Callen-Lorde Launches Free Clinic for Sex Workers
New center, named after Cecilia Gentili, aims to provide affi rming environment
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Community leader and
trans activist Cecilia
Gentili is crushing
the stigma against sex
work.
In a partnership with Callen-
Lorde Community Health Center,
which has outposts in Manhattan,
the Bronx, and Brooklyn, Gentili
has launched COIN, or “Cecilia’s
Occupational Inclusion Network,” a
free health clinic to help sex workers
have a safe and supportive relationship
with their doctors. The
program, which is funded through
June, is named after the advocate
and is an ode to her past experiences
engaging in sex work.
“When we had a customer or a
client, we would say to each other,
‘Go and get your coin, girl!'” Gentili,
a transgender woman and
founder of Trans Equity Consulting,
told Gay City News. “It was so
signifi cant and descriptive of the
work that we do.”
The clinic will offer primary
medical care, sexual health, HIV
treatment, and prevention — including
PrEP services — as well
as trans health services and reproductive
health services. With
nearly 30 patients enrolled in the
program, the clinic is still in its infancy,
but medical providers and
advocates alike said they are fi lling
a signifi cant gap in the healthcare
industry. All too often, sex
workers experience discrimination
from doctors, which makes it diffi
cult to address health needs and
increases the likelihood they will
go without routine care.
“Because sex workers are so stigmatized,
it’s hard to get comprehensive
health care,” said Dr. Zil Goldstein, a
medical provider at COIN. “People are
excited to have their healthcare in an
affi rming environment.”
Gentili knows this issue well. For
years, she hid her occupation from
doctors to avoid mistreatment.
“I didn’t know how they would
react,” Gentili recalled. “When you
have a clear understanding that
the medical provider that you are
seeing happens to be a person sensitive
In tandem with Callen-Lorde, LGBTQ activist Cecilia Gentili launched a free health clinic for sex workers.
to your experience and is going
to understand who you are, and
how that plays a relationship with
your body, the medical experience
becomes much more easier.”
Last year, Gentili took direct
action to confront the injustices
facing transgender individuals in
the healthcare system. She joined
Tanya Asapansa-Johnson Walker
and the Human Rights Campaign
in a lawsuit against the Trump
administration’s rule eliminating
nondiscrimination protections on
the basis of gender identity.
For many patients, Goldstein
said this clinic will represent the
fi rst time a provider has viewed
their medical care holistically and
does not “pigeonhole” them into
sexual health services. Because
staffers understand the nuances of
the sex work industry, they understand
that an online sex worker’s
needs can differ from someone who
engages with clients in person.
The facility supports workers
across the sex trade, including those
who engage in camming, escorting,
stripping, BDSM, and all other forms
of sex work. Health offi cials are defi
ning sex work as any form of “being
sexual (or the idea of being sexual)
in exchange for money, gifts, safety,
drugs, hormones, or survival needs
such as housing, food, clothes, or
immigration and documentation —
whether you get to keep the money/
goods/service/or someone else profits
from these acts.”
To protect patients’ privacy,
FACEBOOK/CECILIA GENTILI/
charts will not indicate that they
are enrolled in the sex worker program.
If there is a request to release
medical records to law enforcement,
the clinic said they would
“disclose the least amount of information
necessary.” On the COIN
HEALTH
website, Callen-Lorde expresses
support for the comprehensive decriminalization
of sex work.
Patients will receive care regardless
of their income or insurance
status. For those with insurance
coverage, Callen-Lorde will bill the
insurance company — and any
co-pays or deductibles will be paid
by the COIN Clinic. Patients at the
COIN Clinic will not be charged for
any medications, labs, or care, according
to the clinic’s website.
Gentili said the clinic’s launch
is a testament to her journey and
the progress made to advance sex
worker rights.
“I’m a sex worker. I’m a trans
woman. I lived in this country undocumented,”
she said. “I never had
an expectation in life to have a clinic
named after me. It’s overwhelming.
Beautifully overwhelming.”
To schedule a appointment at
the clinic, call 212-271-8134.
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