Episode 24: Bella Robinson

Bella Robinson is a sex worker’s rights activist who has worked in the sex industry for over thirty years. She founded the Rhode Island Chapter of Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics (COYOTE RI) in 2009 and has served as the executive director since. As the director of COYOTE RI, Bella looks to build and strengthen support networks for sex workers in Rhode Island and she works in close collaboration with activists nationwide. Bella is a strong proponent of centering the voices of sex workers in policies that affect our population. In the late 90’s she was formerly incarcerated for five years at Lowell Correctional Institute in Florida, and during incarceration experienced sexual assault at the hands of the state. It is with this perspective that she advocates for sex worker rights as a solution to policies that seek incarceration for sex trafficking crimes.