Few was born in Paducah, Kentucky. According to her biography on SWOP's website, she had worked as an exotic dancer, then pursued a college degree in theater, and was active in the medical marijuana movement in California. She first began working as a prostitute in a professional capacity in 1996,[1] but was a sex worker all her life, beginning with survival sex work as a thirteen-year-old runaway.[2]
In June 2002, she was arrested by an FBISWAT team. She pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to promote prostitution in December 2002, and received a sentence of 6 months' house arrest and three years' probation in November 2003.[3]
She founded SWOP-USA in October 2003,[4] and the first International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers was organized in December of that year.
In 2004, she designed a ballot initiativeinBerkeley, California ("Measure Q") that would have called for the city government to lobby for the decriminalization of prostitution at the state level, and would have instructed city police to cease sting operations and treat prostitution arrests with the lowest priority.[5] The initiative failed, receiving 37% of the vote.[6]
In an interview in 2007, she defended the decision of prosecuted "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey to name high-class clients of her erotic service, arguing that, "with the potential to drag many power brokers into the spotlight, Palfrey's revelations could serve as a turning point in the effort to decriminalize prostitution".[7]
For the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, December 17, 2008, she helped lead a marchinWashington, D.C. Many attendees spoke about their own experiences with violence.[9]
^Leavenworth, Jesse (2007-05-02). "Tricky Tactic: When Escorts Name Names; Sex Workers Applaud Exposure of D.C. 'Johns'". Hartford Courant. pp. A.1. ISSN1047-4153. ProQuest257052361.
Short interview with Robyn Few at the International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harms in Warsaw, 2007: part 1onYouTube, part 2onYouTube
