by Naiymah Sanchez As we continue to talk about decriminalizing sex work-related offenses, we must acknowledge the stigma associated with being a sex worker and challenge such perceptions head-on. Decriminalization means that those who engage in sex work –whether a provider or a client– would no longer be subject to…

by Naiymah Sanchez It’s time to talk about sex work again. So let’s discuss the consensual sex trade and why decriminalizing sex work is a means of harm reduction and an important step in the fight against human trafficking. Ending the criminalization of those who engage in the consensual sex…

by Naiymah Sanchez We need to talk about sex work. Sex work and sex workers have been around as long as people have been engaged in commerce. Despite being one of the oldest professions on the planet, sex work remains a taboo to many people. Oftentimes, when people hear the…

by Reggie Shuford James D. Crawford, a longtime ACLU of Pennsylvania leader, fierce advocate for civil liberties, and friend to all who knew him, passed away peacefully earlier this month. I want to take some time to share what was so special about Jim. Jim was involved with the ACLU…

by Nyssa Taylor Under the Constitution, a person accused of a crime is presumed innocent, yet, when a judge sets cash bail for a person who can’t afford to pay, they condemn that person to pretrial detention. Pretrial detention causes significant harm to those incarcerated. …

by Jessica Li The ACLU of Pennsylvania has been working on challenging the misuse of cash bail for years. In 2018, we sent a letter to Philadelphia courts, raising a number of concerns based on court observations of more than 2000 bail hearings and urging them to follow the rules…

by Ghadah Makoshi The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of people around the globe, particularly for children. According to a report by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, “Disrupted sleep, school closures, social isolation, financial hardship, and racial trauma — including violence against Black communities, protests against…

by Vanessa Stine and Erika Guadalupe Núñez Fighting against new and repurposed immigration detention centers in Pennsylvania is beginning to feel like a horrible game of whack-a-mole. From Berks County to York County, civil rights and immigration advocates have been working tirelessly to end immigration detention across the commonwealth. In…

by Mary Catherine Roper If you are regularly stopped by the Philadelphia police, you are probably a Black man. If you are not regularly stopped by police, you should watch this video of a stop by Philadelphia police. Go on, watch it. I’ll wait. In the video, two Philly police…