Sex work decriminalization efforts leave workers, advocates and survivors divided | Meet the Press
December 9, 2023 NBC’s Meet the Press covers Maine’s misguided decision to implement the Entrapment Model of governing sex work. Melissa Broudo shares why decriminalization is the only way to ensure the rights and safety of consensual adult sex workers and human trafficking victims.
The Victims on Gilgo Beach | The Brian Lehrer Show on New York Public Radio
July 18, 2023
New York Public Radio’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” covers the lives of the victims found on Gilgo Beach and includes an interview with Crystal DeBoise. Listen here.
DSW Advocates Instrumental in VT’s Enactment of Country’s Most Comprehensive Police Sexual Violence Law
June 7, 2023
Governor Phil Scott signed S. 33, an act relating to miscellaneous judiciary procedures, amending 13 V.S.A. § 3259, which prohibits a law-enforcement officer from engaging in sexual contact with an individual who is in custody, being detained, or being arrested to also prohibit law enforcement from engaging in a sexual act with a person who is the subject of an open investigation or a confidential informant or victim in an open investigation. With this legislation, policymakers reiterated that non-consensual sex is a crime, while consenting adults should be afforded the autonomy and dignity to make choices about their own bodies.
Consistent with this view, S.33’s ban on police sexual assaults will help prevent the second-most prevalent form of police violence behind excessive force, police sexual misconduct, which most commonly occurs between police and consensual adult sex workers. Due to their engagement in a criminalized activity, victims engaged in prostitution are targeted by officers who use their fear of arrest to exploit them. “The fear of arrest makes it impossible for a sex worker to give consent even if it appears that they may have made a choice. There is no choice to be made between violation and incarceration. Additionally, because consent was obtained by deception, it amounts to sexual assault,” said Henri Bynx, co-founder and co-director of The Ishtar Collective.
“Laws addressing police sexual violence codify the notion that consent, or lack thereof, is key when determining if a crime has occurred,” said Rep. Taylor Small, sponsor of the initial bill included in S.33. “By delineating when consent cannot be given, we acknowledge that it is possible for sex workers to consent to paid sex in other instances and that when consent is involved, it should not be a crime,” Small continued, referencing the companion bills introduced last legislative session that would decriminalize consensual adult sex work.
Police sexual violence (PSV) is a term that encompasses interactions in which a law-enforcement officer (sometimes referred to as a peace officer) engages in sexual contact with someone they have encountered in the line of duty. Law-enforcement officers are inherently in a position of authority over civilians, and this authority can be wielded to coerce unwanted sexual contact. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has recognized that policing “create[s] opportunities for sexual misconduct” because officers “have power and authority over others” and “engage with vulnerable populations who lack power and are often perceived as less credible.” PSV is the second-most prevalent form of police violence behind excessive force, but because victims are often hesitant to report their experiences, there are likely exponentially more cases than have been documented.
Read DSW’s comprehensive fact sheet and recommendations on PSV laws here.
Read Henri Bynx’s Commentary, published in the VT Digger, on PSV laws here.
DSW Staff Attorney Rebecca Cleary testifies in front of the Vermont House Judiciary Committee.
DSW Newsletter #48
DSW Advocates Instrumental in VT’s Enactment of Country’s Most Comprehensive Police Sexual Violence Law
Arrest in Long Island Serial Killer Case Shines Brighter Light on Need for Immunity Laws for Sex Workers
Maine Enacts Prostitution Law Decried by Leading Trafficking and Human Rights Experts
The Ishtar Collective Provides Basic Needs After Catastrophic Flooding in VT
DSW Staff Attend Influential Conferences
DSW Newsletter Archive
Voice of Maine’s ‘GHRT Rewinds’ Hosts DSW’s Ariela Moscowitz
June 7, 2023
WVOM’s George Hale & Rick Tyler interview DSW’s Ariela Moscowitz on Voice of Maine’s “GHRT Rewinds” for June 7, 2023. Listen here or download it here.
DSW Collaborates With Allies To Advocate for Decriminalization
November 15-16, 2022
Decriminalize Sex Work (DSW) is proud to regularly partner with Equality New York (EQNY),a statewide advocacy organization working to advance equality and justice for LGBTQI New Yorkers and their families and to promote the decriminalization of consensual adult sex work. Earlier this month, EQNY board member Lindsay Jones, DSW Volunteer Attorney Allison Kolins, and DSW Legal Director Melissa Broudo traveled to the Hudson Valley to network with allies. They visited the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center in Kingston, NY, which provides holistic services and support for LGBTQ+ individuals throughout the Hudson Valley. They also met with Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition, which works to ensure housing and promotes criminal justice reform, including passage of the Hudson Breathe Act, which prohibits no-knock warrants), and the Clean Slate Act, which allows arrested individuals to move on with their lives by clearing their past convictions.
November 18, 2022
EQNY and DSW organized a joint event with Glinda the Good Bus. They visited four gay bars throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn to talk about the decriminalization of consensual adult sex work and the importance of comprehensive sex education. The event was a huge success! The evening was fun, informative, and exciting. Numerous DSW staffers and volunteers participated, including Melissa Broudo, Rebecca Cleary, and Volunteer Attorney Allison Kolins.
DSW and EQNY collaborated on this event with the goal of showcasing the inherent connection between sex work, LGBTQIA rights, and bodily autonomy.
Author May Jeong, DSW Volunteer Attorney Allison Kolins, and DSW Legal Director Melissa Broudo.
EQNY Advisory Council Member Marti Cummings performing outside Stonewall Inn.
Ashley Hart, EQNY Community Organizer Ace Sutherland, and EQNY Advisory Council Member Marti Cummings.
DSW Staff Attorney Becca Cleary and EQNY Director Amanda Babine, discussing decriminalization and comprehensive sex education on top of Glinda the Good Bus.
EQNY Board of Advisors Member Tanya Asapansa-Jackson Walker, DSW Legal Director Melissa Broudo.
DSW Newsletter #42 (November 2022)
DSW Attends APHA 2022 Annual Meeting & Expo
DSW Collaborates With Allies To Advocate for Decriminalization
Why Decriminalization Is Good for Public Health
Remembering Carol Leigh
Life After Arrest: The Collateral Consequences of Criminalization
Support DSW This GivingTuesday
DSW Newsletter Archive
DSW Attends APHA 2022 Annual Meeting & Expo
November 6, 2022
DSW Legal Director Melissa Broudo, Staff Attorney Rebecca Cleary, and Volunteer Attorney Allison Kolins attended the American Public Health Association’s (APHA’s) annual meeting and expo in Boston early this November. According to their mission statement, APHA “… strengthens the impact of public health professionals and provides a science-based voice in policy debates too often driven by emotion, ideology or financial interests.” The meeting attracts experts in many public health related topics, including climate change, COVID-19, gun violence, vaccines, racial equality, and more.
As the decriminalization of consensual adult sex work is proven to have a positive impact on public health and safety, DSW was welcomed to the meeting with enthusiasm and support. The public health community is an extremely important partner in the mission to decriminalize sex work, as public health professionals understand that science and data matter, and that health and safety of all individuals is paramount.
As a community rooted in science, the public health world understands that decriminalization is central to supporting shared goals, specifically: reduction of violence against women and LGBTQIA individuals, sexual and reproductive safety and wellness, and bodily autonomy.
To learn more about public health in the United States, visit APHA’s website.
DSW Volunteer Attorney Allison Kolins and Legal Director Melissa Broudo.
DSW Staff Attorney Rebecca Cleary, Volunteer Attorney Allison Kolins, and Legal Director Melissa Broudo.
DSW Staff Attorney Rebecca Cleary, Volunteer Attorney Allison Kolins, and Legal Director Melissa Broudo.
DSW Newsletter #42 (November 2022)
DSW Attends APHA 2022 Annual Meeting & Expo
DSW Collaborates With Allies To Advocate for Decriminalization
Why Decriminalization Is Good for Public Health
Remembering Carol Leigh
Life After Arrest: The Collateral Consequences of Criminalization
Support DSW This GivingTuesday
DSW Newsletter Archive
DSW Presents at the National Harm Reduction Coalition’s Biennial Conference
October 13, 2022
DSW Legal Director Melissa Broudo and Staff Attorney Becca Cleary traveled to Puerto Rico to participate in the 13th biennial conference hosted by the National Harm Reduction Coalition (NHRC). The NHRC describes its gathering as “… the only conference of its kind in the United States. For four days, some of the most creative minds from the U.S. and abroad come together to address a myriad of complex issues facing the harm reduction movement.” The conference attracts advocates, activists, service providers, legislators, researchers, public health officials, and law enforcement interested in working towards a more just and equitable society and reducing the harms caused by structural violence, racialized policies, and the failed war on drugs.
Ceyenne Doroshow, Melissa Broudo, and Ciora Thomas discuss decriminalization.
Cleary and Broudo staffed a booth at the conference to connect with and educate attendees about the urgent need to decriminalize consensual adult sex work. The decriminalization of sex work is a core tenet of the harm reduction movement and shares many of its principals. The NHRC says that “advocating for legislation that protects sex workers rights is central to our mission.”
Broudo joined Ceyenne Doroshow, an author, activist, organizer, performer, and public figure in the trans and sex worker rights movements, and Ciora Thomas, founder and director of Sisters PGH, a trans rights housing organization in Pittsburgh, for a panel discussion. They explored the intersection of trans liberation and the decriminalization of prostitution, specifically from the perspective of two Black trans leaders with lived experience in the industry. The panel was both poignant and filled with humor, discussing topics such as housing, education, trans rights, sex work and human trafficking, and the intersections of various identities. Because this was the National Harm Reduction Conference, trans liberation and decriminalization of sex work were discussed within a harm reduction and human rights framework.
DSW Newsletter #41 (October 2022)
Canadian Sex Workers Are Making History
Harm Reduction and Sex Work
SESTA/FOSTA Explained
DSW Presents at the National Harm Reduction Coalition’s Biennial Conference
DSW Newsletter Archive
The Crime Report’s Isidoro Rodriguez interviews Ariela Moscowitz
September 23, 2022
The Crime Report’s Isidoro Rodriguez interviews Ariela Moscowitz.
Listen to Melissa Broudo on The Christian Libertarian podcast.
September 16, 2022
Listen to Melissa Broudo on The Christian Libertarian podcast.