Singer and songwriter FKA twigs announced a joint GoFundMe venture to benefit sex workers during the coronavirus pandemic on social media on Tuesday.

The Cheltenham, U.K. native shared a post on Instagram discussing her experience as a hostess at a gentlemen's club, how sex workers have influenced her work and why her supporters should join her in bringing awareness to the plight of those who do sex work, according to British music outlet New Musical Express.

View this post on Instagram

i was 19 when i learnt my first pole move, i learnt a back hook spin from a stripper when i was working as a hostess in a gentleman’s club. for those of you who don’t know, hostessing is when one person pays another person for their time, anything from a conversation over dinner to sex work, and the club gets a cut of the fee. my lived experience as a very young woman in these environments has not only informed the strong and formidable woman that i am today, but also a lot of my work as a music and visual artist – sometimes even subconsciously. i feel like now is the time for me to step forward, pay respect, and shine a light on the challenges facing sex workers, especially during these uncertain times. sex workers I know and have met have discipline, craft, talent and work ethic – not only do they deserve better long-term, but their income has been wiped out by the lockdown and many are invisible to the financial aid available to others. there’s a bigger journey in challenging public attitudes, tackling stigma, and fighting for rights and protections – but today I’m inviting you to join me in helping with cash donations to SWARM, Lysistrata and ELSC. these organisations are providing direct financial support to strippers and sex workers, we’ve kicked off the the fund with £10,000 and you can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/sexworkermutualaidfunds this week, SWARM @swarmhive Lysistrata @lysistratamccf and ELSC @ethicalstripper will also be taking over my social media channels.

A post shared by FKA twigs (@fkatwigs) on Aug 4, 2020 at 8:22am PDT

"I was 19 when I learnt my first pole move, I learnt a back hook spin from a stripper when I was working as a hostess in a gentleman’s club. for those of you who don’t know, hostessing is when one person pays another person for their time, anything from a conversation over dinner to sex work, and the club gets a cut of the fee," she wrote. "My lived experience as a very young woman in these environments has not only informed the strong and formidable woman that i am today, but also a lot of my work as a music and visual artist – sometimes even subconsciously."

She went on to praise sex workers, particularly in light of the many challenges they are facing.

"I feel like now is the time for me to step forward, pay respect, and shine a light on the challenges facing sex workers, especially during these uncertain times," she said. "Sex workers I know and have met have discipline, craft, talent and work ethic – not only do they deserve better long-term, but their income has been wiped out by the lockdown and many are invisible to the financial aid available to others."

The GoFundMe initiative is a collaboration between U.S. sex worker fund Lysistrata, U.K. sex worker organization SWARM and the East London Strippers Collective. Along with twigs, whose real name is Tahliah Barnett, the collective kicked off the fundraiser with a £10,000 donation and aims to raise £30,000 in total.

East-London-Strippers-Collective

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week