Vale, Roberta Perkins

Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association and SWOP NSW mourn the passing of academic, researcher, author and trans and sex worker rights activist Roberta Perkins. Roberta passed away on the 26th June, 2018.

Roberta Perkins lived and worked at the intersection of sex worker rights and transgender rights for more than three decades. Alongside her work as an author, researcher and academic, Roberta’s impact on the lives of sex workers and trans people cannot be overstated.

It would be hard to quantify the number of trans people and sex workers that have benefited from Roberta’s work and legacy. Much of the work conducted by sex worker organisations today still takes its cues from Roberta’s early work, addressing the complex and intersecting needs of sex workers, while simultaneously working on reducing the structural and systemic barriers sex workers face. Roberta was a trail blazer and her impact on the health safety and rights of sex workers and trans people has been vast and enduring. She will be greatly missed.

Vale, Roberta Perkins.

Read more about Roberta's legacy here.

Image: Roberta Perkins, by Nada DeCat