A love bill for Butterfly
Imagine if included in your utility bills, your grocery budget, your parking app or TTC pass, you paid a manageable monthly amount to a network of people that gave you and your community back so much more.
We hate paying giant telecommunications companies and greedy grocery chains, but what about a monthly bill that makes us warm inside when we pay it because it connects us to community? This is what we call a Love bill. A Love bill is a once a month contribution to Butterfly Asian and Migrant Sex Worker Support Network. It’s called a Love bill because it comes from the heart. It’s powerful and it has the power to spread and grow, to turn seeds into trees, caterpillars into butterflies.
So how much is this Love bill? It’s exactly what you want it to be. It’s exactly what you can afford. Ask yourself, how much can I afford a month for something that aligns with my values? How much capacity do I have to give in an ongoing sustainable way? It could be in the $5-$20/month range, it could be $150/month. You get to decide, you get to check in with your heart about the amount.
I know that I am fed up with the anti-trafficking narrative, the unending and well-funded attempts to criminalize our work. I also know that Black, Indigenous, and Migrant sex workers face the most harm from these State- and NGO-led efforts. But I also don’t want to give money to organizations that are caught up in bureaucracy and aren’t making much of a difference.
Butterfly is doing direct work and they are doing awesome work.
So where does the money go?
Butterfly’s main work is with their members, Asian and Migrant sex workers. They are focused on mobilizing community, building leadership capacity, and growing a support network. Butterfly’s work includes a lot! They…
Lead unprecedented outreach efforts
Provide health, social services and legal information to migrant sex workers, massage parlours, and other workplaces
Meet individual support needs such as accompanying workers to medical appointments, providing emergency support during crisis situations, offering counselling, translation, and support for workers facing arrest or deportation
Operate a 24/7 Hotline
Organize training on legal rights, workplace safety and navigating legal and social systems
Organize public education and training for service providers on best practices for supporting migrant sex workers
Read this beautiful report to learn more about Butterfly’s mission, mandate, read stories from their members, how they resist the harms caused by anti-trafficking organizations, and how your support will help: Journey of the Butterflies (2016).
To make your Love bill real, you can donate HERE.
Further reading “Weaponized Licensure: Asian Migrant Sex Workers’ Struggle Against Discriminatory Licensing in Newmarket, Ontario” - a historical overview of municipal licensing schemes and legislated migration controls in Canada illustrating the enduring impacts on Asian migrant workers today. From Journal of Critical Race Theory Vol. 11 No. 2 (2024).