In Solidarity

March 18, 2021

Human Solutions stands with our Asian American siblings and condemns the violence and abuse of power that threatens our community members every day. We are once again angered by the fact that non-white identities continue to face unconscionable threats in our communities, and we continue to work internally and externally toward better inclusivity, safety and justice.

As the attacks in Atlanta have highlighted, our country’s violent racist history toward Asians in America includes the fetishization of Asian women that has been used to justify this hate crime against Asian Americans and women. It should not be dangerous to live at the intersection of these identities, and yet it is.

This movement for inclusivity, safety and justice must include sex workers, who were also targeted. In Portland, often cited as having the most strip clubs per capita in the US, it is essential that our services support sex workers of all identities, for whom stigma is deadly. We strive to ensure our services are safe, inclusive and free of harmful judgment toward these community members.

May we continue in our work to build a community in which public safety is guaranteed for all – most especially for those who have never truly experienced it, and for those who our cultural and social norms have systematically excluded.