Today is the annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

Can you believe we need a day for this?

For the moment, set aside the idea that every day, we should end violence against anybody. That goes without saying.

But violence directed at those whose role in life is to provide a basic human need is beyond bizarre. We don’t find unusual rates of violence against those in the food service industry, or those who sell mattresses and bedding. Those needs are somehow seen as different. But a world in which touch is sinful is a world that does not recognize what it means to be human.

That’s worth remembering, today and every day.

PS — This especially resonates in the context of the current crackdowns on expressions of sex positivity, most vividly today on Tumblr, but also on Facebook and through payment providers. Even FetLife. That suppression is another way of telling people that sensuality, physicality, and basic human touch are wrong and should be hidden. Little wonder, then, why people feel free to commit violence against the providers thereof.