The Ishtar Collective
Our Purpose
We want sex workers to have a seat at the table, to be respected members of their communities with their work at the very least, just being understood as work. After some years of being active, we realize that not just sex workers experience general de-valuement in society, but many others. Locally, we want Vermont to become a safe space in whatever capacity it can, as more people seek safety from discrimination, harm, and displacement. To do that, able community members have to be ready to put resources together to provide basic needs, and we have to create spaces that cater to a diversity of solutions. Where one person may not want to be a policy advocate, they might want to learn about food justice or healthcare access and how THEY can impact their neighbors' access to resources for the greater good. We want to create access to solutions NOW, while people are scared and grasping for something to plug into, or somewhere to go to find relief. We want to make these things a reality because sex workers and survivors of State violence know what it’s like to live in a world without them.