My name is Elle, and this is the first time I’m sharing my story.

At 16-years old, I started sex work to afford basic necessities such as safe housing, healthcare and education. I had to navigate difficult, dangerous experiences by myself, with no resources to utilise and no one to turn to.

When you’re a sex worker, it’s not necessarily the work itself that is dangerous; it’s the fact that it’s not safe to reach out for help. When you can’t reach out for help, this gives the predators the ability to abuse your vulnerability.

My story is not unique. I hope that by sharing my story and asking for help, I can prevent this for others by creating what I needed when I was 16.

Introducing Big Sister

Big Sister is first and foremost a community created by two current sex workers – Elle Maran and Estelle Lucas.

Our three focuses for Big Sister include:

• The Big Sister Podcast
• Social Gatherings and Networking Events
• Investment in Red Files and FinTech for Sex Workers

For many sex workers, all their previous or existing support networks are no longer available. The stigma and demonisation directed at sex work, sex workers and the adult industry means that many cannot turn to friends, family or partners – as well as even their GPs, therapists, teachers and other supports.

The Big Sister podcast will delve into topics varying from light-hearted storytelling to in-depth business advice and safety measures. We will talk about what is considered taboo to start creating a more open and inclusive environment. We also would like to interview people for additional stories and perspectives, including lawyers, accountants, and other sex workers.

Meet my Bigger Sister

Estelle Lucas played a role to push for the decriminalisation of sex work in Victoria, but more is needed. Estelle founded Red Files, Australia’s largest violence prevention and health promotion website for sex workers. Currently, Red Files is connected to over 1,100 sex workers with over 20,000 articles of information.

This year, Estelle took another step to securing the human rights and dignities of sex workers by winning the 2022 Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowship. Estelle continues to build infrastructure to make sex work safer and is currently developing FinTech specific for sex workers.

But Estelle is just one person innovating a whole industry. I want to support Estelle by launching a podcast that will build a stronger community and more connections.

Watch Estelle speak here:

Bringing it all together

The funds raised from our campaign will be used towards:

• $2000 to get our podcast off the ground! Hiring a studio, editing the audio and video, distribution, subscriptions, and so on.
• $2000 towards in person workshops and events for sex workers
• $3000 to enable us to invest further into Red Files and our FinTech project, and covering the fun stuff like our gmail subscription and office desks.

We believe in the power of our community and allies to take us further, because it’s what has brought us to where we are today!

We really appreciate any contribution you make to our campaign.

If you don’t have the means to donate (or just wish to give a little more) sharing our campaign to your networks, and offering any of the following expertise would be super helpful too:

• Legal professionals
• Audio and video editors
• Banking and finance professionals
• Healthcare professionals
• Cybersecurity experts

Thank you, as always, for all your support.

<3

Sincerely,

Estelle and Elle – Big Sister