Instagram @harmreductionfemmes
Paula Kahn is an artist, movement strategist, MPH candidate, and hxstory nerd working at the intersections of Indigenous rights; racial, migrant, environmental, and healing justice; drug policy; feminism; historical memory; and decarceration and demilitarization. Paula is interested in the roles of plants, psychoactives, ceremony, ritual and collective experiences in building historical memory, designing and implementing disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, and genocide prevention initiatives. They currently focus on abolishing the mass incarceration of immigrants in the US and enjoy building transnational networks for planetary rematriation. Born and raised in the working-class suburbs of Los Angeles, Paula descends from Mayan, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Iberian ancestries. Find out more about Paula @plurproductions on Instagram.

 

 

Ismail Lourido Ali, JD (he/him or they/them) has been personally utilizing psychedelics and other substances in celebratory and spiritual contexts for over half his life, and has been actively participating in the drug policy reform movement for a decade. Ismail co-founded and co-chairs the Board of the Psychedelic Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the state of California. Ismail advises, is formally affiliated with, or has served in leadership roles for numerous organizations in the drug policy ecosystem, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Chacruna Institute, the Ayahuasca Defense Fund, and Alchemy Community Therapy Center (formerly Sage Institute).

 

 

 

Aya Tasaki, Aya Tasaki, based in Los Angeles, CA, US, is currently a Associate Director of Philanthropic Engagement at National Network of Abortion Funds. Aya Tasaki brings experience from previous roles at National Network of Abortion Funds, Womankind, Rising Above Violence and Community Development Project – Urban Justice Center. Aya Tasaki holds a 2013 – 2016 Juris Doctor (J.D.) @ Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. With a robust skill set that includes Japanese, Social Media, Public Speaking, Teaching English, Immigration and more.

 

body autonomy decolonizing sex work and drug use
Body Autonomy: Decolonizing Sex Work & Drug Use
In an era when the privileged can publicly embrace the benefits of psychedelics and sex positivity, marginalized communities continue to bear the brunt of interpersonal and systemic violence in everything from health inequities to overdose deaths. In the 17 essays in Body Autonomy: Decolonizing Sex Work and Drug Use, leading advocates, sex workers, and scholars who have been harmed by American neocolonial policies critique the ideological wars on body autonomy and map the tactics from the War on Drugs onto legislation that criminalizes and disenfranchises sex work. This bold and timely collection uplifts the right to freedom in one’s own body, drawing connections between erotic labor, the use of psychoactive substances, and the impact of violent policing and incarceration.

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Body Autonomy Decolonization Drug Use Sex Work virtual event

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