COMPLETE CURRICULUM
A BRIEF LOOK
THROUGHOUT HISTORY
By the end of this session, participants will be able to recall the historical context of sex work within the United States from the early 1800’s to present day. Participants will also be able to discuss the ways sex workers engage in & lead movements spaces, and how this camaraderie informs values and practices around sex work communities.
SEX WORK vs. SEX TRAFFICKING
By the end of this session, participants will be able to compare and discern between trafficking & exploitation and sex work. Participants will also be able to identify examples of conflating trafficking & exploitation and sex work, and how to ethically approach conversations with those in the adult industry to honor these nuances.
DECRIMINALIZATION vs. LEGALIZATION
By the end of this session, participants will be able to identify and differentiate between the decriminalization and legalization movements. Participants will also be able to identify how legalization and similar models ('end demand' or NORDIC model) cause further violence & harm to sex workers.
SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION IN MENTAL HEALTH
By the end of this session, participants will be able to identify systemic oppression, ethical concerns, and limitations within the mental health field. Participants will also be able to illustrate how systemic oppression impacts sex workers in counseling spaces.
SEX WORK, SEX POSITIVITY
& PARENTING
By the end of this session, participants will be able to critique current systems informing what constitutes a “family” and identify new ways to approach relationships to sexuality and sex work throughout one's lifespan. Participants will also be able to identify best practices for working with clients who are both parents and sex workers.
DYNAMICS OF ABUSE
By the end of this session, participants will be able to explain what abuse is and describe common dynamics including types of abuse and control. Participants will be able to describe what accountability is and how it might look in a community where abuse occurred. We will explore all the aspects of their role in supporting clients who are experiencing abuse, including naming it, creating safety, and building long term safety and well-being.
WHO ARE SEX WORKERS
By the end of this session, participants will be able to identify the diverse and complex nature of “sex worker” as an identity and clearly define “sex work” as an umbrella term. Participants will also be able recognize the sociocultural factors impacting the lives of sex workers including systems of oppression and how using affirming language seeks to humanize those within the sex industry.
SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION
By the end of this session, participants will be able to describe, broadly, systemic oppression including the tenets of white supremacy, the differences between privilege & marginalized identities, and how this informs general values around sex & sex work. Participants will also be able to identify systemic oppression specific to sex workers like stigmatization, criminalization, and how occupying multiple marginalized identities increases experiences of harm.
ANTI-SEX WORK PROPAGANDA & HETERONORMATIVITY
By the end of this session, participants will be able to identify two ways in which religious values like purity culture and heteronormativity inform and inhibit the diversity of sexual expression Participants will also be able to discuss two forms of anti-sex work propaganda and how they impact sex workers and clients, more broadly.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TRAUMA
By the end of this session, participants will be able to discuss and define trauma as it pertains to treatment in therapy. Participants will also be able to identify mental health factors specific to sex workers including trauma that occurs at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, isolation and criminalization.
CLINICAL CONCERNS FOR WORKING WITH SEX WORKERS
By the end of this session, participants will be able to identify best practices for working with sex worker-specific populations in therapy settings. Participants will also be able to demonstrate different methodology and clinical needs and approaches for sex worker as therapy clients.
THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY
By the end of this session, participants will be able to name the limitations to individual therapy. Participants will also be able to predict different ways to approach therapy with sex workers, including identifying the strengths and advantageous to involving community in the therapy process.
