The Ultimate Bad Date

Five years ago, dismembered pieces of a human body were found floating in the French Broad River in Asheville, North Carolina. Forensics identified the victim as Kelly Lane Smith, a local prostitute, and though all evidence pointed to a local man infamous for the brutalization and rape of sex workers in the area, he was never charged, never convicted, and he left Asheville a free man.

Why couldn’t an obvious suspect be convicted? Because Kelly was a prostitute.

The police couldn’t get enough testimonies against the suspect from other prostitutes who had been beaten and raped by him because the women feared retribution if they admitted to engaging in sex work. Violence against prostitutes and sex workers is rampant, precisely because if and when these crimes are reported, the victim may be arrested for illegal activity, instead of the perpetrator. The dilemma is all too common.

Thankfully, some people in Asheville, like Sarah Danforth of the newly formed Asheville Sex Worker Outreach Project, are trying to do something about violence against sex workers. Sarah is part of a collaborative effort between several organizations, including the Asheville Police Department, the Jail Diversion Program, the Western NC AIDS Project, and two organizations who provide assistance to victims of domestic violence, Our Voice and Helpmate. In early November these organizations launched Kelly’s Line, an anonymous phone service that allows sex workers to report “bad dates,” or violent clients, to the police without fear of arrest on prostitution charges. Organizers of Kelly’s Line also compile a flyer of the reported information and distribute it to other sex workers to help them avoid falling into the same dangerous situations. “Bad date lines” are used in many cities across the United States to prevent violence against sex workers in a way that doesn’t compromise the worker’s identity.

In addition to Kelly’s Line, the Asheville Sex Worker Outreach Project provides outreach materials to sex workers and is attempting to launch a program to train law enforcement officers on sex worker issues.

“The ultimate goal of the project is to provide education and resources to sex workers and people involved in their lives, such as police, counselors, and hospital workers,” says Sarah Danforth. “It’s a safety issue, but we also want to create a culture of understanding and compassion for people who do sex work.”

About a year ago Sarah began investigating ways to stop violence against sex workers through her work with homeless populations in Asheville. “I see so many homeless people who have obviously been assaulted, but who are afraid to go to the hospital or the police because they’re afraid of being questioned instead of helped. Something has got to be done about this, and I’m glad we’ve been able to find people in Asheville who care about this issue and are willing to work on it.”

Fittingly, the logo for Kelly’s Line is a Forget-Me-Not flower to remind us of the lives lost through violence that was never acknowledged or reported. In this way Kelly Lane Smith lives on as she challenges us to denounce brutality no matter who the victim and to remember those who we’ve already lost.