Shirley Cavanaugh, a down on her luck sex worker, blew the lid off a corrupt police department in Pittsburgh in the 1950s. By chance she was falsely accused of shooting a cop, but instead of backing down, she fought back. What happened to her triggered a major investigation that ended in the disbandment of the Pittsburgh Vice Squad. In this episode, Kaytlin Bailey explores Shirley's story, her entanglement with an Officer and the remarkable coalition that rallied around her. Featuring interviews with Shirley's grandson Jason Kirin and Pittsburgh columnist Jessie Sage, this is a forgotten story of bravery, abuse, and resistance. You can buy Jason Kirin's book From the Furnace With Love; The Multigenerational Tapestry of Shirley Cavanaugh, documenting his grandmother's incredible story. Read Jessie Sage's article about Shirley Cavanaugh. We'd like to thank our Season sponsors M e g a P e r s o n a l s, Assembly Four, Tryst, A Great Idea, and the New Moon Network. The Oldest Profession Podcast is produced by Old Pros, a non-profit media organization that uses storytelling to advocate for sex worker rights. If you value our mission, please consider making a tax deductible donation. To learn more visit us at oldprosonline.org, which is also where you can get Old Pros t-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and more. Of course, proceeds from our shop support our work at Old Pros.

Trigger warning: this episode discusses suicidal thoughts.

Coming out as a sex worker can be an act of courage, a moment of rupture, or a slow, ongoing negotiation with the world. In this holiday special of The Oldest Profession Podcast, Kaytlin Bailey shares powerful listener-submitted stories about coming out, being outed, and finding—or losing—community.

Released in recognition of December 17, the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, this episode brings together voices from around the world. Sex workers speak candidly about family conversations that went better than expected, moments of devastating betrayal, workplace discrimination, union battles, stigma within and outside the community, and the relief that can come with telling the truth.

These stories are not simple or uniformly uplifting—but they are deeply human. They reflect the risks of being out in a criminalized and stigmatized industry, the strength it takes to stand in one's truth, and the importance of chosen family and solidarity, especially during the holidays.

To anyone listening who feels isolated, afraid of being outed, or cut off from family or community: you are not alone.

Thank you to all the listeners who trusted us with their stories and made this episode possible. Thank you Amy @venusadventures1, Thot Scholar @thotscholar, Iris @magicalmilfiris, and Laine @latvianswalliance.

The Oldest Profession Podcast is produced by Old Pros, a non-profit media organization that uses storytelling to advocate for sex worker rights.

If you value our mission, please consider making a tax deductible donation. To learn more visit us at oldprosonline.org, which is also where you can get Old Pros t-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and more. Of course, proceeds from our shop support our work at Old Pros. This episode was made possible through recurring tax deductible contributions from listeners like you. We'd also like to thank our Season 6 sponsors M e g a P e r s o n a l s, Assembly Four, Tryst, A Great Idea, and the New Moon Network.

For decades, Rhode Island effectively decriminalized indoor, consensual sex work—and the sky didn't fall. It got safer. Kaytlin traces the legal fight, the raids, and the politics, then digs into new evidence: a ~40% drop in gonorrhea among women and ~30% fewer reported rapes during the decrim window. With voices from attorney Michael Kiselica, ACLU's Steven Brown, COYOTE RI's Bella Robinson, and economist Manisha Shah, this episode shows what happens when you stop arresting adults for consensual sex.

Guests:

• Michael Kiselica (attorney) on litigating "public" vs. private and the 2003 decision.

• Steven Brown (ACLU RI) on the 1976 COYOTE suit and 1980 revisions.

• Bella Robinson (COYOTE RI) on lived experience, raids, and organizing.

• Prof. Manisha Shah (UCLA Luskin) on the natural experiment and causal impacts.

• Prof. Aya Gruber (USC Gould) on panic, racism, and "neo-abolitionist" coalitions.

Key findings discussed: ~40% decrease in gonorrhea; ~30% decrease in reported rapes during RI's decrim period.

Policy context: 2009 recriminalization + punitive add-ons (HIV testing mandates, special fines); recent partial rollbacks and limited immunity reforms.

Big idea: Decriminalization increases negotiating power, enables cooperation with police, and reduces harm. "End-demand" shifts risk onto workers.

In this second and final episode on the decriminalization of sex work in Australia, host Kaytlin Bailey picks up where we left off: the 1995 vote to decriminalize sex work in New South Wales.

We look at what happened after decrim passed, what it actually changed for sex workers and their neighbors, and how the fight has moved from the streets and brothels to city councils, state legislatures, and online platforms.

You'll hear from:

• Elena Jeffreys – sex worker and advocacy lead for Scarlet Alliance, on how decriminalization transformed day-to-day safety, the ongoing damage caused by local council overreach, and why racialized enforcement against Asian and migrant workers remains the frontline of anti-sex work politics.

• Eurydice Aroney – longtime sex worker rights advocate, on how decrim reduced community hysteria, what a decriminalized neighborhood actually looks like, and why most residents don't even realize brothels are upstairs from their favorite shops.

• Eliza Sorensen – sex worker, co-CEO of Assembly Four, and co-founder of Switter and Tryst.link, on the new battleground of online safety laws, age verification, payment processing, and why we still don't have decriminalization of sex work online.

We cover:

• How the 1995 reforms gave sex workers in NSW the ability to report abuse and seek protection from police, instead of being targets of police corruption.

• The warning Roberta Perkins gave lawmakers the day before decrim passed – that dumping responsibility onto local councils without clear planning rules would cause problems – and how right she was.

• The way local zoning and planning powers are used to target Asian and migrant-run workplaces while more privileged workers can quietly sidestep the harshest scrutiny.

• The spread of decriminalization across Australia: from NSW to the Northern Territory, Victoria, and Queensland, and why licensing models in other states have failed sex workers.

• How laws like Australia's Online Safety Act and age verification mandates create new risks for sex workers, queer people, and anyone seeking sexual health information.

• The story of Switter and Tryst – why sex workers had to build their own platforms, what happens when they get kicked off infrastructure providers, and how digital rights and sex worker rights movements are increasingly intertwined.

Kaytlin closes the episode with a reflection on what Australia's story teaches us: that decriminalization works, that gains can be undermined by racism and surveillance, and that sex workers' strategies for keeping each other safe are a blueprint for defending everyone's basic freedoms.

This is Part 2 of our series on the decriminalization of sex work in Australia.

Listen, subscribe, and sign up for our newsletter at oldprosonline.org.

In 1995, New South Wales, Australia became the first place on earth to fully decriminalize adult consensual sex work. How did that happen – and what can today's decrim campaigns learn from it?

In this first of two episodes, host Kaytlin Bailey traces the long arc of sex worker organizing in Australia, from colonial brothels and early feminist allies to the HIV/AIDS crisis and a massive police corruption scandal that forced lawmakers to change course.

You'll hear from three longtime sex worker rights leaders who were there:

• Elena Jeffreys – sex worker and lead advocate for Scarlet Alliance, the Australian Sex Workers Association, reflecting on the legacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sex worker leadership and the national movement.

• Julie Bates – former street-based sex worker, peer educator, and organizer who helped found the Australian Prostitutes Collective and later received royal honors for her activism. Julie walks us through street decrim in 1979, early safer sex campaigns, and convincing brothel owners and cops to join the cause.

• Eurydice Aroney – former sex worker, researcher, and advocate who lived and worked in Sydney's red light district in the early 1980s and helped document the realities of policing, residential backlash, and the fight for reform.

Together, they tell the story of how:

• Sex workers literally built colonial Australia and created vibrant working-class communities.

• Early feminists and left organizers pushed to repeal "victimless crimes," winning the 1979 repeal of the Summary Offences Act and the first decriminalization of street-based sex work.

• Street-based workers led the way on HIV prevention, normalizing condom use even while brothel condoms were treated as evidence of a crime.

• The Wood Royal Commission exposed entrenched police corruption, forcing both major parties to confront the reality that criminalization fuels abuse, not safety.

• Transgender advocate, sociologist, and sex worker Roberta Perkins used rigorous community-based research to give sex workers a seat at the table and arm allies with the data they needed to argue for, and win, decrim.

We end this episode at the moment decriminalization finally passes in New South Wales with comfortable majorities in both houses of parliament and support from both major parties. This sets us up part two, where we'll dig into what happened next and what today's movements need to know.

This is Part 1 of our series on the decriminalization of sex work in Australia.

Listen, subscribe, and share with someone who still thinks criminalization "helps" sex workers. Learn more and sign up for our weekly newsletter at oldprosonline.org.

New Zealand became the first country to decriminalize sex work in 2003. NZPC leaders Catherine Healy and Annah Pickering tell the story of how it happened—and what came after.

For more information, including a complete list of sources visit our website.

You can buy Taking the Crime Out of Sex Work here. And learn more about NZPC here.

We'd like to thank our Season sponsors M e g a P e r s o n a l s, Assembly Four, Tryst, A Great Idea, and the New Moon Network.

The Oldest Profession Podcast is produced by Old Pros, a non-profit media organization that uses storytelling to advocate for sex worker rights.

If you value our mission, please consider making a tax deductible donation. To learn more visit us at oldprosonline.org, which is also where you can get Old Pros t-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and more. Of course, proceeds from our shop support our work at Old Pros.

Georgina Beyer made global history as the world's first openly transgender mayor and member of parliament. In this episode, host Kaytlin Bailey traces Beyer's path from boarding schools and strip clubs to the halls of power. We explore how her lived experience shaped her political courage and the critical role she played in decriminalizing sex work in New Zealand. This is a story of survival, dignity, and profound transformation.

Carmen Rupe was many things—drag queen, sex worker, business owner, activist, icon—and almost the mayor of Wellington. This week, Kaytlin Bailey tells the story of New Zealand's most beloved old pro, tracing her journey from hula dancer to trans pioneer. Carmen's life was one of glamour, resistance, and love. She built safer spaces, fought unjust laws, and carved a path for generations to follow.

Special thanks to everyone I met in New Zealand who told me about this amazing old pro! Thank you NZPC for sponsoring my trip there. Thank you to the Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision Archive for letting us use some of the audio clips in this episode.

The Oldest Profession Podcast is produced by Old Pros, a non-profit media organization that uses storytelling to advocate for sex worker rights.

If you value our mission, please consider making a tax deductible donation. To learn more visit us at oldprosonline.org, which is also where you can get Old Pros t-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and more. Of course, proceeds from our shop support our work at Old Pros.

We'd like to thank our Season 6 sponsors M e g a P e r s o n a l s, Assembly Four, Tryst, A Great Idea, and the New Moon Network.

Nevada is the only U.S. state with legal brothels—but is it working for sex workers? In this episode, Kaytlin Bailey sits down with Jupiter Jetson, who works in a legal brothel, Dr. Barbara Brents, sociologist and expert on legal brothels, and Amy-Marie Merrell, executive director of The Cupcake Girls. From outdated STI testing laws to the dangers of arrest outside the brothel, we explore why Nevada's model is not the answer—and what could be instead. You can listen to our episode about the history of how Nevada brothels came to be regulated the way that they are in this episode from Season 4. For more information, and sources visit our website. You can buy Sex Work Today, Erotic Labor in the 21st Century, an anthology edited by Dr. Barbara Brents, Bernadette Barton and Angela Jones. You can follow Jupiter Jetson on Instagram. Please support The Cupcake Girls by donating to their work and you can follow Amy-Marie Merrell on Instagram.

This episode was made possible through recurring tax deductible contributions from listeners like you. We'd also like to thank our Season 6 sponsors M e g a P e r s o n a l s, Assembly Four, Tryst, A Great Idea, and the New Moon Network.

The Oldest Profession Podcast is produced by Old Pros, a non-profit media organization that uses storytelling to advocate for sex worker rights.

If you value our mission, please consider making a tax deductible donation. To learn more visit us at oldprosonline.org, which is also where you can get Old Pros t-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and more. Of course, proceeds from our shop support our work at Old Pros.

Candida Royalle was a 1970's porn star who went on to found Femme Productions, the first feminist production company that made porn for women. In this episode, Kaytlin Bailey tells Candida's extraordinary story covering her art, activism, and lasting legacy. Featuring commentary from historian Jane Kamensky, whose stunning biography and archival work helped preserve Royalle's story, this episode dives into a complex, groundbreaking figure who redefined sexual expression on her own terms. For more information, including a complete list of sources visit our website. You can buy Candida Royalle & The Sexual Revolution by Jane Kamensky here.

We'd like to thank our Season 6 sponsors M e g a P e r s o n a l s, Assembly Four, Tryst, A Great Idea, and the New Moon Network. We also want to thank Shhh.com, for sponsoring this episode. Shhh.com is making ethical porn for women– today.

The Oldest Profession Podcast is produced by Old Pros, a non-profit media organization that uses storytelling to advocate for sex worker rights.

If you value our mission, please consider making a tax deductible donation. To learn more visit us at oldprosonline.org, which is also where you can get Old Pros t-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and more. Of course, proceeds from our shop support our work at Old Pros.