SCARLOT'S ROSES
mutual aid by & for CA sex workers

Through Scarlot's Roses, DecrimSexWorkCA raises and redistributes funds to support the immediate needs of our community with a focus on street based and BIPOC and TGNC sex workers.

Since launching our first mutual aid cycle in November 2023, DecrimSexWorkCA has distributed over $20,000 directly to sex workers in need. Mutual aid is not new to us—it’s a legacy. Sex workers have long relied on collective care as a strategy of survival in the face of systemic violence, criminalization, and state neglect.

As an intergenerational team of BIPOC and transgender sex workers of diverse experience, we know firsthand that safety and care rarely come from external systems. It comes from each other. Policy change and long-term movement building are vital, but they alone cannot ensure the wellbeing or protection of our most vulnerable members. We have to prioritize strategies to address immediate needs—particularly for undocumented, disabled, and elder sex workers, who are often the most marginalized both by society and, at times, within our own movements. Organizing as sex workers carries risks: arrest, violence, deportation. Mutual aid lets us meet these realities with care and dignity.

CURRENT FUND

Now, amid escalating ICE raids and intensifying criminalization, we’ve launched an emergency mutual aid cycle to support undocumented sex workers across California who are being left without safety, resources, or protection.

APPLY

About scarlot's roses

Carol Leigh, cofounder of DecrimSWCA. Tribute print by Effemy Xitllali

Carol Leigh, also known as The Scarlot Harlot, was an American artist, author, filmmaker, sex worker, and sex workers' rights activist. She is credited with coining the term Sex Work. They founded the Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival and was the co-founder of the Bay Area Sex Worker Advocacy Network (BAYSWAN). Carol Leigh was a core member of DecrimSexWorkCA. They served in an advisory role to the steering committee, were an active member of the policy advocacy team, and served on the Conflict Resolution Committee. In honor of Carol Leigh’s leadership on the coalition, their support to our team, and the seeds of change they planted, DecrimSexWorkCA named our mutual aid fund Scarlot’s Roses.

Carol Leigh, también conocida como The Scarlot Harlot (La Ramera Escarlata), era una artista, autora, cineasta, trabajadora sexual y activista de los derechos de los trabajadores sexuales estadounidense. Se le atribuye haber inventido el término trabajo sexual. Fundó el Festival de Cine y Arte de los Trabajadores Sexuales y cofundó la Red de Defensa de los Trabajadores Sexuales del Área de la Bahía (BAYSWAN, por sus siglas en inglés). Carol Leigh fue miembro central de la Coalición DecrimSexWorkCA. Ocupó un papel consultivo en el comité directivo, fue miembro activo del Equipo de Defensa Política y fue parte del Comité de Resolución de Conflictos. Para rendir honor al liderazgo de Carol Leigh en la coalición, su apoyo a nuestro equipo y la semillas de cambio y la visión que plantó le dimos el nombre de Scarlot’s Roses (Las rosas de Scarlot) a nuestro fondo de asistencia mutua.

Previous mutual aid cycles

Our mutual aid fund centers the most impacted members of our community. Here is who we’ve reached through our previous 4 mutual aid cycles:

Race & Ethnicity: 44.83% Latine/o/a, 37.07% Black, 13.79% Indigenous, 9.48% Asian, 9.48% White
Gender Identity: 62.93% Transgender, 14.66% Non-binary, 22.41% Cisgender Women
Community Conditions: 50.00% Street-based, 48.28% Disabled, 46.55% Unhoused, 21.55% Living with HIV
Immigration & Family: 25.86% Undocumented, im/migrant, or refugee, 17.24% Supporting dependents

These numbers reflect the multiple, overlapping challenges our community members face—challenges compounded by violence, poverty, stigma, and state repression.