Skwim
Veteran Member
Here are arguments from both sides of the debate.
Sex workers weigh in on what decriminalization would mean for their own lives
Sex workers weigh in on what decriminalization would mean for their own lives
"Earlier this month, a clash over the criminalization of sex work ignited in the nation’s capital. Over the course of 14 grueling hours on Oct. 17, more than 170 people testified at the first-ever council hearing about a bill to fully decriminalize sex work in Washington, D.C. — including the buying and selling of sex. If the bill passes, the District will become the first U.S. city to decriminalize sex work, putting it at the vanguard of a growing movement that workers say would make them safer by preventing police abuse, increasing access to medical care and allowing them to make a living in the way that they choose. Many human rights groups and public health organizations agree: Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch support the full decriminalization of sex work, and the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Fund say it would contribute to major global health gains.
However, there’s still fierce opposition to the Community Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2019. The debate at last week’s hearing was so heated that councilmembers threatened to end the session early multiple times.
As The Washington Post reported, those who oppose the bill argued that decriminalizing the act of paying for sex would embolden pimps, sex traffickers and others who coerce and force people to sell their bodies. They also said it would turn the nation’s capital into a sex tourism destination.
“Residents of the District of Columbia should not be subjected to a social science experiment that we already know the consequences of,” LaRuby May, an attorney and a former D.C. Council member, said at the hearing. “This legislation will create more victims and subject our residents to more trauma.”
Advocates who support the legislation, meanwhile, say that decriminalization is an issue of safety for sex workers. Kate D’Adamo, a consultant with Reframe Health and Justice, an organization that works on harm reduction, says it’s okay to personally disagree with sex work. “All we’re talking about when we talk about decriminalization is violence … the violence of homelessness, of arrest and incarceration,” she says. “You can be in support of decriminalization and feel complicated about sex work.”
Sex workers have been organizing for decriminalization for decades, but their campaign has gained national momentum as attention to mass incarceration, police violence, the #MeToo Movement and the legalization of marijuana has grown. The passage of legislation known as “FOSTA-SESTA” — a bill intended to fight human trafficking by targeting websites used to sell sex — also became the focus of national attention last year. Sex workers opposed the legislation, arguing that the law would make them less safe by taking away their means to advertise online, thereby pushing them onto the street, where they are more vulnerable to violence and harassment. Reports show their predictions were likely right.
The Lily spoke to sex workers and activists who attended the hearing, testified and were involved in writing the bill to understand how criminalization has affected their lives. Committee members will vote on the legislation at a later date.
However, there’s still fierce opposition to the Community Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2019. The debate at last week’s hearing was so heated that councilmembers threatened to end the session early multiple times.
As The Washington Post reported, those who oppose the bill argued that decriminalizing the act of paying for sex would embolden pimps, sex traffickers and others who coerce and force people to sell their bodies. They also said it would turn the nation’s capital into a sex tourism destination.
“Residents of the District of Columbia should not be subjected to a social science experiment that we already know the consequences of,” LaRuby May, an attorney and a former D.C. Council member, said at the hearing. “This legislation will create more victims and subject our residents to more trauma.”
Advocates who support the legislation, meanwhile, say that decriminalization is an issue of safety for sex workers. Kate D’Adamo, a consultant with Reframe Health and Justice, an organization that works on harm reduction, says it’s okay to personally disagree with sex work. “All we’re talking about when we talk about decriminalization is violence … the violence of homelessness, of arrest and incarceration,” she says. “You can be in support of decriminalization and feel complicated about sex work.”
Sex workers have been organizing for decriminalization for decades, but their campaign has gained national momentum as attention to mass incarceration, police violence, the #MeToo Movement and the legalization of marijuana has grown. The passage of legislation known as “FOSTA-SESTA” — a bill intended to fight human trafficking by targeting websites used to sell sex — also became the focus of national attention last year. Sex workers opposed the legislation, arguing that the law would make them less safe by taking away their means to advertise online, thereby pushing them onto the street, where they are more vulnerable to violence and harassment. Reports show their predictions were likely right.
The Lily spoke to sex workers and activists who attended the hearing, testified and were involved in writing the bill to understand how criminalization has affected their lives. Committee members will vote on the legislation at a later date.
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Tamika Spellman has been a sex worker for 37 years and is one of the architects of the decriminalization bill. She works for HIPS, a D.C.-based organization that helps people working in street-based economies, including drug users and sex workers.
The reason sex work is criminalized is simple, says Tamika Spellman: It’s about controlling women.
“I’m not a bad person,” Spellman says of her own decision to sell sex. “I’ve been a good parent, I’ve raised my kids well; I put them both through college through my work as a sex worker. I’m just as human as the person who lives next door to you.” Spellman says she has never had a problem with sex work in theory or in practice; instead, “society is the one with a problem with what I do,” she says.
Spellman doesn’t practice street-based sex work anymore. Now, she connects with clients online. That allows her to screen them for safety, she says, though the passage of FOSTA-SESTA has made online sex work more difficult.
But when Spellman did practice sex work in the streets, her life was often defined the criminalization of her work — she “hid in the shadows a lot,” she says. The number one reason, according to Spellman, was police harassment. She says she has been arrested three times in undercover prostitution stings."
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The reason sex work is criminalized is simple, says Tamika Spellman: It’s about controlling women.
“I’m not a bad person,” Spellman says of her own decision to sell sex. “I’ve been a good parent, I’ve raised my kids well; I put them both through college through my work as a sex worker. I’m just as human as the person who lives next door to you.” Spellman says she has never had a problem with sex work in theory or in practice; instead, “society is the one with a problem with what I do,” she says.
Spellman doesn’t practice street-based sex work anymore. Now, she connects with clients online. That allows her to screen them for safety, she says, though the passage of FOSTA-SESTA has made online sex work more difficult.
But when Spellman did practice sex work in the streets, her life was often defined the criminalization of her work — she “hid in the shadows a lot,” she says. The number one reason, according to Spellman, was police harassment. She says she has been arrested three times in undercover prostitution stings."
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