Protesters demand removal of sex-work-surveillance cameras
A dozen activists and residents gathered at 21st and Shotwell on Sunday afternoon to protest and demand removal of the city’s new high-tech surveillance cameras installed to deter sex work on Shotwell Street.“We’re told that these cameras are for public safety,” said Rachel West, of US PROStitutes Collective. “We ask whose safety?” The three 22-foot-tall surveillance units on Shotwell Street (each mast with three cameras) are part of a city response to sex work in the area and a lawsuit filed by five neighbors. The 18-month experiment also includes barriers to prevent vehicular traffic on Shotwell and “Dear John letters,” where residents are encouraged to send in tips about people engaging in solicitation or other prostitution. The cameras have been placed where sex workers gather, West said, and in order to avoid arrest, those women will be pushed to more isolated, less […]
