Jelena Vermilion is a Canadian sex work advocate and the executive director of Sex Worker Action Program (SWAP) in Hamilton, Ontario. Vermilion is outspoken as a transgender woman and sex worker. She is an author, archivist, public speaker, and pornographic film star.
Career and activism edit
Vermilion served as co-chair of the Sex Worker Action Network (SWAN) in Waterloo, Ontario. As part of SWAN, she served as an expert witness in R v. Boodhoo, a case that challenged specific sex worker laws in Canada.[1]
She also created the Sex Worker Media Library Archive in the Hamilton Public Library, an archive of books, zines, videos, podcasts, and news articles dedicated to sex worker history, activism, and culture.[2]
Vermilion has served as a Hamilton delegate to the Industrial Workers of the World.[3][4] She has appeared in the documentary Translating Beauty to discuss the relationship between beauty standards and sex work and the unique challenges transgender women face.
In 2020, Vermilion and Carol Leigh collaborated to reproduce her #TakeBackTheNight film with the sex work excerpts from December 1990 San Francisco's Take Back The Night March to address the violence and stigma surrounding sex work and the need for decriminalization.[5]
In 2023, she published Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex.[6] She has also published a column Beyond Barriers in the transgender magazine Transformation.[citation needed]
Vermillion serves as the executive director of SWAP, a sex worker community organization that maintains a drop-in center, educational center, and community resource on Barton Street in Hamilton, Ontario.[7]
A frequent public speaker at academic conferences and an outspoken representative for sex workers' rights, Vermilion educates the public on laws impacting sex workers in Canada and the U.S.,[8][9] the stigma and discrimination faced by transgender women,[10] and how the needs of sex workers were ignored during the COVID pandemic.[11]
Accolades edit
In 2017 and 2018, Vermilion was nominated for the Transgender Erotica Award; she won for Best DVD in 2018.[12][failed verification]
In 2023, Vermilion was honored by the YWCA of Hamilton as a Woman of Distinction.[13]
Personal life edit
In September 2023, Vermilion was assaulted as she participated in a Take Back the Night March in Hamilton. The assault happened hours after she met with the city's emergency community services committee to discuss strategies to address gender-based violence.[14][15]
References edit
- ^ McMaster University. “YWCA Women of Distinction Awards Recognize Extraordinary Leaders and Changemakers.” Daily News, March 8, 2024. https://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/articles/ywca-women-of-distinction-awards-recognize-extraordinary-leaders-and-changemakers/.
- ^ Calugay-Casuga, Gabriela (2023-03-08). "Five women in the labour movement you should know about". rabble.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Vermilion, Jelena (2021-05-20). "Sex Workers' Charter Challenge Currently Underway". Industrial Worker. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ "Jelena Vermilion fonds". The Arquives. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Vermilion, Jelena (2020-09-18). "Sex Workers Take Back The Night 1990 by Scarlot Harlot & Jelena Vermilion (11 minute video- 2020)". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Smith, Molly. Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex. Edited by Matilda Bickers, peech breshears, and Janis Luna. Oakland: PM Press, 2023.
- ^ Antonacci, J. P. (2022-05-24). "Support Centre Opens for Sex Workers - East-End Venue Will House Archives, Host Panel Discussions, Film Screenings". The Hamilton Spectator.
- ^ Tarlo, Shira (2018-06-02). "Sex workers converge on Capitol Hill: "We're human beings"". Salon. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Jen and Roz. "Episode 4: Sex Work and the Charter Challenge by The Feminist Shift". The Feminist Shift. Retrieved 2024-01-30 – via Spotify for Podcasters.
- ^ Green, Sarah (2020-04-16). "Surviving the stigma: Inside the life of a trans sex worker". Calgary Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Wright, Teresa (2020-04-19). "Sex workers say they're at risk, have been left out of Canada's COVID-19 response". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ XBIZ (2017-11-22). "2018 TEA Nominees Announced". XBIZ. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ "Women of Distinction 2023 Nominees". YWCA Hamilton. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ Vermilion, Jelena (2023-10-09). "SWAP Hamilton's delegation to the Emergency and Community Services Committee on September 21, 2023". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Hristova, Bobby (2023-09-22). "Video Appears to Show Man Drag Sex Work Activist during Hamilton March against Violence". CBC News. Retrieved 2024-01-30.