Sex work decriminalization gaining steam?

[+ keroscenefire]

There is a new bill that was introduced in New York that would decriminalize sex work. It's unclear if the bill would even get any votes this legislative session, but the fact that the bill has officially been introduced is a big deal. If it did pass, New York would be the first state to decriminalize sex work statewide (Nevada is limited to a handful of counties) and the language of the bill is pretty sweeping, decriminalizing the sex work but also those who pay for sex work. Even some Democratic presidential candidates have voiced some support (including Kamala Harris and John Hickenlooper, who oversaw marijuana legalization in Colorado). New Republic has a good lowdown here: https://newrepublic.com/article/154111/new-york-bill-decriminalization-prostitution-sex-worker-rights

 

What do you think? Is sex work the next big decriminalization push?

Edited June 11, 2019 by keroscenefire

[+ Kman]

I have been thinking about what would happen if sex work was legalized. In my mind it would start being regulated and in my opinion the government ruins everything so I would imagine it would get frustrating. I would imagine escorts/masseurs would have to start working for companies..let's say Rentmen...and they would have to paperwork that they have been tested and I would think the customers would have to do the same (not a bad thing) but I would think it would deter a lot of potential clients. Also, in this scenario, I would think that the escorts/masseurs would loose a lot of money and get a fraction of their hourly rate and the rest going to Rentmen.

[big-n-tall]

Something similar came up in DC about decriminalization as well. The sad thing is even if DC votes to pass the legislation, Congress can knock it down.

 

https://wtop.com/dc/2019/06/d-c-bill-aims-to-decriminalize-prostitution-for-consenting-adults/

[hypothetically]

There is a new bill that was introduced in New York that would decriminalize sex work. It's unclear if the bill would even get any votes this legislative session, but the fact that the bill has officially been introduced is a big deal. If it did pass, New York would be the first state to legalize sex work statewide (Nevada is limited to a handful of counties) and the language of the bill is pretty sweeping, legalizing the sex work but also those who pay for sex work. Even some Democratic presidential candidates have voiced some support (including Kamala Harris and John Hickenlooper, who oversaw marijuana legalization in Colorado). New Republic has a good lowdown here: https://newrepublic.com/article/154111/new-york-bill-decriminalization-prostitution-sex-worker-rights

 

What do you think? Is sex work the next big legalization push?

 

Meh, New York just wants a way to tax the fuck out of us. No one is actively nor aggressively seeking out or locking up sex workers in NYC. We’re fine.

[+ OliverSaks]

Decriminalization =\= legalization

[KeepItReal]

Meh, New York just wants a way to tax the fuck out of us. No one is actively nor aggressively seeking out or locking up sex workers in NYC. We’re fine.

There are some benefits to decriminalizing sex work. I will let Jim Jefferies explain:

[+ bashful]

Sunday's Chicago Tribune:

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/steve-chapman/ct-perspec-chapman-prostitution-harris-hickenlooper-new-york-20190607-story.html

[+ keroscenefire]

Meh, New York just wants a way to tax the fuck out of us. No one is actively nor aggressively seeking out or locking up sex workers in NYC. We’re fine.

 

The article says 1500 people were arrested for prostitution in New York City alone in 2018...maybe a bigger problem than you realize?

 

Sorry about not getting the nuance between decriminalization and legalization. I'm in Colorado and we think of legalization in terms of marijuana but actually we did recently decriminalize psilocybin mushroom so I should know the difference.

[hypothetically]

The article says 1500 people were arrested for prostitution in New York City alone in 2018...maybe a bigger problem than you realize?

Which the article specified were mostly arrests targeted towards sex workers of color, transgender sex workers, and immigrant sex workers. There number of male escorts in New York is gargantuan, but the community is small. If there was an arrest/arrests, we’d all know. The news and mass paranoia would spread like wildfire.

[+ tassojunior]

Which the article specified were mostly arrests targeted towards sex workers of color, transgender sex workers, and immigrant sex workers. There number of male escorts in New York is gargantuan, but the community is small. If there was an arrest/arrests, we’d all know. The news and mass paranoia would spread like wildfire.

NYCPD has online undercovers as discussed here before.

[+ tassojunior]

There is a new bill that was introduced in New York that would decriminalize sex work. It's unclear if the bill would even get any votes this legislative session, but the fact that the bill has officially been introduced is a big deal. If it did pass, New York would be the first state to decriminalize sex work statewide (Nevada is limited to a handful of counties) and the language of the bill is pretty sweeping, decriminalizing the sex work but also those who pay for sex work. Even some Democratic presidential candidates have voiced some support (including Kamala Harris and John Hickenlooper, who oversaw marijuana legalization in Colorado). New Republic has a good lowdown here: https://newrepublic.com/article/154111/new-york-bill-decriminalization-prostitution-sex-worker-rights

 

What do you think? Is sex work the next big decriminalization push?

 

I sure wouldn't believe Kamala who was just a co-sponsor of SESTA and sent Backpage to jail. More believable people have advocated for legalization.

[Walker1]

It is time. FL is going there wanting to keep a Meghan's law like registry for people who hire. Your address , name, photo would be posted for the whole world to see and look up.

 

It is time to move past this.

[+ keroscenefire]

Which the article specified were mostly arrests targeted towards sex workers of color, transgender sex workers, and immigrant sex workers. There number of male escorts in New York is gargantuan, but the community is small. If there was an arrest/arrests, we’d all know. The news and mass paranoia would spread like wildfire.

 

While the NYPD doesn't seem to be targeting upscale male escorts at this time, it's incredibly sad and terrible that they are going after the most vulnerable populations instead. That to me is why we need to decriminalize sex work. All consenting adult sex workers deserve the right to do their work safely and securely without fear of arrest for them or their clients for whom they depend on for their economic security. All of us should support this.

[+ keroscenefire]

I sure wouldn't believe Kamala who was just a co-sponsor of SESTA and sent Backpage to jail. More believable people have advocated for legalization.

 

Having looked at what she has said a bit more, I am also not impressed. Obviously her record supporting SESTA, her anti-sex worker job as a prosecutor and going against decriminalization in San Francisco are all bad enough. I do believe that politicians can evolve, but it appears what she supports is more a model that targets clients instead of escorts. But we all know that just makes the business more dangerous by pushing it more underground and therefore harder for many escorts to find clients so they can pay their rent.

 

It just shows that the decriminalization movement is more than just one politician. Hopefully, we can keep moving the needle and getting more and more people to recognize that sex work is work.

[hypothetically]

NYCPD has online undercovers as discussed here before.

 

Yes, that are going after you, not us. This isn’t targeted towards you, but gentle reminder when throwing statistics, or articles, or hearsay around in a thread about what goes on in our world....we actually live in the thick of that world, and know better than anyone what is actually going on.

[RealAvalon]

Decriminalize it and regulation licensing requirements will not be far behind.

Hopefully. Like vehicle safety and food inspection standards. Every industry needs to have public and private safety standards.