Hookers’ Ball in Krasnapolsky - Mama Cash

At the time of Mama Cash’s founding in 1982, (what was then still called) prostitution and pornography were most often interpreted by members of the women’s movement solely as forms of oppression and the exploitation of women. But Mama Cash’s position was always that women in the sex industry have the same right as all other women to sexual and economic self-determination, an independent and legally accepted existence and protection against discrimination and violence – in 1985, the International Committee for Prostitutes Rights, together with Mama Cash, organised the First International Whores Conference in Amsterdam. The conference concluded with a Hookers’ Ball in Krasnapolsky. This position has always guided Mama Cash’s activities and has led her to support both Dutch and international sex workers’ rights movements. Over the years, she has managed to bridge the gap between activists in the field and the international donor community and has continued to be a leader in the discussion about sex work.