Sex Work

How to prevent trafficking and police violence? The answer might surprise you - Decriminalization of sex work (NSFW)

By Elle Stanger
Photography By Scot Sothern
Published 02/28/2022 6:15Am PST

There exists a lot of scary media about sex trafficking, and many people are rightfully concerned about adult or child exploitation but don’t know how to help prevent it.

For decades, public health experts and researchers have published recommendations to De-criminalize sex work, and remove laws against consensual adult interactions - as a means of reducing harm and preventing human exploitation.

This answer surprises some people:How? And why not Legalization of sex work instead?

Full decriminalization of sex work means that adults engaging consensually with other adults are no longer arrestable. Police would have no legal recourse to detain, interrogate, isolate, or arrest streetworkers, immigrants, minors, or any adult working consensually. 

In a decriminalized setting, people who use force, fraud, coercion, fear, or compel minors to engage would be the only ones punishable.

Low Life Series
Courtesy of Scot Sothern

This would free up resources and make victims of violent crimes more likely to step forward, like Biance Beebe who reported her 2017 client-assault to police in New Zealand, which decriminalized sex work in 2003.

"A uniformed, male police officer, in front of other uniformed officers in the station, said right to my face, 'We don't care what you do for a living. No one is allowed to treat you like that. We just want to catch this guy.' And then all the other officers nodded in agreement. That happened not only because decriminalization removed criminal penalties for sex work in 2003, but also because the change in legislation meant sex work activists have been directly involved in training police on how to respond when we report a sexual assault from a client.”

Many states in America currently arrest victims of sexual assault if they are also sex-working during their assault. Nineteen states still charge minors with prostitution crimes, though by definition they are victims of trafficking, because they are under eighteen. This prevents people from reporting crimes against them.

Low Life Series
Courtesy of Scot Sothern

New Zealand saw overall positive public health and safety outcomes after their historic Prostitution Reform Act in 2003. Rhode Island saw a decrease in STI transmission and violent assaults when they accidentally decriminalized sex work for a couple decades. 

Biance Beebe knows that laws can set precedent for changes in social attitudes and practices,  “I was only willing to report my assault because sex work is decriminalized. I knew I had the right to dictate the terms of my labor, as well as the right to say no and withdraw consent when those terms were not met." 


Why not legalization? 

Legalization of sex work means that government or public officials would create rules for who/what/when/where/why could do sex work without being arrested. This can mean requiring sex workers or clients to acquire permits, licenses, or register formally, which can be dangerous, expensive and require government documentation, money, and transportation. Poor people, street-workers, immigrants, and minors don’t often have these things to furnish.

Romina Rosales is a former survival sex worker who explained to me, “If a person has to provide a SSN and they don't have one, they might have to steal one if it means being able to make money.”

Romina currently teaches harm reduction and coping skills to marginalized sex workers and organizations, and says further, “Without documents to be allowed to work in the USA, undocumented immigrants have tot resort to illegal jobs in the underworld to provide for themselves - some resort to sex work. My parents didn’t know how to navigate America, and they were abusive, so I didn't get my papers until I went to immigration prison when I was 32.”

Under legalization models: plenty of folks won’t qualify as ‘legal workers’ and will still be arrestable, detainable, harassable, vulnerable to police under a legalization model. Currently in the United States, the only people allowed to buy and sell sex legally are folks who can get hired or transport themselves to a few Nevada brothels, in remote, unpopulated areas. 

Romina adds, “Being arrested was horrible and so was everything they did to me in there. Before that time, I was buying fake IDs just to get by and the anxiety of being discovered that I didn’t have papers, and being deported or assaulted by police was horrible.”

Low Life Series
Courtesy of Scot Sothern

Decriminalization of prostitution and sex work laws will encourage victims to come forward without fear of punishment, lower STIs and violence, and re-allocate funds to addressing reported rapes and assaults.

Doug* is a would-be client with a terminal illness, a divorce, and grown children. He spends most days indoors and alone except for his cat and his social media. “I was scrolling through Tinder and matched with a lady - she said she was down to visit me for $300, and I gave her my address. Instead, two men with guns showed up at my door; it was a scam. I called 911 and when police showed up, they lectured me and said I was lucky they weren’t going to charge me with soliciting prostitution.” 

Victims of violent crimes are less likely to receive support or justice, if they too are treated like criminals.

Prohibition of alcohol and the War on Drugs criminalized the poorest people, created underground markets and trafficking operations, and ignored people’s consent to their own bodies. Anti-sex work laws do the same. Support decriminalization of prostitution laws, because the wars against sex workers is killing people.

Elle Stanger is an AASECT certified sex educator and longtime adult entertainer, and cochair of Oregon Sex Workers Committee - read their work at ellestanger.com 

Scot Sothern is a photographer and writer known for his documentary work of sex workers and the harsh gritty streets of Los Angeles. Scot seeks out areas that are unpopular or opposite of mainstream society, photographing interesting and unique people. His images are raw, striking, and illuminating, leaving the viewer with evoked emotions.