"Outreach, Resources, and Education" board

I think something this board could really use would be a dedicated "Outreach, Resources, and Education" board

This section would be, ideally, a place to achieve the following:

1) A place for outreach organizations (SWOP, Free health clinics, etc) to post about their programs. This is different from "Business Services for Providers" because what I'm talking about is primarily charitable, non-profit organizations - not business services for sale.

1a) Such organizations could also post not just about programs, but also unbiased sex-work relevant info that's backed up by actual research. They could serve as the collective "authority" on popular health and safety related topics, that often become the subject of much misinformation and speculation.

1b) Information about "What to do if.." situations would also be posted. Not just about stings and LE, I mean "What to do if you think you are being pimped/abused/blackmailed/may be outed/may have contracted an STI" etc

2) A directory for resources/support groups/ outreach programs by area and online useful websites as well

3) A place for education about the legal activism and crime reduction efforts by providers and activists alike (ie, yes - we all hate illegal sex trafficking and slavery, but here's what YOU can do about it to help)

4) Basic resources and information for new providers and new hobbyists. This board usually takes to newbies pretty well, but it would be great if the most popular questions ladies usually ask concerning health/safety/legality could be organized in one place. Yes, lots of relevant information could be found in the infoshare/powder room - but that's only after reviews.

5) General moral-raising posts and information for those who may be just going indy after coming out of very, very bad "management" situations or great financial distress. For those that feel as though they have "no choice but to ________ " we would educate them on choices.

6) Possibly an organized list of newbie friendly providers and new-girl-friendly providers (who are open to answering questions and advising new ladies). I think sometimes, unfortunately, new girls are seen as "sitting ducks" and get taken advantage of by hobbyists and LE alike.

I think it might even be a great idea for this section to not allow discussion threads, just main posts. I don't expect it to be super popular, but more of a "refer to as needed" type of space.

I know a lot of guys may see this as something that they don't care about one way or another, and a bad few may even enjoy the manipulation they wield over the uneducated providers especially, but I think at the end of the day this truly benefits everyone. This business is risky. It is dangerous. What good can possibly come out of people not: knowing how to conduct themselves safely OR find the appropriate resources when something bad does happen?

I also think that those posting, especially providers posting, ought to be able to post under a different name....bear with me here: What good comes out of a provider posting "Hey, if you get an STD, this clinic has free screenings and discounted antibiotics!" Yea.
That'll go over great.

I think instead, a handful of really, really trustworthy providers who are actively involved in such organizations/outreach projects should be allowed to post under a different name (ie, "SWOPNOLA", or "CrimePreventionAdvocate) and most content would come directly from such organizations and any ladies who sought to share info without risking "bad press" can email that boards moderators to post the info on their behalf.

Essentially, what I am talking about is a non-inflammatory, non-judgemental "safe space" to help providers and hobbyists alike, to provide un-biased educational info, and to encourage an overall positive escorting experience to those on the providing side of this industry. Any and all resources or advice would be offered freely to anyone with access to the internet, regardless of posting history, reviews, or any other notion of "hobby status"

The goal is to empower eachother to make safe and healthy choices that leave us all happy and able to sleep soundly at night.

Thoughts?

Wow! What a great post!! I absolutely agree with everything said! Being fairly new to the hobby, I've had many questions with no one to ask. It's not like we can stand around the water cooler talking about our work lol!!

yeah... well thought out idea... and a good way to do good within this genre

Great Idea!!

In the powder room area, there is an "Escorting 101" section that will answer any questions that a female wishes to bring up and ask.

Also, in the infoshare area, which is open to ALL verified providers, a participating female of this board is free to ask any questions that they wish to or get advice.

I've found that many of the ladies on this board are a great source of information and are very willing to share viewpoints, etc.

I do NOT think that it would be good to have a "list" of ladies who are willing to answer questions and basically, help train a newbie. First, it would open up the possibility of a woman being charged with pandering if the new found friendship didn't work out. That's a felony.

Also, and I'm speaking as an old timer of sorts, being there to answer questions and be some sort of educational beacon just really doesn't work out.

If someone wishes to learn this business, there are books, websites and more to study and learn from. Eccie does a LOT to support ladies. I'm not seeing where we need yet another forum to do more.

Otherwise, there have been many posts about SWOP/Chicago (which has some of the best advice that I've ever read on there) and other organizations that can help ladies.

If a woman is serious about being in this business, she'll need to have the snap to find out these resources on her own. And with the infoshare, Escorting 101 and the powder room open to most, it shouldn't be a difficult task to accomplish.

EW

EW, I see what you are saying, definitely throw out anything that could leave anyone in jail, my apologies... but what about for the guys? Or, ladies who don't yet have VP access?

Yes, the Powder Room covers a lot but I've yet to see one post on some of the biggest issues in our industry: sex trafficking and abusive situations. Some of the most serious issues aren't even allowed to be discussed, which I agree with, but if such situations have been identified and someone wishes to get help, is it really that hard to have the info handy and easy to find?

I daresay someone facing these situations would not even have a chance at ever getting access, and I'm sure more socially concious gents would also like to know how to identify these situations.

And yes - there are TONS of resources for newbies male and female alike out there, and guess what - Eccie does not have an organized space directing visitors to any of them.

Instead of the typical "Welcome Aboard! Play Safe and Have Fun!", would an additional link to an Eccie forum dedicated on how to do that not be a huge improvement?

I think there is an assumption that if you've found your way to Eccie, you already know a good bit about the hobby. But I don't think thats quite the case any more - Eccie is becoming increasingly popular and is sometimes the first escorting related website people come across - which is to say, congrats to Eccie! But if your not investing something in the safegaurding of the "newbies" where does that leave us?

Best case scenario, more mistakes and bad dates happening then need be, worst case scenario, Eccie becomes a bigger target for sex trafficking and the exploitation of abused women because it carries a reputation of its members being too naive or too careless to prevent such things.

Even just a list stickied at the top of the welcome forums for links to resources and info, esp health and safety related info, would help so much. If its too much trouble for the mods I'll sit down with some SWOP ladies and compile it myself, seriously.

I agree too this would defenitly be a good thread. I do have my own reasons and several of the topics do intrest me greatly. Back in the begininning of November my SO had water on his heart, his wrok sent him to the ER thinking it was a heart attack, and the hospital kept him 4 days, he has been off work since, and just this past monday they informed him trhat they are not approving his short term-disability claim because he wasent eligible for the disabilty yet, ( a difference of two days) when it happened. So he calls his doctor and against her better judgement gives him a work release to go back to work, because we are behind on rent & bills. So the next day after getting his release, he is walking to work, and a car hits him. He now has a dislocated sholder and fracture, along with 7 stitches in his face. So the past month and no idea how many more months, the income generation is being left up to me. Needless to say we have been using food banks, and whille behind on all our bills & rent, things are looking very bleak indeed. It will be a good Christmas around here just to have a holiday meal or a good nights sleep with out worry or stress from all the stuff thats piling up.

There once was a thread in the D&T section about something similar to this. I agree that this would make a good additional area on eccie and would strongly vote for it. We could discuss resources and it would be opening a stronger network possibility as well for women in our area of work.

It would be great if ladies did have some issues that they would like to discuss that they would simply start a topic on it!

That way, we would certainly see some positive growth in the "ladies only" areas.

That is key. The resources that are currently being offered on Eccie really aren't being used to their potential.

Just my thoughts on it.

Elisabeth

I don't see any "ladies only" sections being ignored by men. It's been my experience that eccie is full of cyber predators who seem hell bent in squashing and intimidating any women intent on encouraging any meaningful dialogue. It just seems to invite the attention of the most hateful and prolific posters. Post too much and one finds themself fodder for **********. Some of the women here aren't much better. I personally have only found one female who I will answer me who has any sense of integrity and she gets raked by other females. I think people have gotten so desensitized to their own anger that women in our ranks tend to be easy pickings for the sickest of minds to take their frustrations out upon. I have noticed prolific male posters on here with nothing better to do seem to delight in highlighting my posts and regurgitating it all to their liking. Good luck getting something together, Elizabeth. It takes a different personality than I have to monitor this crowd. I hope you find success, ladies as their isn't too much support from the peanut gallery. Yes, the good men are here and they are worth their weight in gold when you find them as they tend to get the same discouragement. Some people feed and nuture their rage while others feed and nurture their families.